A Group of Baked Clay Figurines from the Smintheion

Abstract

The seventeen baked clay figurines and fragments found in the excavations of the necropolis near the Apollo Smintheus sacred area and temple in the Gülpınar area of the Ayvacık county of the Çanakkale province are numerous enough to constitute a group. The most noteworthy of the figurines are those depicting Venus Genitrix, Moses playing a stringed instrument, and seated female slaves or concubines, both dressed and nude, of the Hierodouloi kind. The hairdos are mostly of the Knidos style and are tied in the Lampadion style or with bows. Apart from the hairdos, the heads, especially of the seated women, are decorated especially with stephanes, hair ribbons and narrow garlands. The figurines have been excavated from under the foundation walls of a late era building within the temple area. On the basis of their styles they can be placed sometime between the end of the third century B.C. and the beginning of the first century B.C. On the other hand the figurines and fragments found in the second group excavated from simple tombs covered with baked clay or stone plaques, may be said, on the basis of their styles, and of the kinds of objects like glass bottles, terra sigillata plates and lamps found with them, to be of approximately the first century A. D.