Gravestone fragment with family scene

myminifactory

The most elaborate funeral monuments were constructed in the sixth century BC by aristocratic families of Attica within private burial grounds along roadside on family estates or near Athens. Families commissioned relief sculpture, statues, and tall stelai crowned with capitals and finials for many of these graves. Each monumental tomb featured an inscribed base bearing an epitaph often written in verse that honored the deceased. A relief depicting a generalized image of the deceased sometimes included details from their life such as servants, possessions, dogs etc. On early reliefs, it is relatively easy to identify the deceased; however, during the fourth century BC, more and more family members were added to the scenes, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish the deceased from the mourners.