Funerary lekythos (tombstone)

“This tombstone from 4th century BCE Athens takes the shape of a lekythos, the type of pottery used in Athenian funerary practice. Carved on this funerary monument is a figural scene, above which is a Greek inscription naming the woman the piece commemorates: Nikoboule, the daughter of Semiades. Nikoboule is most likely the adult woman seated on the left. She faces a standing couple, presumably her parents, who return her gaze. The woman in the center (her mother) looks Nikoboule in the eye and rests a hand tenderly on her shoulder, while the man (her father, Semiades) clasps his right hand to hers. Multifigured family scenes were common on tombstones from Classical Athens, as was the gesture of the handshake, called a dexiosis. This gesture emphasized the close connection between the family members. This funerary lekythos is not only a poignant monument to a woman who died in the 4th century BCE. It is also an expression of the value that Classical Athenians placed on family ties, ties that they hoped would remain strong even across the divide between the living and the dead.” (Wendy Closterman, “Death and the Athenian Family: An Athenian Funerary Lekythos,” _Glencairn Museum News_, Number 7, 2021; see External Link)

Sources:
- Wendy Closterman, “Death and the Athenian Family: An Athenian Funerary Lekythos,” _Glencairn Museum News_, Number 7, 2021.