3-044-399 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Grave Naiskos of a Young Woman, about 360 BC. Additional Info: Dolls and birds were the playthings of girls, and both are shown on this grave marker that commemorates a girl on the threshold of adulthood. She holds what appears to be a limbless figurine, her right hand gently covering its head. Her gaze forms a line from the doll to the goose looking back at her. In ancient Greece, girls offered their dolls to a divinity when they reached puberty. This was a sign that they were past childhood and ready to assume the responsibilities of a wife. The slight swelling of the girl's breasts indicates that she was old enough for marriage.