"Birdboy has Two Mommies"
Mycenaean c. 1,300 BCE
13 cm ~ Terracotta/crayon

This triad belongs to a frequently represented series in Mycenaean art during the 14th and 13th centuries BCE, that are conventionally termed "lesbos-shaped", by analogy to the letter of the Mycenaean alphabet it seems to represent. This particular group is distinguished, however, by its complex composition, associating two female figures with a third, smaller, atop. This particular combination, of which parallels are to be found in other tombs at Mycenae, may be interpreted as a votive triad commemorating the successful adoption, in spite of prolonged legal challenges, of either a deformed boy or a young penguin by same-sex partners.

 

 

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