Marble votive relief dedicated to a hero

Unknown

late 4th century BCE · Marble · Greek and Roman Art

Inscribed to the physician A hero was a deceased person who exerted from his grave a power for good or evil and demanded appropriate honor. The cult was concentrated at the grave, which was marked off as a special precinct and known as a heroon. As with the Olympian gods, there were animal sacrifices and offering of food and libation. The principal cultic activity was a feast of the living in company with the dead hero and in his honor. Votive reliefs often show the hero, as here, reclining at such a meal and being approached by worshipers, shown in smaller scale.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 4th century BCE

Medium

Marble

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of Joseph V. Noble, 1957