MARBLE SCULPTURES FROM PHTHIOTIS IN THE LAMIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Abstract

Marble statuettes, now in the Lamia Archaeological Museum, that date to the Classical and above all the Hellenistic periods, and a Hellenistic votive relief depicting Herakles are presented here. This study investigates the relations between the local workshop in central Greece which produced them and the major Classical and Hellenistic sculptural centres of Athens and of the Aegean islands, Asia Minor and the kingdoms of the Greek East generally. A marble statuette of a goddess which may represent Artemis from Melitaia, and a marble statuette of a seated girl of unknown provenance are dated to the Classical period. The subjects portrayed in the Late Hellenistic material show a typical repertory, marble statuettes of Aphrodite or Aphrodite-like figures, and a statuary group of Eros and Psyche in marble, unusual for this period. The ways in which the local sculptors of the Late Hellenistic period in the area of modern Phthiotis adopted the typological and stylistic trends current in the great cosmopolitan centres are a major concern here. In the Hellenistic period, the production of marble statuettes for making offerings at public and domestic sanctuaries and for decorating opulent villas was in vogue, and a common formal language was created especially for small-scale sculpture in the eastern Mediterranean and the new art markets of Italy. The vehicles by which these artistic influences were transmitted to the sculptural production of central Greece will also be investigated.