Date:

late 4th – early 3rd cent. B.C.

Max. Height:

0.170m

Base dimensions:

0.160m x 0.068m

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Πουλακάκης Ν. (2004) Πήλινο σύμπλεγμα από την αγορά της Πέλλας στο Μακεδονικά, 34 (1), 273-308.

Category
Idols, STYRFAKA 1

A composite clay idol of Pluto and Persephone on a recliner

Clay figurine of a complex of figures, representing a dinner of Pluto and Persephone. The head of the female deity is missing. She is represented en face, holding an Amalthea’s Horn with flowers and fruits. She is at the edge of a bed and wears a rich long tunic and robe and her bent legs rest on a small plinth (footstool). To the left the crowned figure of the bearded god reclines on his left elbow resting on the edge of the bed. He also embraces an Amalthea’s Horn and wears a tunic that covers his lower body. His right hand is extended towards the female figure holding a bowl with omphalos. In front of him a low table with food.

In general, the theme of a reclining figure in bed, accompanied by a sitting female figure on the other side, is frequent in Funeral Dinner representations, and is introduced in Greece in the 7th and 6th century B.C. The worship of the God of the Underworld Hades was restricted up to the 5th century B.D., when he was euphemistically named Pluto, and became the god of life, fruitfulness and wealth.