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| Pinax with Woman Packing a Chest (about 470-460 BC ) Locri Epizephirii Terracotta, mold-made, hand-finished, painted Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria, inv. 28266 [Cat. no. 39] |
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Pinax with Woman Packing a Chest (about 470-460 BC )
Pinakes (pl. pee-nah-kays, sing. pee-naks) are terracotta tablets from Locri with scenes related to the myth and cult of Persephone. They were used as votive offerings at the Locrian sanctuary of Persephone.Persephone, also known as Kore (kor-ay) or maiden, was the daughter of the goddess of seasonal agriculture, Demeter. Persephone was abducted by the god of the underworld, Hades. While in the underworld, she ate a single pomegranate seed, thereby sealing her fate and requiring her to remain there as Hades' consort. Demeter so mourned the loss of her beloved Persephone that she made all crops whither and die. Zeus negotiated a deal: Persephone would remain in the underworld part of the year and spend the rest of the time with her mother.
During the time Persephone is in the underworld, Demeter mourns and we experience winter. When Persephone is with her mother, its spring and summer. This is known as an aetiological myth, or a myth which explains why things are the way they are.
More than 5,000 mostly fragmentary pinakes were found at Locri, and four of the more complete and interesting ones can be seen in this exhibition--such as this one which depicts a woman packing a chest. A seemingly quiet domestic interior, it may be a preparation for a marriage ceremony such as the packing of a dowry chest. The woman, wearing a peplos and her hair in a chignon, places a carefully folded textile into a richly adorned chest. On the chest are scenes from myth, and on the back wall are everyday items from the household: a basket, a mirror, two vessels. Behind the woman is a double cushioned throne. Perhaps this pinax was dedicated by a young maiden, herself a kore, hoping for a smooth transition into married life.
Page 14 of 23 | On the next page: Marriage Altar (about 400-350 BC)