Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Bronze objects : Bronze worshipper figurine [Χ5065]

Bronze worshipper figurine

Χ5065

Metal (Bronze)

Intact, slightly corroded surface

Height: 16.5 cm.

Syme

Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite

Late Bronze Age. Neopalatial period, Late Minoan ΙΒ period:

1500- 1450 BC:

Gallery:

XVII

Case:

165

Exhibition thematic unit:

Geometric - Archaic - Classical period (10th - 4th c. BC). The Sanctuaries. From Minoan cult to the amalgamation of religious beliefs

Sanctuaries

Description

Bronze worshipper figurine with distinct facial features. His attitude and his gesture with arms bent on the chest, fists tightly closed, are associated with ritual physical codes. It probably represents the dedicator’s participation in a purification ceremony. Many of the elements and the overall conception survive in later figurines from the Syme Sanctuary. The Sanctuary was founded in the Prepalatial period, c. 2000 BC, and remained in use until the 7th century AD. Over the millennia, the cult traditions and the deities worshipped changed, but the site never lost its cult significance.

Bibliography:

Petrakos V. Ch. (ed), To Έργον της Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρίας κατά το 1988, Athens, 1989, 153, fig. 125. Lebessi Α., “Το ιερό του Ερμή και της Αφροδίτης στη Σύμη Βιάννου”, Πρακτικά της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρίας 1988, pl. 174-175, 244-263. Διαβάρας Κ., “Τα χάλκινα ειδώλια”, in Μινωικός και ελληνικός πολιτισμός από τη συλλογή Μητσοτάκη, 245, Athens, 1992. Lebessi Α., Το Ιερό του Ερμή και της Αφροδίτης στη Σύμη Βιάννου ΙΙΙ. Τα χάλκινα ανθρωπόμορφα ειδώλια, Athens, 2002, 15-16.

Author:

S. P.

Photographs' metadata