CMA Exhibition Feature : Archaic Altars from Gela

Special Exhibitions

Magna Graecia

Magna Graecia: Greek Art From South Italy and Sicily > Exhibition Highlights > Archaic Altars from Gela



*Altar with Gorgon, Pegasus, and Chrysaor* (about 500-475 BC) Gela, acropolis at Bosco Littorio Terracotta, painted Museo Archeologico Regionale di Gela, inv. Sop. BL 10 [Cat. no. 56]

Archaic Altars from Gela

The most recent discoveries in this exhibition are three impressive terracotta altars from the acropolis of Gela, each with figural sculpture done in a style that harkens back to the Archaic period. Likely meant for export, they never reached their destination as they were found together, and their current state of preservation suggests they were never used. The subjects are dramatically rendered and finely crafted.

One altar depicts a well-known image we have already encountered: the Gorgon Medusa, running in a pinwheel pose, posed with her children, Pegasus and Chrysaor, under her arms. Of the Gorgons yet encountered she is surely the most ferocious--monstrous--like in her visage.



*Altar with Three Female Figures* (about 500-475 BC) Gela, acropolis at Bosco Littorio Terracotta, painted Museo Archeologico Regionale di Gela, inv. Sop. BL 30 [Cat. no. 57]

The second altar depicts three frontal maidens who likely represent the goddesses Demeter, Persephone/Kore, and Aphrodite, whose joint worship originated on Crete and was widespread in Magna Graecia. They were worshipped as fertility goddesses who protected the earth and the fertility of fauna, flora, and humans alike.

The third altar represents an intimate scene of Eos, goddess of the Dawn, abducting the youthful and handsome hunter Kephalos. This tender scene cannot be linked to any particular cult practice, and therefore, the altar may have been intended for a private home.



*Altar with Eos and Kephalos* (about 500-475 BC) Gela, acropolis at Bosco Littorio Terracotta Museo Archeologico Regionale di Gela, inv. Sop. BL 12 [Cat. no. 58]

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