Clay figurine of Artemis Kourotroplios

The goddess is seated frontally on a throne without a back-rest, her feet on a low stool, shown in relief at the base of the figurine. She wears closed shoes, a long chiton and an himation that hangs from her head over her back and upper arms. Her face is framed by a row of curls. She holds on her lap a little girl with her hair in a snood. She too wears a long garment from beneath which her feet hang. The child raises her hands toward the face of the goddess and rests her head against her left breast.

Attic type of figurine, mould-made, type known from finds in the temple of Artemis at Brauron in Attica and from a complete figurine in the Louvre Museum (CA 805). The goddess is represented as kourotrophos in her capacity as protectress of children, especially the little girls who served her as “bears”, from their childhood years to their adulthood and their transition to married life.

PUBLICATION
– Vlassopoulou C. 2006. Cataloque no. 43, in Choremi-Spetsieri Α. – Zarkadas Α. (eds), The Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum. Ancient Art, Athens, 66.