Classical and Hellenistic statuettes of the so–called “Temple Boys”: A religious and social reappraisal.

Our paper reconsiders the religious and social significance of a corpus of statuettes representing crouching children with jewels and amulets, principally dedicated in shrines on Cyprus from about the mid–fifth century BC down to the Hellenistic period. The most plausible interpretation of these statues, that of votive dedications aiming to evoke divine protection on small children, will be substantiated by discussion of discovery contexts and of the significance of amulets and other objects decorating these statues, as well as by broader considerations on the place of small children in temples. The variety of configurations of these statues will also be taken into account in order to discuss the possibility of various interpretations instead of one single interpretative paradigm.