• Clay relief Gorgoneion



Clay relief Gorgoneion
Clay relief Gorgoneion

Clay relief Gorgoneion

Π4920
Clay
Missing lower half and upper edge
Height: 22 cm. Width: 20 cm.
Palaikastro
Archaic phase of the temple of Zeus at Palaikastro
Archaic period:
6th c. BC:
Gallery:
XV
Case:
157
Exhibition thematic unit:
Geometric - Archaic - Classical period (10th-4th c. BC). Cities and Sanctuaries
Sanctuaries
Description
Terracotta Medusa head. Medusa was a mythical winged female monster which functioned as an apotropaic charm, protecting the owner. Snakes spring from the head instead of hair, while the face has distinctive large eyes and protruding tongue. The forehead is crowned with a row of curls. This object was an antefix, an ornament concealing the ends of the roof tiles. It comes from the Archaic phase of the temple of Dictaean Zeus at Palaikastro. The excavator considers this to be the upper part of a figure and reconstructs it with a female bust, similar to that from the sanctuary of neighbouring Praisos.
Bibliography:
R.C.Bosanquet, Excavations in Palaikastro IV, Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol.11 (1904-1905),"The Architectural Terracottas", 300--305, fig. 26, p. 303.
Author:
M. K.


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