Above is a figure, identified as Apollo, seated before an altar or baetyl (sacred stone), and below is a scene interpreted as showing workers in a mine or quarry. The inscription, in Cyprio-syllabic script, reads, "Diaithemis dedicated [this] to the god Apollo in good fortune." Such inscriptions show that in the Hellenistic period, while Greek became the dominant language used in Cyprus, the local script continued to play a part, especially in religious rites and for dedications to the gods.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Limestone votive relief
Period:Early Hellenistic
Date:3rd century BCE
Culture:Cypriot
Medium:Limestone
Dimensions:WebPub GR 2012 Cesnola: 8 × 12 1/4 × 1 1/4 in., 4 lb. (20.3 × 31.1 × 3.2 cm, 1.8 kg)
Classification:Cesnola Inscriptions
Credit Line:The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76
Accession Number:74.51.2372
Inscription: "Diaithemis dedicates [this votive] to the god Apollo with fortune."
Said to be from Golgoi, Cyprus
Doell, Johannes. 1873. Die Sammlung Cesnola. no. 767, p. 49, pl. XI.2, St. Petersburg: L’Académie Impérial des Sciences.
Hall, Isaac H. 1874. "Cypriote Inscriptions of the Di Cesnola Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Journal of the American Oriental Society, 10: no. 9, p. 208, pl. II.
Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1877. Cyprus: Its Ancient Cities, Tombs, and Temples. A Narrative of Researches and Excavations During Ten Years' Residence in That Island. pl. XLVIII.2, London: John Murray.
Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1885. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 1. pl. LXXXV.556, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.
Cesnola, Luigi Palma di. 1903. A Descriptive Atlas of the Cesnola Collection of Cypriote Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Vol. 3. pl. CXXXIII.1, Boston: James R. Osgood and Company.
Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 1873, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Masson, Olivier. 1961. Les Inscriptions Chypriotes Syllabiques: Recueil Critique et Commenté. no. 266, pl. XLVIII.1, Paris: E. de Boccard.
Tatton-Brown, Veronica. 1984. "Sculptors at Golgoi." Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus (RDAC) p. 173, n. 40, pl. XXXIII:7.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 1998. Greek God and Heroes in Ancient Cyprus. pp. 186–7, fig. 136, Athens: Commerical Bank of Greece.
Karageorghis, Vassos, Joan Mertens, and Marice E. Rose. 2000. Ancient Art from Cyprus: The Cesnola Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. no. 416, p. 257, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Karageorghis, Vassos. 2006. Aspects of Everyday Life in Cyprus: Iconographic Representations. no. 212, pp. 214–5, Nicosia: Foundation Anastasios G. Leventis.
Hermary, Antoine and Joan R. Mertens. 2013. The Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art : Stone Sculpture. no. 451, pp. 323–24, Online Publication, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than 30,000 works ranging in date from the Neolithic period to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312.
