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

Authors : Tetiana SHEVCHENKO

Pages : 201-221

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Publication Date : 2019-10-11

Article Type : Research Paper

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.
Keywords : Olbia Pontike, Hellenistic period, Terracottas, Cult of the Mother of the Gods, Sphinxes