ICONOGRAFIE DI BES NEI SANTUARI DI CAPUA: NUOVI DATI PER UNA RIFLESSIONE SUL COSMOPOLITISMO CAPUANO

Abstract

This paper deals with approximately forty-two figured terracotta figures representing the god Bes and similar characters, made between the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 3rd century BC and the middle of the 2nd century BC, most likely originating from the Sanctuary of Fondo Patturelli and now preserved at the Museo Campano in Capua. The eight iconographic types highlight both Hellenistic and Oriental cultural influences. This emphasizes the cosmopolitan character and social structure of Capua, a broader network of Mediterranean contacts and the complex dynamics between clients and local craftsmanship. While the specific contexts that led to the choice and selection of this iconography in its various guises among the local community remain to be explored in detail, the spheres of competence of this divinity, such as kourotrophia, are not actually isolated to sanctuaries such as Fondo Patturelli, but are instead broadly connected with the introduction of oriental cults in Campania in the Hellenistic period.