Daedalic Pendant with Potnia Theron (Mistress of Animals)

This pendant shows the goddess Potnia Theron, the “mistress of the animals,” a deity sometimes associated with the Greek goddess Artemis. The goddess stands in a frontal pose with upswept wings, one curving above each shoulder. Each of her fists closes around the leash of a rearing feline. This piece is one of two nearly identical pendants in the collection (1999.88 and 2001.157) that were probably originally from the same necklace.