The Masks of Ortheia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4536167 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jane Burr Carter (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 91 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 355-383 |
| Publication date | 1987-07-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Archaeology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-9114 • E-ISSN: 1939-828X |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/505359 |
| OpenAlex | W2327362805 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
Almost all the terracotta masks excavated from the Sanctuary of Ortheia at Sparta can be assigned to two types: grotesquely furrowed demons and idealized heroes. The prototypes for these two categories are traced through Old Babylonian, Canaanite, Cypriot, Phoenician, and Punic examples. The contexts of the Near Eastern and Punic masks, mostly sanctuaries, show that the deities associated with masks are a female fertility goddess and her consort. This goddess may be identified as a West Semitic goddess named Asherah or Tanit. Similarities between the Near Eastern and Punic cults and the Spartan cult suggest that the cult of this goddess may have been established at Sparta by Phoenicians. Ortheia may be the Greek name for Asherah-Tanit
Amphora · Ancient history · Arabic · Archaeology · Art · Cult · Phoenician · Semitic languages · Terracotta · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · History · Philosophy
‘Ornamental’ Horns on Phoenician Warships
Medusa Must Die! The Virgin and the Defiled in Greco-Roman Medusa and Andromeda Myths
A mask from Carthage and elusive gods
Spiderwoman and the Chaste Tree
Orthia
Figurines in Hellenistic Babylonia
Tokens of piety
Héra, le navire et la demeure
Choral Constructions in Greek Culture
Cosmography and the Idea of Hyperborea in Ancient Greece
Triumphator and Ancestor Rituals Between Symbolic Anthropology and Magic
Facial Decorations under the Microscope
The Masks of Orthia
Faces in the Rock at Petra and Medain Saleh
Celebrating Death at the Sanctuary of Orthia
Disease, demons and masks in the Iron Age Mediterranean
Beyond Controversy in the Hebrew Bible
Phallos Politikos
Bone Objects as Offerings of Animal Bodies in Archaic Greek Sanctuaries
Masks and Ritual Performance on the Island of Cyprus
Fascination with the tiny
| Citations per year | 0.58 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1990 - 2023 (34) |
| Highly cited | No |