Phiale, Patera

Along with the tympanon (tympanum in Latin), the object most associated with Meter, and the one which she is usually portrayed with, is the phiale. The phiale (also known as patera) is a shallow dish used for libations, usually with a bulbous indentation (called omphalos, “bellybutton”) in the center to make it easier to hold. The ritual act of libation was one of the simplest and most common forms of ancient religious practice, performed by priests and commoners alike, and is likely to have been an important element also within the cult of Meter. Both in Anatolia and at Rome there were priesthoods dedicated to Meter, including the famous Galli.

The word “gallus” probably simply means Gaul or Celt, and was originally applied to the priests of Meter in Anatolia. In inscriptions from Rome from the second century CE we find the term Archigallus used to refer to the chief of the priesthood at Rome. The priests were characterized by their colorful robes hung with cult images. It is generally stated in ancient literature that the Galli were eunuchs, and at times the two terms are used interchangeably. However, many of the names of known priests are clearly the names of Roman citizens, for whom castration would have been forbidden at varying times throughout the Imperial period. It is therefore both unknown and unlikely that there was a requirement that priests or other formal cult officials had to be castrated. In many cases, it seems that the term Galli was used to refer to devotees of the Mother at large, thus conflating the state-organized priests with the itinerant elements of her cult, where the practice of self-castration would have been more common.

This phiale dates from the sixth to fifth century BCE and likely originates from Athens. It is made from yellowish pink clay and painted black and red. It belongs to the deposition from the National Museum of Fine Arts, where it in turn was deposited in 1887 by the Technical School of Stockholm.