This reconstruction explained only partly the block-like body with its plank-shaped front. It raises the question of whether another source of inspiration for the nearly aniconic shape of the body would have been available.232 Rectangular stone columns, cippi, sometimes with a spherical shape on top were often placed as grave
markers and were popular in the Etruscan area in the
6th century BCE.233 Cippi are known from other places, among which are 7th century BCE Metaponto234 and Kamarina.235 On some indigenous sites in Sicily, aniconic
230 Donahue 1988, p.215.
231 Surprisingly among them is also a bust. Gabrici 1927, tav.XXXVII 1-5. 232 A good discussion of Greek aniconic images as well as many
references to both objects and literature can be found at Donahue
1988, p.219ff. 233 Neudecker 2006a.
234 For more on Sicilian cippi, horoi stones, and stelai and their development, see Doak 2015.
235 Lanza 1975.
objects have also been found, such as two stone spheres
from the Contrada Tumazza spring.236 Both the shape as well as the sepulchral sphere are shared with the
characteristics of the block-like figurines. Cippi were
probably seen as seats for the soul of the deceased or the deity.237 Similar looking objects are stone Carthaginian tofet stelai. Such stelai, rectangular blocks, sometimes with a small protruding base and a rectangular shaped part on the front are known from Mozia.238 A third comparable sort of object is the Phoenician baetylus. These aniconic stones with shapes ranging from conical to rectangular were probably seen as the seat or house of the deity, the latter is the literal meaning of the word
‘bethel’. Aniconic representations are also applied in
Greek areas.239 These analogue aspects would make it less coincidental that this shape, the block-like base with sloping body, was the outcome of the iconographic
transformations that took place under influence of several different sorts of anthropomorphic statuary. Even though there is no direct evidence of such cippi or tofet stelai from Akragas, the popular block-like bodies seem at least partly aniconic. Rectangular stone objects might have been in use till the end of the 6th century BCE. The pillar shape could have inspired coroplasts to form a different shape than the narrow- waisted examples of Greek origin. Such a ‘pillar body’
might have also supported busts, another category of
236 Urquhart 2010, p.133. 237 Steingräber 2009, p.130. 238 D’Andrea 2014.
239 For a proper description of the idea see: V. Platt, Facing the Gods: Epiphany and Representation in Graeco-Roman Art, Literature and Religion. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011, p.100-1.
Zeus Meilichios had a pyramid stone in Sikyon, according to Pausanias 2.9.6.
Figure 2.3: Several long shaped heads and pinched faces, dated to the 7th century to the first quarter of the
objects from Akragas, but from the 5th century BCE.240 The image of an aniconic body would have appealed due to its resemblance to familiar images, and was then transformed the small statuettes into a seated body, by turning the upper part into a slope. The outline of the apron is marked in a rather similar way as on some stelai with a protruding rectangular part. The protruding
footstool, which on some figurines does not show feet,
shows a striking similarity with the protruding base of some stelai, increasing the stability of the object.241
A flat figurine from Licata has a semi-iconic body. The
thin rectangular model not only has a head on top, but also arm stumps stretched out on each side. Its head is column-shaped with only a pinched nose as a face.242 A
figurine from Akragas (fig. 2.3, third from the right) of which the head is missing has a flat body with on each side triangular arms shaped like wings. Besides 77, the
figurines are quite different from the Attic tradition of
herms.243 It is likely that the shape of the figures derives from or was inspired by column-shaped imagery on the one hand and technical advantages on the other. This would explain the geometric shape as well as the
absence of arms and other defined curves of the body.
It was clearly a conscious choice to depict the body like this,244 because other items are added as well, such as
fine jewellery, details on the head, etc.
A particular example of a continuation of the supposed tradition as late as the Hellenistic Period can be found on the block-bodied pinakes of three female figures. These objects (fig. 2.4), dated to the end of 4th-3rd century BCE
and found in large numbers at the extramural sanctuary
of Grotta Caruso, Locri, are thought to be connected with a fountain cult. The female figures are interpreted as
nymphs.245 There are variations on similar objects with a bull/Acheloos or a table with three bowls on the lower part
of the block or the side. Numerous terracotta nude female figures in a kneeling pose, wearing a polos, are found together with articulated limbs and thrones in the same
240 Marconi 1929, p.182-7. Probably from the 4thcentury BC are some
stelae with a double head, one male and one female, from the
Meilichios Sanctuary precinct in Selinous. Ferri 1929, p.70, fig.30; Moscati 2001, p.314-5. Earlier, in the 6th and 5th century BCE,
this area, the ‘campo di stele’ was in use as well. Grotta 2010. The majority of the finds at this sanctuary dates from the
6th century BCE, see Parisi 2017, p.63-4.
