Description

Probably brightly painted when made, this relief plaque, or pinax (plural: pinakes), depicts the goddess Persephone (or Kore), daughter of the grain goddess, Demeter. Following her kidnapping by Hades, god of the Underworld, Persephone regularly returned to earth, dictating the seasons and making agriculture possible. Thus, she had many devotees, including at Locri Epizephirii, near the “toe” of Italy, where thousands of votive pinakes like this were made. Although many show her abduction, here the scene is tranquil, with Persephone holding a cloth above a bed or dresser.