Lekythos with Aphrodite rising from the sea, 400-375 BC
National Archeological Museum, Athens, GreeceMaterial: Painted ceramic (terracotta) with traces of white and pink pigment
Date range: 400–375 BC
Origin: Tanagra, Boeotia, Greece
This lekythos shows the bust of Aphrodite Anadyomene — meaning "the one that springs from the sea" — rising from the inside of an open scallop shell. The shell is painted in pink and spreads wide around her body like a frame, referencing the myth of Aphrodite's birth from the sea foam.
The goddess has a white-painted face and curly hair, topped with a round disc-shaped headdress decorated with small circular knobs. She wears a necklace rendered in gold-colored paint across her upper chest, marking her divine status as a goddess of beauty.
The piece served as a decorative vessel in its time, combining a functional form with a richly sculpted religious image. Aphrodite was one of the most widely worshipped goddesses in ancient Greece, and her image on objects like this linked everyday life to divine beauty and fertility.
Museum label reference: Lekythos with a bust (protome) of Aphrodite Anadyomene (the one that springs from the sea). From Tanagra, Boeotia. 400–375 BC. (EAM/NAM A 2060)
Original Text: Λήκυθος με προτομή Αφροδίτης αναδυομένης. Από την Τανάγρα Βοιωτίας. 400-375 π.Χ.
Supplementary images:
Greek lekythos showing a bust of Aphrodite Anadyomene rising from an open shell, from Tanagra, Boeotia
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