This is the back of a bronze mirror, like many have been found in Etruria and other places in Italy. The art of incision of the somewhat hollow back of a bronze mirror has been attested in the Greek world as well, but not as much as in Etruria. The scenes carved in the mirrors are mostly mythological and related to Greek myths (which the Etruscan seem the have loved very much), but many scenes are free interpretations of the Greek myths as we know them. Many bronze mirrors were made and found in Etruria, which has led to the conclusion that they were very popular to both women and men and the reason that so many mirrors have been found is mainly because they were usually put into the graves of the dead as grave gifts.

The main scene of this mirror here shows a lot of symmetry. Both the inner and the outer figures show the same pose. Menrva (i.e. the Etrusco-Italic goddess Menerva, later called Minerva by the Romans) is wearing a long chiton and the aegis with a star on her chest. She is wearing a helmet on her head with both the Greek crest and two huge feathers, one on either side of the crest, like the Etrusco-Italic warriors used to wear on their helmets. This helmet looks like the helmet on some of Menerva's votive statuettes (1). She is also wearing a shield and a spear. The young man on the other outer side of the scene has exactly the same pose and holds his spear and shield exactly the same way as Menrva does, only in exact the opposite way. He is wearing a short chiton and chest armor and a helmet without a crest on his head. Between these two figures are Turan and Hercle. Turan is the Etruscan equivalent of the Greek Aphrodite and the Roman Venus. Hercle is the Etruscan name for Herakles (Lat. Hercules), a very popular hero in Etruscan culture and art. Hercle is naked, except for the fact that he is wearing shoes and, of course, the skin of the Nemean Lion. He is wearing his club. The skin and club make him recognizable as Herakles, next to the inscription of his name. Turan is half naked and wearing very expensive and luxurious jewelry. Turan and Hercle are standing next to eachother, their arms wrapped around eachother, like a couple in love. Their names are written as one single name: "turanhercle", which doesn't have to be necessarily so, because next to Turan's head to the right, there would have been some space left to write her name. In the German edition of the Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum, it is assumed that this scene shows some kind of a love bond between Turan and Hercle, because of the way their names are written together and their pose (2).

But there is more than one sort of symmetry. Menrva is depicted as Hercle's companion, which is obvious because she stands next to or behind Hercle, but also, because both in Greek mythology as in Greek and Etruscan art, she is always depicted as Hercle's companion and protectress. If Menrva is Hercle's companion in one side of this symmetry, who then can be the young man without inscription next to or behind Turan? Some options have been given here. If he is really Turan's companion, he can be Laran, an Etruscan god of manhood and masculin beauty, often depicted together with Turan in Etruscan art (3). Laran is sometimes compared to the Latin god Ma(vo)rs, but with this distinction, that Laran is not considered to be a god as fierce and as destructive as Ma(vo)rs and the Greek god Ares are. But the young man here is in full armor, whereas Laran is mostly depicted as a naked young man. There is only one known scene of Laran depicted in armor, on a mirror from Populonia (with the inscriptions: Laran, Celsclan).

Next to this symmetry, there is a symmetry of opposite figures, namely Menrva and Turan (both female and divine) on one hand and Hercle and the young man (both male, warriors and probably both originally mortal) on the other hand. So this is the symmetry of figures of the same sex standing opposite to eachother and facing eachother. In this symmetry, the young man could belong to Hercle. A young man belonging to Herakles in Greek mythology is Iolaos, his best friend and battle companion. Iolaos was known to the Etruscans as well. E.g. on an Etruscan mirror from Falerii from the 4th century BCE (actual whereabouts are unknown) Iolaos is depicted in full armor, with an inscription, Vile, his name in Etruscan. The young man on the mirror in Karlsruhe could, therefore, be Iolaos.

Why is this young man without an inscription? There could have easily been placed one between his legs. There is no sufficient answer to this question. I think this is a case of an Etruscan version of one of the lesser known or spreaded Greek myths about Herakles. It can very well be assumed that Herakles, or rather Hercle, had his own myths and stories in Etruria and/or Italy, which had come about because of his enormous popularity as a heroic figure, strong, brave and honest. Some have assumed that even the Etruscans wanted to depict a pluriform story or a story with several layers by not giving the armored young man to the right an inscribed name, others have assumed that the story is really about the two goddesses and the hero Hercle and that the armored young man is not all that important, but just there for the symmetry. Further study of Greco-Italic versions of Herakles-myths and symmetry in Etruscan mirror art, especially in this one (perhaps compared to similar symmetry or even similar scenes in Greek vase painting if they are existant) will have to bring about a more complete answer.

Notes:

(1) Richardson, E., Etruscan Votive Bronzes, 1983, fig. 818-851: the type of helmet with a large crest and movable sides is also apparent in these votive statuettes. Most of the statuettes don't have the large feathers.

(2) Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum BRD, 1987, 53.

(3) Mirrors in Berlin, Mus. Charlottenburg, 30219/912; London, BM 618; Paris, Cabinet des Medailles 1291.

Source:

Kuijpers, J.E.M., Menerva. Een onderzoek naar de betekenis en functie van de godin Menerva in de Etruskisch-Italische wereld. Doctoraalscriptie Klassieke Archeologie aan de Rijksuniversiteit Leiden, 1988, 54-55.