مرکز منطقه ای اطلاع رساني علوم و فناوري - Three New Dedications to Meter Tetraprosopos from Eskişehir

Abstract :

In this article, three carved works in stone (Figs. 1-3) found in a variety of areas in Eskişehir (Map) (within the territory of Dorylaion) and preserved in the archaeological museum of Eskişehir are introduced. These three objects are votive worked stones dedicated to a Goddess termed Meter Tetraprosopos (Μητὴρ Τετραπρόσωπος). One is a very small altar which carries an ancient Greek dedicatory inscription and between the acroteria there is the quadruple figure of the goddess recorded in relief. The second monument (Figs 2 a-d) is a carving of a quadruple figurine, the lower part of which is lost. The third object (Figs. 3 a-d) is a small dedication, a relief carving consisting of only the four heads of the goddess. There are no inscriptions on the second and third objects. It is observed that this goddess is depicted possessing a distinct and distinguishing iconography. The goddess is depicted through the portrayal of four women standing side by side, all wearing chitons and having a stephane crown upon their heads. The figures on the altar carry garlands in their hands. The figures on the second, broken figurine would also have carried garlands in their hands. There is a Goddess termed Meter Tetraprosopos (the four-faced Meter) known from inscriptions from the regions of Galatia and Phrygia but there are however, no depictions of the Goddess recorded with these inscriptions. However, some uninscribed votive stones carrying this iconography of the Goddess with four faces and four bodies are also known from Phrygia. I propose that the four-headed Goddess mentioned in these inscriptions is to be identified with the Goddess depicted in this manner. In my article on two works preserved in Afyon Museum and which, in my opinion also portrays Meter Tetraprosopos, published prviously, and the documents concerning this cult have also been compiled (see: Akyürek Şahin 2010).