Female head.
In Greek myth Hygieia was the personification of health and guarantor of the prevention of sickness. She was the daughter and attendant of Asklepios, the god of medicine.
According to the first century philosopher and biographer Plutarch, Hygieia was associated with Athena and healed an injured artist working on the Parthenon. As a result, Perikles dedicated statues to her at the entrance to the Acropolis, which were seen by the second century travel writer Pausanias
Number:
551
Material:
Doliana marble
Location of Original:
Athens, National Museum 3602
Size:
0.30m
Accession:
Bought in 1959
References:
Papaspiridi: Guide du Musée Nationale d’Athènes (1927), 49
Dugas, C: Le Sanctuaire d’Aléa Athéna (1924), 117-
Date:
C4 BCE
Provenance:
Found at Tegea in the Peloponnese, near the temple of Athena Alea
