Getty Museum

Fragment of a Head from a Statue of a Man

Date

4th century B.C.

Medium

Limestone

Culture

Greek

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

The statue is the partial face of an acrolithic statue or relief. The eyes are almond shaped and slightly rounded but left unfinished. It is probable that details were intended to be added in paint. The nose is finely modeled with nostrils indicated. The back of the head is flat with a smoothly finished surface. There is a large socket for attachment. The top and sides of the head are worked for insertion into another material. An area of red pigment on the smooth surface adjacent to an area of loss at the rear on the proper right side is probably modern. This statue is one of six figures in the Getty's collection (see 78.AA.398, 74.AA.44, 81.AA.135, 81.AA.136, 81.AA.137, 81.AA.138) that are thought to have come from the sanctuary of Zeus Meilichios in the shrine of Demeter Malophoros at Selinus, Sicily. The objects are all carved of local limestone in a unique manner, probably a production of local craftsmen, but influenced by Greek styles of the fourth century B.C. These figures may have been dedications or cult images. Zeus was worshipped as Meilichios at many sanctuaries throughout the Greek world. This version of Zeus was a subterranean deity invoked as mild. His cult was supported by families and individuals rather than cities and states. Rituals for Zeus Meilichios were related to purification as well as to the protection of individual families and ancestry.

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