The letters Py incised at the bottom suggests that this work could be attributed to a Pyrgoteles of the late Hellenistic age. This famous cameo depicts the scene of the competition between Poseidon and Athena for the rule of Athens at the time of the mythical king Cecrops. Poseidon created a salt-water fountain, the “sea of Erechtheus”, while the gift of Athena was an olive tree. A version of the myth narrates that the Athenians, thanks to womens’ participation in the vote, chose the goddess’ gift, and the city was named after her. Between the two deities there is the olive tree and a snake (in which Cecrops or the child Erichthonius became incarnate), both kept in the Erechtheum in the Classic age.