A Statute Head of the "Great Mother" Discovered in Samothrace

Abstract

N 1988 a fine under-life-sized head from a statue (P1. 89) was discovered in Samothrace during excavations in the area of the Neorion, or Ship Monument, which is located on the West Hill of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods.1 This head probably belonged to a votive statue of the "Great Mother" (a goddess known in antiquity as Mother of the Gods, Kybele, and Magna Mater) in the same scheme as that represented on a series of Samothracian coins of the Hellenistic period (P1. 90:a). It is the only sculpture of this type to have been found in the Sanctuary at Samothrace, which was one of the most important places of worship of the Great Mother. It is also one of the finest examples of this sculptural type that has survived. The head is of white, fine-grained marble. It is quite well preserved, being broken in only a few places: horizontally ca. 0.01 m. above the hairline, at the tip of the nose, and at the back of the neck on the left side. The back of head and neck are flat and roughly dressed with a chisel (P1. 89:b). The bottom of the neck is carved into a fairly shallow tenon of triangular outline, which was inserted into a statue, now lost. On each side a long twisted lock of hair, carved free of the neck, extends from behind the ear to the shoulder. The hair is centrally parted and pulled back with a narrow, shallowly chiseled fillet. The brows curve downward toward the outer corners of the eyes, and the long, narrow bridge of the nose is flat with sharp edges. The small, full mouth is slightly open. The underchin is plump, and the neck has two "Venus rings". The head turns slightly to the right and has an upward tilt. The surface of the marble is finely finished. Evidence for the use of the point remains in two areas that would not have been visible: on the left side of the neck behind the lock of hair and on the bottom surface of the tenon. The flat surface of the back of the head and neck was dressed with a flat chisel. A drill was used to undercut the long locks of hair at either side of the neck; drill channels are visible at the intersection of neck and shoulder on both sides. The ear canals are drilled, as is the deeply indented area between the inside corners of the eyes and the root of the nose. The shallow tenon is dowelless, but the arms and feet of the statue may have been attached separately by means of dowels, judging from the large number of sculptural