DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18216#0313
SEPULCHRAL RELIEFS.
299
Banquet becomes very common in Attica and elsewhere.
In a normal example of the fully developed type, the chief
figure is that of a man recumbent on a couch, holding a
cup. Before him is a table with food. A woman, accord-
ing to Greek custom, is seated upright at the foot of the
couch. Boys or attendants are seen drawing wine. The
head of a horse is often seen at the back of the relief. A
snake is frequently introduced, and often drinks wine from
a cup held by one of the figures. Further, a group of
adorant figures, usually on a small scale, may be repre-
sented about to sacrifice at an altar, near the foot of the
couch.
The meaning of this type has been a subject of long
controversy, but it is best understood if the later reliefs
are studied in connection with the oldest known specimens
of the same subject. A series of archaic reliefs from the
neighbourhood of Sparta (Aihenische Mittheilungen, ii.,
pis. 20-25 ; Furtwaengler, Coll. Saboaroff, pi. 1 ; Journ,
of Hell en. Studies, v., p. 123), contains subjects somewhat
of the following character: A male and female figure,
represented on a heroic or divine scale, are seated en-
throned, holding as attributes a large two-handled cup,
or a pomegranate. Figures of worshippers approach,
carrying a pomegranate or a cock, and a snake is
sometimes present. The sculptures of the Harpy Tomb
(No. 94), have been sometimes classed with the works
here described, but this has not yet been established.
The transition from the Spartan type to the Sepulchral
Banquet type is still obscure, but a connecting link is
furnished by a relief from Tegea {Aihenische Mittheilungen,
iv., pi. 7), in which the woman is enthroned, while the
man reclines on a couch with a table before him. (Com-
pare also the relief from Alytilene No. 727.) It seems
probable that we have in these reliefs symbolic represen-
tations of offerings made by living relations or descendants
299
Banquet becomes very common in Attica and elsewhere.
In a normal example of the fully developed type, the chief
figure is that of a man recumbent on a couch, holding a
cup. Before him is a table with food. A woman, accord-
ing to Greek custom, is seated upright at the foot of the
couch. Boys or attendants are seen drawing wine. The
head of a horse is often seen at the back of the relief. A
snake is frequently introduced, and often drinks wine from
a cup held by one of the figures. Further, a group of
adorant figures, usually on a small scale, may be repre-
sented about to sacrifice at an altar, near the foot of the
couch.
The meaning of this type has been a subject of long
controversy, but it is best understood if the later reliefs
are studied in connection with the oldest known specimens
of the same subject. A series of archaic reliefs from the
neighbourhood of Sparta (Aihenische Mittheilungen, ii.,
pis. 20-25 ; Furtwaengler, Coll. Saboaroff, pi. 1 ; Journ,
of Hell en. Studies, v., p. 123), contains subjects somewhat
of the following character: A male and female figure,
represented on a heroic or divine scale, are seated en-
throned, holding as attributes a large two-handled cup,
or a pomegranate. Figures of worshippers approach,
carrying a pomegranate or a cock, and a snake is
sometimes present. The sculptures of the Harpy Tomb
(No. 94), have been sometimes classed with the works
here described, but this has not yet been established.
The transition from the Spartan type to the Sepulchral
Banquet type is still obscure, but a connecting link is
furnished by a relief from Tegea {Aihenische Mittheilungen,
iv., pi. 7), in which the woman is enthroned, while the
man reclines on a couch with a table before him. (Com-
pare also the relief from Alytilene No. 727.) It seems
probable that we have in these reliefs symbolic represen-
tations of offerings made by living relations or descendants