Terracotta squat lekythos (oil jar)
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.
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.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta squat lekythos (oil jar)
- Period: Late Classical
- Date: mid-4th century BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
- Dimensions: H. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm); diameter 4 3/8 in. (11.1 cm)
- Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1922
- Object Number: 22.139.26
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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