| Demeter of Knidos | |
|---|---|
 Demeter of Knidos | |
| Material | Marble |
| Size | 150 cm high |
| Created | c. 350 BC |
| Present location | British Museum,London |
| Registration | 1859.12-26.26 |
TheDemeter of Knidos is a life-size, seated ancientGreek statue that was erected near the ancient port ofKnidos, south-westAsia Minor (now nearDatça in present-dayTurkey). Now part of theBritish Museum's collection, it is an impressive example ofHellenistic sculpture from around 350 BC.[1][2][3]
The statue is made ofmarble and in its seated position is approximately 150 centimetres (4 ft 11 in) high. Thegoddess is seated on a throne and while parts of the sculpture are in excellent condition, the back and arm-rails of thethrone, as well as her lower arms and hands, separately carved, are missing. The head was also carved independently from the body and fixed onto the neck. Demeter is depicted in a serene, timeless manner, that unveils her motherly role in theGreek pantheon of gods.
Demeter was the goddess of agriculture and of fertility who created theharvest, the grain and other crops as well as the circle ofseasons. At Knidos she was worshipped withHades and the otherunderworld deities including her mythical daughterPersephone.[1] The Sanctuary of Demeter at Knidos was laid out in 350 BC, when the city was reestablished. The sanctuary consisted of a long terrace built into the side of an acropolis, overlooking the city and seascape below. Many votive sculptures were deposited within the sanctuary. Most of these were discovered by excavators in fragments, but the statue of divine Demeter herself remains relatively intact.
The British archaeologist SirCharles Thomas Newton excavated The Demeter of Knidos in 1857–58[4] and almost immediately removed it to London to become part of theBritish Museum's Ancient Greek and Roman collection.[2]
