Judgment of Paris, Ivory Comb
Judgment of Paris
Ivory relief, comb from Sparta, c. 600 BCE. L. 8
cm. (drawing, after Hampe 1954, pl. 11.1). National Museum 507, Athens.
- This early Archaic ivory comb carving (c. 600 BCE), discovered at the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia in Sparta, offers one of the earliest depictions of the Judgment of Paris in Greek art. In the relief, a bearded and enthroned Paris sits at the left, extending his hand toward three approaching goddesses who appear in a ceremonial procession. The divinity on the far right is likely Hera, holding a bird (her sacred cuckoo or a dove) on her outstretched hand. She is followed by Athena, who wears a tall helmet, and Aphrodite, who is accompanied by a water bird, likely a goose or swan. The stylized geometric borders framing the top and bottom of the scene reflect the Orientalizing Laconian aesthetic, characterized by simple profile silhouettes and rhythmic patterns carved into luxury imported ivory.
- Beyond its narrative role, the object holds rich symbolic and spiritual significance through its material context and ritual function. As a luxury item dedicated at the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, the comb functioned as a votive offering tied to personal grooming, divine beauty, and transition—key domains of Artemis as a protector of Spartan youth and women. By capturing the moment of choice that sparks the Trojan War, the relief symbolizes divine judgment, fate, and the dangerous allure of physical beauty (kalliste). Spiritually, offering an expensive ivory comb adorned with a myth about divine beauty to a goddess served as a sacred devotion, bridging the earthly realm of female rites and high status with the transcendent realm of divine myth and ritual purity.
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