Bykovskaya A.V. —
The image of enthroned goddess in coroplast of the Early Hellenistic Bosporus
// Man and Culture. – 2021. – ¹ 3.
– P. 46 - 68.
DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2021.3.35728
URL: https://en.e-notabene.ru/ca/article_35728.html
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Abstract: The subject of this research is the analysis of the composition of Bosporan terracotta with the image of enthroned goddess of the Early Hellenistic period (the late IV century BC – the late II century BC). The research material involves the figurines from the collection of the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve of this type of iconography. Terracotta from the prewar excavations of the museum, as well as a number of figurines from the excavations in Porfmy are being published for the first time. The goal of this work is to highlight and analyze the characteristic traits of iconography of the enthroned goddess in the Bosporan coroplast, as well as their reveal their sacred meaning. Special attention is given to interpretation of the depicted attributes, which allow identifying the deity. Analysis of iconography testifies to the spread of the cult of Cybele in the III – II centuries BC. In the ancient coroplast, the image of this goddess is associated with such attributes as a tympanum, a young lion, and a cup. Such details can be traced in the Bosporan terracotta. However, by the turn of the III – II centuries, perhaps under the influence of the ideas of autochthonous population of the region, emerges a specific local iconography: new attributes, such as medallion with the head of a young line and a cone). Replication of the new image in the coroplast works underlines the popularity of the cult of the syncretic female deity among the overall population of the Bosporus.