Charon?

By way of preamble, most of you are aware that I reserved the right to revisit my historical underpinnings from the outset of this venture. This is one of those times. . .  sort of. . .

While looking through the latest stuff on Chuck's site, I stumbled upon this little gem. As most of you know, the history of gladiatorial combat is one of my passions (I have had the privilege to handle a provocator's open-faced helmet back in the day), and the enigmatic persona of Charon, is right up there on my "short list".

"Charon" was one of two costumed members of those assigned to the spoliarium, who, wearing the costume of his namesake, would dis- patch the fallen (or ensure their demise) with a blow of his maul. That is an acceptable general description of this character; however, this description has undergone some scrutiny relatively recently, and doesn't quite hold the water it once did. . . if ever.

Most everyone knows Charon is the ferryman who conveyed the souls of the dead across the River Styx/Archeron in Greek mythology. But one would be hard-pressed to find any description of Charon as a hammer-wielding demon!

Yet that is precisely what the chthonic Etruscan psychopompoi, Charun, was. Undoubtedly, the name was adopted from the Greek, but the Etruscan version of the protector and guide of the departed was quite different from his Hellenic namesake. And it is very likely that it was Charun--and not Charon--that was wielding the hammer in the Roman arenas of antiquity.

Or was it? There is a third candidate that must be considered and that is "Dis Pater", a Roman deity of the underworld subsumed by Pluto, and with considerable more clout than Charun.

While I am inclined to ascribe the identity of our subject to Dis, no argument to date has proven to be conclusive--any more than the actual role, or even the existence of the character, have. Hence my hedging in my opening statement as to the historicity of the subject.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the second commercial release of the character of Charon. The first that I am aware of was a 54mm casting released by Monarch Miniatures back in the late 70s-early 80s. If memory serves it was a brutish character with a gorilla mask and wielding a hammer.

Which brings us to our subject and future project. This figure is the 11th release by El Viejo Dragon in their "Serie Roma": it was designed by José Ramón Arredondo, the artist behind all the currently available figures in the series. The scale is said to be 1/30th (60mm), but the figure measures 65mm to the eyes, with an overall height of 77mm. The figure is comprised of three pieces (+ groundwork plinth) cast in a grey PUR, not white metal! Casting quality would be superb if not for an occasion of moldshift along the back seam: though annoying, the resulting step is slight and easily addressed.There is but a handful of contained, isolated air bubbles that can be quickly dealt with. Overall, I am very impressed!

With so little known about the subject, one can hardly make a defi- nitive appraisal as to the historicity of the depiction. Personally, I find it too "gladiatorial" for my tastes, and I will attempt to diminish the combatant aspect in the course of the project.

I will begin prepping the piece over the weekend, so hopefully there will be a follow-up with images in the near, if not immediate, future.

UPDATE - 08.06.2012. . . The right arm has been pegged and fitted; and I've removed the crest of the helmet. I am still debating whether or not to remove the greave: on the one hand, one could argue that he would have no need of a greave; on the other, a nice way to avoid a lower leg injury from someone not quite ready to pass into the Underworld. Hmmm. . .

Next. . . putty work!

FOLLOW-UP . . . The putty work, save for the maul (or was it actually a dolabra? more on this later), is now done! No more than 20 minutes worth of work!! Movin' right along. . .