Silver tablet from Ai Khanoum
A silver tablet from Ai Khanoum is now in the National Museum in Kabul (inventory number 04.42.7, about 25 cm in diameter) and was found in the Greek city of Ai Khanoum , the remains of which are in what is now Afghanistan . It consists of silver with isolated gilding. The round object was once probably nailed to a wooden object, but was damaged in antiquity.
The relief shows Cybele , the Greek goddess of nature, in a chariot pulled by two lions. She wears a polo on her head . It is shown frontally. Next to her in the car is the goddess of victory, Nike . She holds the reins and a long staff. Her body is shown frontally, her face in profile. Behind the carriage stands a priest holding an umbrella over Cybele's head. Another priest stands across from the chariot on the right on a high, stepped altar made of six stones. The priest burns incense in an incense burner . In the sky there is an image of the sun, which is symbolized by a bust of Helios . To the right of this are the moon and a star.
The representation mixes Greek with oriental elements. The representation of the Cybele and the Nike are typically Hellenistic . Other elements, on the other hand, are more Persian, e.g. B. the priest with the umbrella behind the carriage. It is an Asian motif, as can be found in the royal area. The priests are shown barefoot, which in turn indicates purity in the eastern area. The chariot with the big wheels is reminiscent of Achaemenid examples. The high altar is also well known from Syria and Iran .
The tablet was found in the niche temple in Ai Khanoum. However, it is uncertain whether it also came from there. Ai Khanoum has been looted twice. First there was an attack by the Saks . At that time, the tablet seems to have been hidden under the floor in a room in the temple in order to later collect the valuable object. The table can therefore originally come from all parts of the city. During the second and final looting of the city, the object was overlooked.
Based on stylistic considerations, the tablet can be traced back to around 300 BC. To be dated. The cult of the Cybele first came to Asia with the Greeks, but this object is the only known representation of the Cybele from Central Asia.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paul Bernard: Ceremonial Plate with representation of Cybele , in Fredrik Hierbert, Pierre Cambon (editor): Afghanistan, Hidden reasures from the National Museum, Kabul , National Geograph, Washington DC 2008, ISBN 9781426202957 , pp. 118–119
- ↑ Bernard: in: Here Bert, Cambon (Editor): Afghanistan Hidden Treasures , p 118
- ↑ Bernard: in: Here Bert, Cambon (Editor): Afghanistan Hidden Treasures , p 118
- ↑ Ladislav Stančo: Greek Gods in the East , Charles University, Prague 2012, ISBN 9788024620459 , p. 83