Getty Museum

Votive Relief to Zeus Meilichios

Date

about 330–320 B.C.

Medium

Marble

Culture

Greek

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

This relief depicts a votary facing a giant snake identified as Zeus Meilichios. The bearded man is wearing a himation over the left shoulder and around the waist. His right hand is holding a fold of the himation at the shoulder. The left hand extends beyond his side with the fingers curled inward. He is bearded with short hair bound by a fillet. His feet are bare. He is in right profile and faces the snake which raises its head over triple coils. Meilichios was an ancient chthonic Attic deity whom the Olympian god Zeus absorbed. He was associated with both death and fertility, and was worshipped in the form of a snake in areas surrounding Athens. The Diasia, a festival honoring Zeus Meilichios, was held annually by the Athenians.

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