Circular pedestal or altar on a square plinth, on one side of which
is a sepulchral relief. A man stands on the right, clasping the right
hand of a seated woman, probably his wife. She holds her veil with
her left hand. Behind the woman stands Hermes Psychopompos, about
to conduct her shade to Hades. He has petasos, talaria, chlamys and
caduceus. On the right is another male figure standing, with folded
hands, and beyond is what appears to be an altar. The altar is
rectangular, and is surmounted by a conical object, round which a
serpent is twined. By the side of the altar is the mutilated figure
of a boy. On the extreme left behind Hermes is a sundial, to which
his hand is pointing. At the side of the chair stands a draped female
attendant of diminutive stature. This figure is much defaced, and the
lower part is broken away. The head of this figure has been broken
off, and the faces and general surface of all the figures are much
eaten away by exposure to weather. This relief occupies about a third
of the circle of the pedestal, the remainder being ornamented by
festoons of ivy suspended between three bulls' heads. In the centre of
the top of the pedestal is a round hole, as if to receive a dowel, and
the surface of the marble seems prepared for a joint. The whole may
have served as a pedestal for a statue.--_Obtained from Greece by the
fourth Earl of Aberdeen, and presented by the fifth Earl of Aberdeen,
1861._
Greek marble; height, 3 feet 7 inches; diameter, 2 feet 9 inches.
_Guide to Graeco-Roman Sculptures_, Part II., No. 75.
RELIEFS REPRESENTING THE SEPULCHRAL BANQUET.
For a discussion of the interpretation of this class of reliefs, see
above, p. 298.
[Sidenote: =711.=]
Cast of a sepulchral relief, sometimes known as the "Death of
Socrates." A man, bearded, reclines on a couch, with a bowl in his
right hand, held out as if to pour a libation. A woman seated on a
stool by the foot of the couch, extends her hands. On the right is a
man, draped and bearded, and on the left a nude youth who stands with
a jug by a large crater. Below the couch is a dog gnawing a bone. The
original, of white marble, was found at _the Piraeus_ in 1838, and is
now in the _National Museum at Athens_.
Height, 1 foot 7-1/2 inches; width, 2 feet 1 inch. [Greek:
Ephêmeris], 1839, No. 269; Le Bas, _Mon. Fig._, pl. 52;
Pervanoglu, _Familienmahl_, p. 24, No. 60; Mitchell, p. 504;
Wolters, No. 1052; Roscher, _Lexicon_, p. 2574.
[Sidenote: =712.=]
Relief with banquet. Two male figures recline together on a couch. One
is a bearded man, the other is a youth. The man holds a bowl in his
left hand and places his right hand on the shoulder of the youth
who turns his head towards him. Before the couch is a table with
provisions. On the right is a nude youth with a jug and bowl. On the
left is a youth, wearing tunic and chlamys, who leads a horse. The
relief is bounded by pilasters and an architrave.
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