Acropolis Museum 670, c. 520-500 BCE. In the archaic period when Greece was coming out of a Dark Age, maidens who died young were often memorialized by statues of Persephone/Kore — snatched too soon from the upper world to the land of the dead. She suggests a promise of spring and resurrection. Without an inscription, it’s nearly impossible to tell whether these lovely statues are supposed to be the goddess or an idealized portrait of the deceased made to resember her; in fact, it’s probably a little of both.

©2005 Ellen Brundige. See full version of photo on Flickr.
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