Pinax

Decorated pinax (votive tablet) produced from a mould depicting the Dioscuri in a standing position, attesting to the practice of the religious cult of Castor and Pollux. The elements depicted – palm branches, a phiale (a container used to offer drinks during ritual sacrifices) and votive vessels – all suggest the sphere of the sacred offering. The cult, documented in Taranto in the 4th century BC, has its origins in the religious culture of its colony’s parent country Sparta.