Dedication of Nikandre

The Dedication of Nikandre is a Greek marble sculpture, made approximately around 650 BCE, held in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece (Inv.

Homolle himself published slightly contradictory notes regarding the find spot of the pieces that make up Nikandre's dedication during the years following the discovery.

The original Greek is as follows: «Νικάνδρη μἀνέθεκεν (ε)κηβόλοι ἰοχεαίρηι Κόρη Δεινοδίκηο το Ναησίο ἒησοχος ἀλήον Δεινομένεος δὲ κασιγνέτη Φηράησο δ᾽ ἂλοχος ν[ῦν].» An English translation, provided by G. M. A. Richter, is: "Nikandre dedicated me to the goddess, far-shooter of arrows, Nikandre, the daughter of Deinodikos of Naxos, distinguished among women, sister of Deinomenes and wife of Phraxos.

In addition to defining herself by her relationship to her father (Deinodikos), husband (Phraxos), and brother (Deinomenes), she refers to herself as "distinguished among women", claiming some amount of glory and emphasizing her reputation in her community.

[2] The Daedalic style, exhibited by followers of the mythological inventor Daedalus (the so-called Daidalidai, such as Endios, Dipoino, Skyllis, Tektaios, et al.), flourished between 675 and 600 BCE.

[11] Nikandre's dedication conforms to many of these stylistic features, with its strict frontality (the statue faces straight forward without any twisting of the body), its rigid and unrevealing dress (a peplos belted at the waist), and its neatly combed hair, which hangs in tresses on either side of the figure's head.

[15] Through an evaluation of the historical, ethnic, and psychological context of scholarly criticisms of the statue, Donohue illustrates how the reception of Nikandre's dedication today should not necessarily build on previous descriptions, which have often scorned the flat nature of the work and the heavy dress as poor craftsmanship.

[15] In comparison with later Hellenistic sculpture, which is characterized by a progressively idealistic treatment of the human form, Nikandre's dedication, with its heavy garment and blockish torso, appeared to many early scholars as wholly unfeminine.