Grave stele with Hoplite Battle Scene

Unknown

ca. 390 BCE · Marble, Pentelic · Greek and Roman Art

The ashes of every Athenian who fell in battle were returned to the city and buried in the state funerary ground in the outer Kerameikos at the northwest edge of the city, just outside the walls. The grieving family might also erect a stele--usually with a battle scene--in its own burial precinct to honor the fallen soldier. Here, captured in a desperate moment, both the standing soldier and his fallen opponent are about to be slain.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 390 BCE

Medium

Marble, Pentelic

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1940