Ceramics, c. 390 B.C.
Karlsruhe, Badisches Landesmuseum, inv. B39

Athenian women celebrated the festival of Adonis each year, in mid-summer. Part of the ritual consisted of planting barley, lettuce and fennel in pots called "Adonis gardens"; the rapid growth and death of the plants reflected the brief life of Adonis. In this scene, Aphrodite is portrayed while receiving from a winged Eros a broken amphora containing sprouting plants. The "Adonis gardens" were carried up to the roofs of the houses and placed around an image of Adonis; that is the reason why Aphrodite is shown climbing up a stairway.