Portrait of a Priestess at The British Museum, London

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Karia, in south west Anatolia (modern Turkey), was ruled for much of the 4th century BC by the Hekatomnid dynasty, under Persian control. The most famous ruler of the dynasty, Maussollos, is best known for his great tomb, the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos. Like other satraps of the period, Maussollos forged links with both Greece and Persia to achieve his own political ambitions, and the dynasty was a great patron of sanctuaries in many parts of the Greek world. This girl wears the court hairstyle and head-cloth of the Ketatomnid ruling dynasty. Maussollos of Karia has been credited with re-locating the new city of Priene in Ionia. There he may have initiated the building of the temple of Athena Polias, where this head was found. The head perhaps represents a young priestess of the cult of Athena Polias. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open source, community effort, if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how you can help.Scanned : Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan)