

Two terracotta plaques of Persephone and Hades, the
one on the left dating from ca. 540 bce, and the one on the right
dating from about 470 bce. In both, the pair sits enthroned. On the
left-hand plaque, Persephone holds a drinking cup, and tiny
worshippers approach, the man offering a rooster and the woman an ear
of barley. On the right-hand plaque, a rooster stands beneath the
throne, and to its right there is an stand with pine cone atop it.
Hades holds an offering-bowl in his right hand, and a pomegranate
branch in his left. Persephone holds a shaft of wheat in her left
hand, and a rooster in her right hand. Roosters in such contexts are
sometimes interpreted as symbols of fertility; they also appear
commonly on vases as love-gifts.