Dancing Girl Relief

Thought to be one of a pair, this relief is of a flamboyant female dancer with swirling drapery, some of which forms a veil over her head.

The theatre of Dionysos on the south slope of the Acropolis in Athens forms part of the sanctuary of Dionysos. It is likely that this relief was part of the decorations for the theatre, renovated by the Romans in the first century BCE. Theatre, like sport, was a component of religious festivals in ancient Greece rather than just an entertainment. Dionysos was the patron god of theatre in ancient Greece and was usually accompanied by dancing women called Maenads

Number

446

Material

Marble

Location of Original

Athens, National Museum 260

Size

1.12 x 0.63m

References

Hauser: Die Neu Attischen Reliefs (1889), 43-4, no.59
Papaspiridi: Guide du Musée Nationale d'Athènes (1927), 82
Svoronos: Das Athener Nazionalmuseum Athens (1903), 239, pl. XXXII

Date

C1 BCE - C1 CE

Provenance

Found in 1862 in the sanctuary of Dionysos in Athens

Search Casts

Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge

Every cast tells two stories.
One ancient. One modern.

Admission is free.

Opening hours

Tues-Fri: 10-5pm
Sat: 2-5pm (Univ. term-time only)
Sun & Mon: Closed

Closed on Bank Holiday Mondays

Visit us

Museum of Classical Archaeology
Faculty of Classics
Sidgwick Avenue
Cambridge
CB3 9DA

Get in touch

Tel. +44 (0)1223 330402
Email museum@classics.cam.ac.uk
Join our mailing list

For an explanation of what personal information we gather when you visit the University’s website and details of how that information is used please see the following University Privacy policy:

https://www.cam.ac.uk/about-this-site/privacy-policy

Copyright statement

All images and material on our websites are ©Museum of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge unless otherwise stated. Please contact us to reproduce our images using a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence.

Important Information

Museum of Classical Archaeology Web Accessibility Statement