Le «metafore» di Eros nella coroplastica ellenistica della necropoli nord-orientale di Tebe

The numerous representations of Eros documented in the Hellenistic period joined recently a number of unusual specimens came to the light in a vast cemetery of Tebe. These are figurines and a medium size terracotta sculpture that show the god represented in various poses and, often, with attributes. They offer new insights for the knowledge of one of the favorite subjects of the period that goes from the fourth to the first century A. C. In none of the few clay documents from the north-eastern necropolis of Thebes Eros is portrayed in complex scenes in company of other people or gods. Nevertheless, in the assemblage of the Theban funerary contexts, the representations of Eros occur in association with other figurative male and female subjects. The iconography shows significant changes over the long term use: the preference for children and cupids in the third century BC C. gives way, in the middle and late Hellenism, to the representation of Ephebes-Erotes. With reference to models the Theban artisans acquire archetypes from the outside, create new models, adapt existing solutions often in a originally way, or copy famous sculptures.