We are delighted to introduce a new serialized work of literary fiction from Dr. Hara Papatheodorou: a fairy tale that reimagines the origins of the celebrated Tanagra figurines in ancient Greece.
In the small village of Tanagra, in Boeotia, there lived a poor family of a young artisan. He produced small terracotta figurines working mainly with clay because he could not afford to buy stone or marble. He was very proud of his skills, though. A wealthy Athenian, who happened to pass by on his way to Thebes, bought two of his creations, a woman washing clothes and a group of bakers. The same man advised the young terracotta artisan to come and visit him in Athens, where many famous potters and artisans had their workshops.
So, the young artisan loaded his belongings, his pregnant wife and his little girl Arsinoe on an ox cart and left for Athens. Tanagra is not very far from Athens, but it took the ox cart a very long time traveling through the countryside.
Eventually, they reached the temple of Artemis at Brauron, when his pregnant wife felt the pains of childbirth.
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The little Arsinoe went about to find a suitable place for her mother and family to stay for the night. Nothing was available save a hayloft that was full to the brim with freshly cut clover. They made their bed for the night. There was no doctor, and an old priestess came as an assistant to the crying pregnant woman.
The priestess told Arsinoe that her mother’s labour would be prolonged, and she would return when she was needed.
Nightfall settled pretty soon and apart from Arsinoe’s mother’s groans and cries, there was absolute silence. Arsinoe was holding her mother’s hand tightly when a beautiful young woman came into the room, wearing a short transparent chiton, and holding a bow and arrow. When Arsinoe lifted her head to look at the woman’s face, she blinked her eyes.
The face of the huntress turned into a brilliant moon and the arrow had pierced her mother’s heart. The little girl’s cry of terror then pierced the night, because she realized that the beautiful virgin was the goddess Artemis, who had come to claim her mother in childbirth. Arsinoe fainted and could not remember much more.
Next day, the priestess came and took her mother’s garments, purified them and then dedicated them on the altar of Ifigenia at the temple nearby. Her father’s whispers with the priestess wakened her from lethargy. She had to stay behind for safety reasons. Arsinoe thus was dedicated to Artemis as a she-bear and would live there until she came of an age to get married, or alternatively to become a priestess. Poor Arsinoe!! She cried and begged and her tears ran like rivers but to no avail. Her father was afraid that the little girl, alone in a big city, might be snatched away and end in slavery. They parted in sorrow and the father promised to come and take her away as soon as he was allowed. Before leaving, though, he handed Arsinoe a terracotta toy: a girl on a swing.
The Sanctuary and the Temple were dedicated to Artemis at Brauron.
An old legend had it that a sacred bear of Artemis was killed by Attic youths. For this reason, the dedication of little girls was atonement for the killing. So, the girls themselves were called she-bears, arktoi. There were initiations in which the girls became vicarious victims for the animal to be killed. They were cut off from the world in the lonely sanctuary of Artemis, performing dances, running races, and making sacrifices. Offerings were presented to the goddess named proteleia. (πρωτέλεια).
Their life in the Sanctuary was secure and comfortable. If we are to look at some of the statues there, almost all the young maidens are smiling, holding little rabbits or pigeons in their aprons!
Arsinoe took a long time to adjust to her new way of life. She was used to a lot of freedom and running around and she missed her mother terribly. But she did not dare disobey the old priestess, afraid of the goddess herself. She learned to gather medicinal herbs and pulp them into draughts and potions. She was also very good with her hands and learned to spin and weave clothes. Arsinoe grew up into a beautiful young woman with a deep singing voice that bewitched her young inmates at the sanctuary, and with her dancing skills, wearing saffron robes, she entertained the pilgrims who came to make sacrifices at the temple. The old priestess was proud of her. But Arsinoe was restless and on the lookout for her father, who was supposed to release her from the bondage to the goddess.
Arsinoe did not want to become a priestess of the goddess, even if this meant a great honor. So, when she realized than more than half a year had passed from the prescribed time of her release, and there was no news from her father, she started plotting her own escape.
To be continued…
Editorial Note
The Tanagra figurines—those delicate, poignant statuettes of terracotta that emerged from the Boeotian region of ancient Greece—have captivated archaeologists and aesthetes for centuries. Discovered in the necropolis near the village of Tanagra in the nineteenth century, these graceful forms depict everyday life with an intimacy rarely seen in Greek art: women in draped garments, children at play, musicians and dancers frozen in terracotta.
Dr. Papatheodorou’s fairy tale is an imagined origin story for these celebrated artifacts. This tale of sacrifice, loss, and artistic transformation reminds us that every artifact was once shaped by human hands in response to the events and longings of a particular life.
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Contributed by
Dr. Hara Papatheodorou
