The horse had been established as a funerary animal by the Archaic era. Commemorative art in Greece, the Etruscan civilization and ancient Rome often depicts a chariot scene or the deceased riding a horse into the afterlife. The design of the turning posts "(metae)" on a Roman race course was derived from Etruscan funeral monuments, and the far turn of the Circus Maximus skirted an underground altar used for the Consualia festival at which "Equestrian Neptune" (the Roman equivalent of Poseidon Hippos, ) was honored. The turn of a racetrack is the most likely spot for a crash, and so the natural dangers of a sharp curve combined with the sacral aura of a tomb or other religious site led to a belief in a supernatural presence. Race horses were often adorned with good-luck charms or amulets to ward off malevolence.