Grave relief

myminifactory

Found near Larisis railway station, Athens, a magnificent monument has been unearthed, comprising two slabs seamlessly joined together. A young Ethiopian groom valiantly strives to restrain an enormous horse draped in the majestic skin of a panther, its muscles rippling beneath the taut hide. The groom firmly grips his whip in his elevated right hand and expertly holds the reins with his left. Above the horse's back, an indelible impression of a Macedonian helmet is visible, its shape unmistakable. The prominence given to the horse suggests that its owner was a military man, and the monument, taking the form of a naiskos, reinforces this notion. It is believed that the representation would have been completed by additional figures, either in relief or carved in the round, possibly depicting a warrior accompanied by his youthful servant, who carries his equipment with pride. This magnificent relief is thought to have originated from a funerary monument and has been dated to the late 4th century BC. Nevertheless, an alternative perspective proposes that it is a Classicising work of the 1st century BC, created in honor of a ruler, possibly Mithridates, king of Pontos, whose legacy it seeks to commemorate.