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Little boy with a goose. Marble figure (2nd CE), found at the front of the marble hall of the harbor gymnasium of Ephesus, Turkey. Roman copy of a Greek bronze of the early 3rd BCE. Photo credit: Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY.

There is a Hellenistic sculptural tradition involving boys and geese (though it is unclear what myth is the reference or even whether the boys are struggling with the geese or strangling them). Some sources say that the goose would have been a common plaything for a child in ancient Greece. Editorial Board Member Paul Helders comments, “I would estimate that this baby is about 8 months old. The sculpture embodies one of the essentials of child development: the drive for independence. Development is an ongoing interaction with the environment to find the best solution to the motor challenges that the environment poses. This baby reaches out both with his hand and with his eyes. He wants to get his caregiver's attention, wants to be part of the bigger world.”