Bronze Monsters and the Cultures of WonderThe eighth and seventh centuries BCE were a time of flourishing exchange between the Mediterranean and the Near East. One of the periods key imports to the Hellenic and Italic worlds was the image of the griffin, a mythical monster that usually possesses the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. In particular, bronze cauldrons bore griffin protomesfigurative attachments showing the neck and head of the beast. Crafted in fine detail, the protomes