page_title: Kourotrophos
hierarchical_section_title: Kourotrophos
caption_attribution_description: English: Phi-figurine of a woman holding a child. Terracotta, Late Mycenaean IIIA (ca. 1360 BC). From Mycenae. Français&#160;: Figurine en phi courotrophe (tenant un enfant). Terre cuite, Mycénien Récent IIIA (vers 1360 av. J.-C.). Provenance&#160;: Mycènes.
context_page_description: Kourotrophos is the name that was given in ancient Greece to gods and goddesses whose properties included their ability to protect young people. Numerous gods are referred to by the epithet, including, but not limited to, Athena, Apollo, Hermes, Hecate, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Eileithyia. They were usually depicted holding an infant in their arms. Deianeria and Ariadne were occasional shown on vases with their children, Hyllus and Staphylos and Oenopion respectively, however, there is not evidence that there was a cult around them as kourotrophic figures.
  Kourotrophos was a deity of the city of Athens, who was not among the major Olympian deities. She appeared as the protector of children and young people and a sanctuary built on her name in honor of the cult, the so-called Kourotropheion. Kourotrophos was a major figure of cult, appearing in sacrifice groups connected with fertility and child care.
  Kourotrophos is similar to the Dea Gravida, which are figures representing either a goddesses or woman who is visibly pregnant.
context_section_description: Kourotrophos (Greek: κουροτρόφος, "child nurturer") is the name that was given in ancient Greece to gods and goddesses whose properties included their ability to protect young people. Numerous gods are referred to by the epithet, including, but not limited to, Athena, Apollo, Hermes, Hecate, Aphrodite, Artemis, and Eileithyia. They were usually depicted holding an infant in their arms. Deianeria and Ariadne were occasional shown on vases with their children, Hyllus and Staphylos and Oenopion respectively, however, there is not evidence that there was a cult around them as kourotrophic figures.
  Kourotrophos was a deity of the city of Athens, who was not among the major Olympian deities. She appeared as the protector of children and young people and a sanctuary built on her name in honor of the cult, the so-called Kourotropheion. Kourotrophos was a major figure of cult, appearing in sacrifice groups connected with fertility and child care.
  Kourotrophos is similar to the Dea Gravida, which are figures representing either a goddesses or woman who is visibly pregnant.
caption: Late Mycenaean Kourotrophe phi-figurine (circa 1360 B.C.E.) (Louvre)
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D200", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.4.6", "Image DateTime": "2009:06:30 21:46:16", "Image Artist": "", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "248", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "3148", "Image Tag 0x9216": "[1, 0, 0, 0]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "3260", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5066", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/6", "EXIF FNumber": "16", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "500", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:06:28 15:51:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:06:28 15:51:00", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "2584963/1000000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "1/3", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF SubjectDistance": "9/20", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Fine weather", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "50", "EXIF SubSecTime": "08", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "08", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "08", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 0, 2, 1]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "75", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "Low gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}