Votive Plaque (Pinax) with Persephone Making her Bridal Bed

Probably once brightly painted, this relief plaque belongs to a series of votive dedications made in Locri Epizephirii, near the “toe” of Italy, to the goddess Persephone (or Kore), daughter of Demeter. Following her abduction by Hades, god of the Underworld, Persephone regularly returned to earth, dictating the seasons and making agriculture possible. Often, as here, the plaques show domestic scenes.