• Plaque with relief divine triad



Plaque with relief divine triad
Plaque with relief divine triad

The Panhellenic character of the Cretan sanctuaries ➔ Plaque with relief divine triad

Γ379
Grey poros stone
Mended from many pieces, central figure largely incomplete, figure on left restored on basis of corresponding figure on right
Height: 150 cm. Width (with restoration): 107 cm.
Gortyn
Acropolis, Sanctuary of Athena
Archaic period:
630-600 BC:
Gallery:
XXVI
Case:
Not in case
Exhibition thematic unit:
Sculpture. Archaic period (7th-6th c. BC). Classical period (5th-4th c. BC)
Description
This large rectangular plaque with a divine triad carved in high relief probably covered the walls of the entrance to the temple of Athena on the acropolis of Gortyn. The taller central male figure is depicted with head and body facing frontally while the legs are moving to the right. He appears to be placing his hands on the shoulders of the female figures on either side. They have their arms at their sides and are wearing particularly tall polos headdresses. All three figures are slim and stylised, in divine nudity, their long hair symmetrically arranged in neat braids on either side of the head. The theme of the divine triad, known from older Egyptian examples, appears quite frequently in Cretan sanctuaries of the 8th and 7th centuries BC and in various art forms, although the deities cannot be securely identified based on the names of the later Olympic pantheon. The roots of the Creto-Mycenaean religion and Eastern influences give this artefact a syncretic aspect, displaying all the characteristics of Daedalic art.
Bibliography:
G. Rizza, V. Santa Maria Scrinari, Il santuario sull'Acropoli di Gortina, vol. I, Roma 1968, 156-7, 250-252, pl. IV. L. Adams, Orientalizing Sculpture in Soft Limestone from Crete and Mainland Greece, Oxford 1978, 23, pl. 9.
Author:
K. S.


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