Statuette of Artemis Bendis

Artemis, goddess of the hunt, stands frontally with her weight on her right leg. Her left leg is relaxed with the knee bent slightly. She wears boots that come up to just under the knees and a short chiton buttoned at the shoulders and along the right arm. Over the chiton is a short-sleeved tunic and a short peplos with omega folds at the hem, which ends just above the knees. Over these three layers of clothing, the goddess wears a deer skin wrapped around her midsection and draped over her left shoulder. The head of the deer is at the waist. Slung over her bent left arm is a thick cloak with folds tucked under her right arm. Her plaited hair can be seen at the back of the neck.

This statuette was probably a votive offering in a sanctuary, possibly dedicated to Artemis-Bendis, whose cult appeared in Athens around 430 B.C. Bendis was a Thracian goddess of the moon and the hunt, whom the Athenians associated with the Artemis. She is identified by a Phrygian cap and deer skin worn over a chiton. There was a sanctuary of Bendis in Piraeus, the port city of Athens.