The deities Pharro and Ardokhsho

The culture of the ancient region of Gandhara in today's Pakistan adapted ideas and forms from several other cultures. The costumes and accoutrements of the figures in this small relief call to mind Hellenistic and Roman examples. For example, the female figure holds a horn of plenty as does the Greco-Roman goddess Tyche, associated with good fortune and prosperity. But in fact both figures are ancient Iranian deities that were also represented on Gandharan coins on which inscriptions confirm their identities.