AIUK7 no. 1 Funerary lekythos for Pyrrhos of Potamos and his wife

Funerary lekythos for Pyrrhos of Potamos and his wife

AIUK 7 (Chatsworth) no. 1 Date: ca. 375-325 BC

Side A (left)

Pyrrhos son of Pankles of Potamos.

Relief

Side B (right)

. . . -te (daughter) of –sostratos of Kephale.^[1]

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Greek text

References:

AIUK 7 (Chatsworth) no. 1 (Translated text) (AIO) (AIUK)

SEG 47.245 (PHI) (PHI)

Clairmont, CAT 3.777

Boschung, MAR XXII no. 78

SEMA 297

Translation by: Peter Liddel, Polly Low

AIO Images: 1

Images: Arachne - (1)

Monument type: Lekythos

Inscription type: Funerary

Findspot: Unknown (Chatsworth - Boschung 78)

Transliterations on Places on

[1] This is one of three Attic inscriptions acquired by the Dukes of Devonshire and now at their English country seat, Chatsworth in Derbyshire (cf. AIUK 7, no. 2). It is a funerary monument, more specifically a marble lekythos, a stone version of a ceramic vessel which was closely associated with funerary rites and grave offerings. It would originally have been one of a series of monuments in a funerary enclosure (peribolos); a grave stele for a member of the same family (IG II² 7269) was found in Piraeus, and it is possible that this is where the family burial enclosure was located. The lekythos is decorated with a relief which depicts three adult figures (two female and one male) and a small child. Central to the scene are two adults: a male, probably Pyrrhos son of Pankles, and a female, probably his wife, the daughter of -sostratos (possibly K[ephi]sostratos). The inscriptions do not, however, straightforwardly “label” these figures: the inscription which names Pyrrhos is placed above the two female figures, while the inscription which names the daughter of -sostratos is located near the male figure; it is possible that one of the inscriptions was added to the lekythos at a later date (that is: that the lekythos was originally designed to commemorate only Pyrrhos or his wife), and that this explains the slightly awkward arrangement of text and image. The two central figures are shaking hands (the gesture known as dexiosis), while the woman performs the gesture of anakalypsis, unveiling; both gestures are common on funerary monuments, and are used to signify the intimate and enduring bond between the two figures. Between the two adults, the small child runs towards the woman (presumably its mother); behind the main female figure stands another, smaller, female adult, probably a domestic slave. This slave carries a box, probably a jewellery-casket, which might be intended to demonstrate the wealth of the woman or might be a representation of an offering which would be made at the grave. The inscriptions name the demes of both of the people commemorated on the lekythos (Potamos and Kephale, both in southern Attica). This confirms their citizen status. We know from speeches delivered in court that monuments like this could be cited as evidence in cases of disputed inheritance. The lekythos can be dated by its shape and the style of its lettering to the second or third quarter of the fourth century. For a fuller discussion of this monument see AIUK 7 (Chatsworth), no. 1. For more information about private Attic funerary monuments, see AIUK 3 (Cambridge), section 3.

Added: 21 Oct 2019
Updated: 29 Mar 2022
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