Figurative terracottas from the votive deposit of Kirrha: The iconographic repertory and its interpretation

Original title: Terres cuites figurées du dépôt votif de Kirrha : de l’établissement du matériel à son exploitation

Abstract The French excavations in Kirrha carried out between 1936 and 1938 brought to light a large votive deposit containing many terracotta figurines and miniature vases dated to the Archaic and Classical periods. This deposit was found in front of a temple which was identified as that of Apollo, Artemis, and Leto mentioned by Pausanias. The study of the terracottas, which began in 2013, does not confirm this hypothesis yet but gives some interesting information on the votive practices, the religious rituals, and the sphere of activities of the divinity (or the divinities) venerated in this small coastal shrine. In this paper, the repertory of the iconographic types will first be presented and an explanation for its presence in this specific context is offered in order to characterise the cult and the divinity.

Keywords Kirrha, Greek terracottas, coroplastic production, interpretation of images, sanctuary