Terracotta squat lekythos (oil jar)

Greek, Attic

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171

Events in the Athenian festival of the Adonia

The Adonia was a festival held in summer and dedicated to Adonis, the beautiful young hunter beloved by Aphrodite and killed by a boar. From his spilled blood, flowers issued from the ground. The celebration of the Adonia included setting pots of plants on rooftops to germinate and quickly wither. The lekythos shows a woman on a ladder receiving a planter from Eros, presumably to place on a roof. Similar objects appear in the field. Seated below the ladder is a young man, perhaps Adonis, and behind Eros is a woman, perhaps Aphrodite. The procession of figures behind the goddess may be connected with the ritual.

Terracotta squat lekythos (oil jar), Terracotta, Greek, Attic

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Terracotta squat lekythos (oil jar), Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta squat lekythos (oil jar), Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta squat lekythos (oil jar), Terracotta, Greek, Attic

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