Head of Leucothea

Title: Head of Leucothea, part of a high-relief sculpture

Artist: unknown, “Traces of the sculpture Praxiteles”

Location: National Etruscan Museum

Date: Mid 4^th Century B.C.

Size: 6 in x 5 in x 4 in

Medium: Terracotta

Sketch by: Lisa Lyon

Significance of the work:

Leucothea is the white goddess of the sea, but she did not begin as a goddess. She was transformed from a nymph to a goddess after throwing herself and her son into the sea after being driven insane by Hera. She is a lesser know goddess, but does appear in several literary works, the most famous of which is The Odyssey.

The portion of the sculpture that depicts the head of Leucothea, the white goddess of the sea, was part of a larger high-relief sculpture that told the story of Hercules welcoming Leucothea upon her arrival to the west from Thebes. Her wind blown hair looks as if she just came off the ocean. This relief sculpture likely came from an Etruscan temple, and served as decoration and a means of passing down the ancient story. Although Praxiteles was not the artist for this particular sculpture, his work had a heavy influence on whoever the artist was. One interesting fact about Praxiteles is that he was the first to sculpt the female form in a life size statue. Praxiteles was Greek, and this sculpture is further evidence of the “adopt and adapt” philosophy of what would soon become the Roman nation.