Clay, late 5th century B.C.
London, The British Museum, inv. GR 1856.5-12.15

Aphrodite, at centre, turns toward her son Eros, seated on her shoulder. Several women are moving about them. On Aphrodite's left is Peitho, goddess of persuasion, intent on gathering branches and placing them in a ritual basket to be carried in a procession. On her right are three women offering wreaths and fruit to the goddess, identifiable as Kleopatra (nobility of lineage), Eunomia (good government) and Paidia (play). In the difficult years of the Peloponnesian War, when the Athenian countryside was repeatedly devastated, Aphrodite, venerated as the goddess of vegetation and its continuous renewal, must have incarnated the hope for a better future in which Eunomia and Paidia would return to reign serene.