[ΚΕΝΟ]



Votive miniature shield depicting Hermes

Χ17
Metal (Bronze)
Intact shape with small scattered corrosion holes
Diameter: 6.2 cm. Thickness: 0.1-0.2 cm.
Idaean Cave
Archaic period:
590-520 BC:
Gallery:
XVII
Case:
169
Exhibition thematic unit:
Geometric - Archaic - Classical period (10th - 4th c. BC). The Sanctuaries. From Minoan cult to the amalgamation of religious beliefs
Sacred Caves
Description
Small bronze votive shield with two suspension holes in the wide rim at the top. On the circular, bossed body is incised the god Hermes, naked and beardless, heading right in the conventional “kneeling-running stance” indicating rapid movement. The body is depicted frontally while the head is turned backwards, heightening, together with the god’s characteristic winged sandals, the impression of movement. He holds lotus flowers in his outstretched hands. The musculature and facial features are rendered with small, dense incisions. The association of Hermes with vegetation is not uncommon in Crete (see the Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite at Syme Viannos), but it is rare in artefacts of this type. It may have to do with the penetration of Attic influences in the Cretan bronzework of the 6th century BC, which had lost the creativity, originality and prestige of the repoussé art and free miniature glyptic of the previous centuries.
Bibliography:
F. Halbherr, "Scavi e ritrovamenti nell’antro di Zeus sul monte Ida in Creta", in D. Comparetti (ed.), Museo Italiano di antichita classica II, Firenze 1888, 29-30, no. 11, pl. XII, 5. J. Sakellarakis - E. Sapouna-Sakellaraki, Το Ιδαίο Άντρο. Ιερό και μαντείο, Athens 2013, vol. Β., 59, pl. 42,11.
Author:
K. S.


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