241 See D’Andrea 2014, p.124-6 fig. 3, 4 and 5. 242 De Miro 1962, tav.XXXIX, fig.1. 243 Zuntz 1971, p.130, n.4.
244 Donahue points out that the use of aniconic images is often a
deliberate choice, not a technical matter. Donahue 1988, p.226. 245 Arias 1940, p. 177-80, fig.3-5. Pausanias mentions in a description
of a temple called Nymphon near Sycyon depictions of Dionysos,
Demeter and Kore, who have their face revealed. Hence their
bodies might have been concealed. Paus. 2.11.3. See Bell 2014, p. 105, n.47.
size at this nymphaeum. They are seen as dolls representing the goddess.246 It is tempting to interpret similar features in iconographies, such as the polos and throne, as well as
the possible dressing as a sign of identification with the goddess for figurines from an earlier period. That does
still not explain the block-shaped body, nor the triple form of the nymphs. Their shape is reminiscent of the double
figures, male and female, usually from the Sanctuary of
Malophoros, Selinous. They are also block-shaped with a head or two heads on top.247 They are made of tufa and
dated to the end of the fifth and fourth century BCE.
II.4.f Gender
The block-like bodies of most Akragantine figurines lack distinctive indications of gender. Gender is defined by
the head, not by the body, and the facial features are the
246 An anonymous epigram from roughly the same period suggests that girls would bring their toys, among which are the dolls and their dresses, before the wedding to the sanctuary. The wordplay is striking; the girl, the goddess and the doll are all referred to
as ‘kore’, Palatine Anthology 6.280. In the same way, the word ‘nymph’ is the Greek word for ‘bride’. The goddess is thought to be Artemis or Persephone. MacLachlan 2009.
247 Gabrici 1927, tav.XXVII2-4, tav.XXVIII-XXIX.
Figure 2.4: Block-shaped plaque with female triad from Centocamere, Locri. Photo after Costagmagna and Sabbione 1990, fig. 188.
clearest indicator of gender.248 If the head is of Greek origin
and so specifically defined as female, why does the body
lack any indications of gender? Was the gender thought to be unimportant? Was it assumed to be known already?
Or was the face in itself sufficient? If the coroplast did not care to define the arms, why would he be concerned about
making the body feminine with the addition of breasts?
The answer may lie in the dress of the depicted figure. In comparison, figurines of Tarentine male banqueters
have detailed bodies that show their muscular chests, partly covered with a himation. Though their faces do
not differ much from the Akragantine female figurines,
their body, pose and dress do.249 The coroplasts might have known how to render female bodies, but expressing the gender more explicitly might have been considered either
superfluous or inappropriate. In general, the number of female figurines from this period from Sicily is much
higher than that of male ones.250 In Paestum and Santa Venera, moulds of kouroi were altered to be used for naked
goddess figurines.251 Similar figurines are not known from
Akragas, and there are no clearly male predecessors. If the
standard figurines were generally perceived to be female,
there was perhaps no need to add additional indicators of gender. The female gender might have been considered inherent to objects bearing this dress and adornments, making it unnecessary to express the gender explicitly by depicting sexual characteristics. The coroplasts created
several examples, such as the belted figurines discussed
above, who also clearly represented females. Another possibility might be that local customs meant that more explicit depictions of the female body were considered improper as feminine shapes were supposed to be covered or even concealed. The characteristic ankle-length dress topped with a straight apron is the most common garment
for Akragantine figurines. This garment almost entirely
covered the front of the body, leaving just the edges of the neck and the feet uncovered, as if it were just a thick rectangular piece of cloth. This dress is most likely an indication of gender, in addition to the jewellery, as opposed
to the unadorned and sometimes naked male figures.
Social acceptance of the female body could have been the reason for depicting a female goddess without depicting or even hinting at any of her sexual characteristics. There is just a very light development notable in this regard. When the body is depicted more naturally and has round arms,
bending independently from the body. Just one figurine
from the locally made objects, 103, has a slight elevation of the chest that seems to indicate breasts. However, this object has a smoothened chest as the pectoral jewellery
248 See section II.5.d. 249 Bencze 2010. See also n.366.
250 Ammerman 2002, p.35; Holloway 2000, p.85.
251 Ammerman 1992, p.212.
seems to have been erased (Catalogue fig. 9). Until the last group 4 with locally made objects, the chest stays flat, usually covered by pendants. Other sexual indications on
the body are absent.