CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.

Athena, the goddess of War, is depicted wearing a long peplos reaching her sandalled feet, styled into an ample fold at the hips. The dress is pinned at the shoulders and the chest is covered by the aegis, a protective device made from animal hide and gold tassles decorated with a gorgoneion and snakes, which the goddess wears in battle together with the Corinthian helmet and the (now missing) spear. The distinctive pose of this figure, with the head turned on one side and the forehead almost leaning on the lance is reminiscent of the 'Pensive Athena' type, which shows the usually fearsome and imposing goddess in a more intimate and meditative pose. For the type see the marble relief from the Classical Period in the Acropolis Museum in Athens (acc. no. 695), P. Demargne, 'Athena', in LIMC, vol. II, Zurich and Munich, 1984, no. 625.