One of the many depictions of Eros in ancient objects is presented in the pair of gold earrings (enotia) from the collection of the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (Inv. No ΜΘ 22556).
Each earring consists of three main elements: the hooked attachment ear pin, the central disc, elaborately decorated with rosettes and spirals, from which, via two rings, is suspended the cast form of a naked flying winged Cupid.
In both earrings the god Eros is depicted young, with a childlike physique. The cupids are rendered with their arms open and their legs, depicted with an advanced leg, forming a vigorous stride, in a contrasting, however, movement, giving the feeling that one image is the mirror of the other. A himation is wrapped from the forearms of the cupid’s hands, covering part of the back of the body. The figures of Eros are cast solid, while the wings casted by a separated layer of gold are attached to the spine. Some details are accentuated with engravings, such as the feathering on the front surface of the wings.
In jewellery we often find decorative themes related to the female world, such as the personified god Eros who is closely associated with Aphrodite and hence with beauty, love and fertility.
Jewellery adorned woman in life but also accompanied them in the Underworld, as evidenced in the case of the pair earrings, found in the cist grave of a female burial (grave 15) in the organized cemetery of ancient Lete. In fact, multiple symbolism is attributed to the depiction of the god Eros often related to the god’s contradictory versions of his nature, sometimes as the creator of life, sometimes as the herald of death, and so on.
Early 3rd c BC.
You may see the object at the permanent exhibition The Gold of the Macedon, in the showcase 57.
