Fragment of a Goat's Head

c. 500–475 BCE

Greece

Medium

limestone

Measurements

Overall: 35 cm (13 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Leonard C. Hanna Jr. 1926.538

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

Pan, the goat-headed god, is often called a son of Hermes, but sources disagree.

Description

Initially identified as a horse head, this fragmentary sculpture, once painted reddish-brown, has a beard, indicating that it depicts a goat. Its large size, however, together with its neck position and unusual round eye, have all prompted questions. Was the head broken from a rearing goat? Or did it represent Pan, the rustic shepherd god often depicted as half-man, half-goat? If Pan, some scholars have connected it with a fifth-century BC Athenian sanctuary erected to thank the god for aid in battle. An alleged provenance near the Athenian Acropolis supported this idea, but scientific tests suggest otherwise.