Attributes of the Mother of the Gods on Terracottas from Olbia Pontike and Asia Minor

Tetiana SHEVCHENKO

Article Details

Attributes of the Mother of the Gods on Terracottas from Olbia Pontike and Asia Minor

Authors:

Tetiana SHEVCHENKO

Publisher:

Koç Üniversitesi

Main Topics:

History of ancient world | History

Journal:

Adalya 2019 Vol. Issue 22, pp.201-221

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

10/2019

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2000440356

Frequency:

Annual

pISSN:

1301-2746

Abstract:

 

This study examines local and imported terracottas
discovered in Olbia Pontike depicting
the Mother of the Gods seated on a throne.
Two of these were produced in a west Pontic
centre from a single mould imported from
northwestern Asia Minor, while the third was
produced in Olbia based on these two. In
the original, a lion cub was placed beneath
the goddess’s feet, while in the Olbian version
the cub was shown in the goddess’s lap.
Sphinx images were also included in similar
figurines as throne ornamentations. This motif
had roots in Asia Minor and the western Black
Sea region. Design peculiarities find parallels
in northwestern Asia Minor. On a figurine produced
from a Pergamon mould, the goddess
has seated sphinxes on either side. This style
originates in monumental images of the goddess
with sphinxes from Lydia and Cyprus. The
process of diminishing the sphinxes’s size, as
well as of their significance in the goddess’s
iconography, can be followed from south to
north in the 4th century BC, as such elements
become more decorative in Olbia and Callatis.
Versions of this simplified model began to
be produced in ancient Greek centres in Asia
Minor in the 3rd–2nd centuries BC.

Article Details

Attributes of the Mother of the Gods on Terracottas from Olbia Pontike and Asia Minor

Authors: Tetiana SHEVCHENKO

Publisher: Koç Üniversitesi

Main Topics: History of ancient world | History

Journal: Adalya 2019 Vol. Issue 22, pp.201-221

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 10/2019

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2000440356

Frequency: Annual

pISSN: 1301-2746

Issues

Authors:

Tetiana SHEVCHENKO

Publisher:

Koç Üniversitesi

Main Topics:

History of ancient world | History

Journal:

Adalya 2019 Vol. Issue 22, pp.201-221

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

10/2019

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2000440356

Frequency:

Annual

pISSN:

1301-2746