What are the “Mouth of Truth” silent about? (10 photos)

“The Mouth of Truth” (Bocca della Verità) is a marble slab on which is carved the image of a deity - the face of the Ocean (Triton) - the lord of the waters.





The sculpture dates from the 1st century AD (Roman Empire period) and is a large disk (1.75 meters in diameter, 1300 kilograms).



Although it is difficult to pinpoint its original purpose, experts agree that it could have been a manhole, an impluvium (water collection system), or a fountain.





God Ocean

Since in ancient Rome images of river deities were usually carved on hatches, historians suggest that it is for this reason that the face of the “Mouth of Truth” depicts the face of the god of the seas, Oceanus.

Be that as it may, the legendary sculpture quickly ceased to be just an ancient cultural landmark and, through the efforts of those who adore mysticism, turned into a magical curiosity. In the 11th century, it was even mentioned in the Mirabilia Urbis Romae, a guide to Rome written in Latin for visitors and pilgrims.



Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin

But this artifact received the name “Mouth of Truth” much later, in 1485. For a long time it was located at the Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin (Church of the Holy Virgin Mary in Rome), but in 1631 it was moved inside the portico of the building during the restoration carried out at the request of Urban VIII.

The Legend of the "Mouth of Truth"



Naturally, any interesting cultural and historical artifact should have its own legend. The Mouth of Truth also has one. According to a belief that dates back to the Middle Ages, a disk with a face acts as a kind of lie detector and can cut off the hand of anyone who dares to tell a lie in his presence.

It is said that supposed liars were once forced to put their hand into the statue's mouth so that it would cut off the hands of the criminals.



Lucas Cranach the Elder. "The Mouth of Truth" (1534)

But one particularly cunning woman (oh, this ineradicable female cunning!), as they say, managed to avoid the wrath of the gods. Suspected by her husband of infidelity, she pretended to faint in front of the sculpture. A complete stranger, who in reality was her lover, managed to pick up the treacherous lady in his arms. After that, she could honestly swear that she was in the arms of only two men - her husband and the one who had just saved her. So the cunning traitor saved her hand, her lover, her family, and her honor.



Still from the film "Roman Holiday"

In 1953, "Mouth" appeared in the film "Roman Holiday" directed by William Wyler.



Still from the film "Roman Holiday"

In the film, reporter Joe Bradley, played by Gregory Peck, wants to report on the adventures of Princess Anne (Audrey Hepburn). And, knowing about her real status, he offers the girl a lie test with the “Mouth of Truth”. Anna does not agree, and Joe himself puts the brush into the sculpture’s mouth, after which he begins to scream. Having freed himself, he shows Anna his hand without a hand. But in the end it turns out to be a joke: there’s nothing wrong with the hand, it’s just hidden in the sleeve.



Thanks to the film, “Mouth” has become one of the world’s most famous landmarks and has inspired representatives of various cultural genres to create works about the face or with references to it. And Italian researcher Alberto Angela called the disk “the most photographed sewer in the world.”



Alfred Hitchcock