In various Central Italian and Etrurian sacred sanctuaries, such as Lavinium, Gabii, or Nemi for Lazio, Cerveteri, Tessennano, or Veii in Etruria, statues were discovered representing young men and women, as well as little boys and girls, holding balls, birds, tops, fruits or jewellery. Researchers have demonstrated that the personality of the deity honoured in the sanctuary may explain these types of offerings. In order to further investigate the reason of this votive context, this article compares archaeological finds with Greek, as well as Latin, authors who explain the function of these objects.