In antiquity, two large Caryatids from the Lesser Propylaea adorned the sanctuary of the Greek goddess of agriculture

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

at her cult-center of

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

in southern Greece as architectural support taking the place of columns. Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire, one of the Caryatids was dubbed Saint Demetra by the locals and venerated as patron saint of agriculture and crops throughout the following centuries. Saint Demetra was removed from Eleusis in 1801 by Englishman

Edward Daniel Clarke Edward Daniel Clarke (5 June 17699 March 1822) was an English clergyman, naturalist, mineralogist, and traveller. Life Edward Daniel Clarke was born at Willingdon, Sussex, and educated first at Uckfield School"Anthony Saunders, D.D." in Mark ...

, who later donated it to the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

; it remains on display in the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

. The second Caryatid B, preserved in a better condition than Saint Demetra though with significant restorations, was unearthed in Eleusis some ninety years after the other one was taken, and it is now exhibited in the

archaeological museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many archaeology museum are in the open-air museum, open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum.David Watkin. ''The Roman Forum ...

of the town.

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

is seeking the

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

of the other Caryatid.

Dating and Christian veneration

It has been suggested that the pair were idealised portraits of the daughters of Appius Claudius Pulcher, the Roman consul who dedicated the gateway that they supported, between 54 and 48 BC. Although Emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

issued the

Edict of Thessalonica An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchies, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin wikt:edictum#Latin, edictum. Notable ed ...

, banning paganism throughout the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, people in Greece continued to worship

, through a new

Cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

to "Saint Demetra", as patron saint of agriculture. The people of Eleusis venerated the caryatid as an icon of Saint Demetra, and would cover it with flowers and garlands,Lawson 2012, pp 79–80: Further, in open defiance of an iconoclastic Church, they retained an old statue of Demeter, and merely prefixing the title 'saint ' to the ... Then, in 1801, two Englishmen, named Clarke and Cripps, armed by the Turkish authorities with a license to plunder, perpetrated an act ... and in spite of a riot among the peasants of Eleusis removed by force the venerable marble; and that which was the visible form of ... as they believed that the goddess was able to bring fertility to their fields and bless their crops. The stories surrounding Saint Demetra had many similarities with the myth of Demeter's daughter

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

's abduction by the underworld king

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

, only in the Christian context the girl had been abducted by a Turk instead. The worship of the marble sculpture as the uncanonised Saint Demetra () was against the traditions of the

iconoclast Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

ic Church. Nevertheless, those traditions continued during the period of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

, and even after its fall well into the Ottoman era. The statue was noted in 1676 by the traveller

George Wheler George Wheler may refer to: * Sir George Wheler (travel writer) (1651–1724), English clergyman and travel writer * George Wheler (politician) George Wheler (September 2, 1836 – July 6, 1908) was a mill owner and political figure in Ontar ...

, and several ambassadors who had submitted applications to the Ottomans for its removal with any success. Around 1765–1766, the antiquary Richard Chandler, along with the architect

Nicholas Revett Nicholas Revett (1720–1804) was a British architect. Revett is best known for his work with James "Athenian" Stuart documenting the ruins of ancient Athens. He is sometimes described as an amateur architect, but he played an important role in ...

and the painter

William Pars William Pars (28 February 1742 – 1782) was an English watercolour portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and illustrator. Life and works Pars was born in London, the son of a Engraving, metal engraver. He studied at "Shipley's Dra ...

, visited Eleusis and mentioned the statue as well as the local folklore about it.

Removal of Saint Demetra

In 1801, English clergyman

and his assistant John Marten Cripps managed to obtain an authorisation through bribery from the governor of Athens for the removal of Saint Demetra, with the help of Giovanni Battista Lusieri, an Italian artist who was

Lord Elgin Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine, ( ; 20 July 176614 November 1841), often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures ...

's assistant at the time. Clarke was the one to remove the statue by force, after bribing the local ''

waiwode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central Europe, Central, Southeastern Europe, Southeastern and Easter ...

'' of Athens and obtaining an edict, despite the objections of the local population, who feared that removal of Saint Demetra would cause their crops to fail. Nevertheless, Clarke was successful, though not without struggle. An ox broke free of its halter the day before the removal and dashed against Saint Demetra with its horns, alarming the locals who took it to be a bad omen for the crops. Clarke assured them that they would suffer no harm, and brought a Christian priest from Aegina who first broke the soil around the statue to prove nothing would happen. Furthermore, on April 23, 1802, the ship carrying the statue sank off the southeastern coast of England, though the Saint Demetra was recovered the following year. As for the Eleusinians, they had a good harvest the following year, which confirmed their beliefs that the caryatid would some day be returned to them; but then came a run of bad years in succession, which they blamed on them having allowed Saint Demetra to be taken away. He donated Saint Demetra along with other findings to the

in 1803; the statue of Demeter would be displayed at the

University Library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...

. In 1865 the collection was transferred to the

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, where it became one of the museum's two main collections. In 2022, the municipality of Eleusis asked the museum to return Saint Demetra to Greece.

Description

The Caryatids are very similar, though not identical, even after the extensive damage Saint Demetra bears, compared to the Eleusis Caryatid, is taken into account. Both only have their colossal torsos, heads and headgears survive to this day, though it is more likely than not that both originally represented a full-length figure, with their arms raised above their head to hold the cylindrical object that balances upon it, the '

cista A cista is a box or basket used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Etruscans and Romans for various practical and mystical purposes. Purpose and usage The ''cista'' or ''cistella'' was at first thought be a wicker basket used for holding fruit ...

'. The cista was a type of container often used to store cosmetics. The cistas held by the caryatids probably contained sacred objects associated with the rites conducted at Eleusis, though such knowledge does not exist. The vessel on both caryatids are decorated with emblems and items associated with the rituals of the Eleusinian Mysteries, such as ears of corn, rosettes, cakes, and bundles of myrtle. A ''plemochoe'' is carved directly above the brow of each female figure, that is, a container where the kykeon was most likely held. The kykeon was the sacred drink used during initiation into Demeter and Persephone's cult. The two priestesses wear two tunics each, which are secured on their breast with diagonally crossing straps; their chest is further decorated with a gorgoneion brooch. Saint Demetra's face, which is no longer preserved, was inclined to the left, as though she was looking down onto those passing in procession through the gateway beneath her. The face of the Caryatid B is much better preserved. The better-preserved Caryatid measures 196 cm in height and 150 cm in width. They weigh around two tonnes each.

Gallery

File:Exhibition- The Torlonia Marbles. Collecting Masterpieces, Rome (2021) - 51285771772.jpg, Torlonia Caryatid in the Eleusis type File:The upper part of one of the caryatids that flanked the Lesser Propylaea of Eleusis, made in Attica in about 50 BC, Eleusis Museum (16172984501) 2.jpg, Face of Caryatid B File:Caryatid of Eleusis by P. W. Tomkins.png, Engraving by P. W. Tomkins File:Caryatid of Eleusis 01.jpg, Posterior view.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{commons category-inline, Caryatid from Lesser Propylaia Eleusinian Mysteries Sculptures of Demeter Sculptures of women in Greece Marble sculptures in Greece 1892 in Greece Archaeological discoveries in Attica 1892 archaeological discoveries Art and cultural repatriation Collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum Marble sculptures in the United Kingdom Sculptures of women in England 1st-century BC Roman sculptures Busts in Greece Ottoman Greece Greek artifacts outside Greece 1801 in the Ottoman Empire