Nuovi dati per una messa a punto su Artemide a Brindisi

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the literary, numismatic and archeological sources presumed since 18th century to attest the cult of Artemis in Brindisi. Particular attention is paid to the archaeological evidence, expecially to the marbles sculptures of Artemis considered in their ancient contexts. Of great interest is also a clay statuette of a hunting Artemis in short chiton and with a dog at her feet discovered in 1988 in the courtyard of the Vescovado in Piazza Duomo, where the excavations brought to light a segment of a building with a portico dated to the Hellenistic period and other significant material. Among the finds there were an antefix with the head of Artemis Bendis and objects that are closely linked to the religious sphere. The portico may have been built during the extensive monumental construction of a sanctuary complex that took place in the area of Piazza Duomo in the 2nd-1st centuries BC.