Fragment of a Funerary Lekythos (Monument in the Shape of an Oil Jar)

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This stone fragment takes the shape of a lekythos, a small terracotta jar of oil that was often left at a grave just as we might leave flowers today. Inscriptions identify the three figures. The bearded man at left is named Leon and was from Halai (located northwest of Athens). He clasps hands with Demagora, who sits before him and is presumably his wife. Their daughter, Helike, stands behind her mother and watches the couple bid an eternal farewell, although it is unclear which of the three has died. Only prominent families would have had the means to immortalize their loved ones by having their names set in stone.

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