Acheloös Peplophoros: A Lost Statuette of a River God in Feminine Dress

by Mireille M. Lee

Hesperia, Volume 75, Issue 3
Page(s): 317-325
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25067990
Year: 2006
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ABSTRACT:

In this study the author analyzes the iconography of a unique Early Classical bronze statuette that represents the river god Acheloös as a peplophoros. Formerly in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the statuette is now lost. Using the myth of Herakles' peplos as a parallel, the author argues that Acheloös is represented wearing women's dress in order to counterbalance his excessive masculinity. The combination of masculine and feminine iconographic attributes serves to acknowledge the potentially destructive power of the river while also highlighting its life-giving beneficence.