Meter and Trophos. New Observations on Two Large-Format Seated Figures from Pergamon

Abstract

Re-inspection of the two seated female figures AvP VII 50 and AvP VII 62 have revealed thus far overlooked details, suggesting new possibilities of interpretation. Accompanying the restoration of AvP VII 50, together with the Berliner Antikenzentrum we have been able to pursue the idea that the torso of a youth AvP VII 117 and the head of a youth AvP VII 140, possibly both found at the same location, belong to the statue. Mythology and iconographic parallels from various genres offer interpretative possibilities for a large-format sculptural work from the Pergamon area. An identification as Isis seems most plausible, mainly on the grounds of parallels in small-format objects and large-format sculpture. The interpretation proposed here for the second female figure AvP VII 62 also points to Pergamon and the mother goddesses venerated there. In its conception, hairstyle and the drum-shaped object on which it sits, the figure may be associated with the cult personnel of female deities like Demeter, Meter-Kybele and Isis – orgiastic cults closely associated with the Dionysos cult favoured by the Pergamenian rulers.