Athlete Accompagne at the Louvre, Paris, France

cults3d

The fragmented stele depicts an athlete confidently holding a strigil and an aryballos. A small servant accompanies him, along with his two energetic hounds. The deceased's representation in familiar settings is a common theme in funerary steles from the fifth to fourth centuries BCE, which frequently employed recurring, conventional motifs throughout that period. The anatomy treatment and relief level suggest this example dates back to the mid-fourth century. The deceased on this damaged funerary stele is represented by an ephebe, standing forward-facing and naked except for the himation wrapped around his left forearm. He holds items used on the palaestra to indicate he's an athlete: in his right hand is a strigil, used to scrape sweat and sand from the skin after training at the stadium. In his left hand are the cords of an aryballos, now lost. At his feet are two greyhounds, one sniffing the ground while the other lifts its muzzle to its master. To the left, a small figure shown in three-quarter view raises his head, representing a young slave who assists the athlete after his training session. In his crossed hands are the ends of the leashes, originally highlighted in vibrant colors: like other Greek monumental sculpture, funerary steles were initially painted.