Hand of a female statue
Archaeological museum of ancient Messene
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Hand of a female statue
1st century BCE
Archaeological museum of ancient Messene
Archaeological site ancient Messene
Statue
White marbleWidth: 32 cm x Height: 34 cm
Hand of a female statue holding the xoanon of Artemis, which leans against the figure’s shoulder. The hand is bent forward at the elbow and the shoulder is covered by a himation. The hand is decorated with two plastically rendered bracelets around the arm and the wrist and a ring on the ring finger. Both the figure and the xoanon wear a schematically rendered dress. A small relief shield on the chest of the xoanon. This marble hand belongs with the girl's statuette no. ΑΜΑΜ245. The inscription on the statue's pedestal tells us that she was called Mego. She was holding the xoanon of the goddess, identified with the female hand no. ΑΜΑΜ247 . The statue was dedicated by the girl's parents, Damonikos and Timarchis, who had served as priests. Five girl's statues were found in the Artemision of the Asclepieion in the 1960's. They depict young girls, dressed in identical fashion with girded chitons. Parents would dedicate to the sanctuary statues of their daughters, who were taking part in initiation rituals rites, i.e. rites of passage from puberty to adulthood and to the ranks of the women, as was the case in other sanctuaries of Artemis, the most renowned being that of Artemis in Brauron, Attica.