Gods & Goddesses
The scene of the handing over of the peplos is framed by the divinities who dominate the ritual, seated, larger than the other figures and by their relative size proclaiming their divine nature.
The divinities are divided into two groups, one on the left…
The divinities are divided into two groups, one on the left…
and one on the right.
and one on the right.
Left of the central scene Zeus, holding his sceptre, is seated on a throne that has both back and arms, decorated with little sphinxes.
Beside him sits Hera, who raises her himation and turns toward Zeus in a manner known in ancient art to symbolize the wife.
Behind her stands Iris, the winged messenger of the gods, gathering her hair in back.
Then come Ares with his spear…
Demeter with her torch…
Dionysos with his thyrsos (a staff wound round with ivy and vine leaves)…
and Hermes with his petasos (wide-rimmed hat) and holding his kerykeion (herald’s staff).
To the right of the central scene, across from Zeus, the venerated goddess Athena is seated with a spear in her right hand but without her shield and helmet, her aegis (apotropaic goatskin) in her lap.
Hephaistos sits beside her, leaning on his staff, which rests beneath his armpit.
Then come Poseidon, holding his trident…
Apollo crowned with laurel…
and Artemis with her bow.
By good fortune all three figures (Poseidon, Apollo and Artemis) preserve unbroken their facial features, imbued with the Olympian calm bestowed on the gods by classical art.
Quite otherwise is the condition of the figure of Aphrodite, who is seated immediately to the right, and whose legs alone, with a small section of her head, are preserved.
Eros rests against her legs – a little, naked boy holding a skiadion, a tiny umbrella, as a sunshade. His figure has been missing since the beginning of the previous century, but it is known from a cast.
