A Loomweight for Herakles: The Problems and Possibilities of Loomweights in Greek Sanctuaries

Abstract The interpretation of loomweights found at ancient Greek sacred sites is confounded by their small size and mobility, raising questions about the history of their use and reuse, and whether they were deposited for ritual and/or the result of sanctuary production. This article reexamines these objects, from roughly the Archaic through Hellenistic periods, highlighting the connection between domestic labor and ritual deposition. Since textile production in the Mediterranean was primarily a female activity, the gender of the dedicator is of particular importance. The state of the evidence in Greece is reviewed, and comparison to newer research on loomweights in pre-Roman Italy and Sicily offers new solutions. A Classical loomweight inscribed with the name ‘Herakles,’ discovered in the fill of the Pnyx in Athens, serves as a case study. By proposing a new association with a nearby Herakles sanctuary, new possibilities about the relationship between dedicator and recipient emerge. This loomweight also highlights the roles of personal choice in the dedicatory process, the material consideration of reuse and display, and the transformative role of writing on domestic and sacred objects.