skip to content

Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases

Temple of Despoina at Lykosoura, Head of Demeter

Lykosoura was a city in Arkadia, in central southern Greece, that the ancient writer Pausanias believed was the oldest in the world. The local cult was of the goddess Despoina, meaning Mistress. In her sanctuary was a group sculpture of her and her mother Demeter seated on thrones, flanked by standing figures of Artemis and the Titan Anytos.

These fragments are almost all that remain of the sculptures. The group was large, at 5.6 metres high and 8.4 metres wide, but with a great level of detail

Number: 
384a
Material: 
Doliana marble
Location of Original: 

Athens, National Museum 1734-7

Size: 
0.80m
Accession: 

Purchased 1895-6

References: 

Lippold: Griechische Plastik, 124 (n.1-2) & 350
Dickins: Hellenistic Sculpture (1920), 60
Dickins: Journal of Hellenic Studies XXXI (1911), 310-14
Dickins: Annual of the British School at Athens XVII (1910-11), 80-87
Dickins: Annual of the British School at Athens XIII (1906-07), 357-384
Dickins: Annual of the British School at Athens XII (1905-06), 109-120
Daniel: Journal of Hellenic Studies XXIV (1904), 41-57
Wace: American Journal of Archaeology XXXVIII (1934), 107-, pls. X-XI
Pausanias: Guide to Greece, VII, 37.3-5
Frazer: Pausanias’s Description of Greece, IV, 367-379
Stewart: Greek Sculpture, 94, pls. 788-792

Date: 
c.180 BCE
Sculptor: 
Damophon of Messene
Provenance: 

Found on site

Search Casts

Use our search tools to search the Casts Archive

Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge

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

Admission is free.

We are open

Opening hours

Tues-Fri: 10am-5pm
Sat: 10am-1pm (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

Facebook Twitter

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. Permission is required to reproduce our images.

See also our Copyright Notice and Take Down Policy.

Important Information

Museum of Classical Archaeology Web Accessibility Statement