Funerary Lion

This crouching lion with its head turned to the right originally afforded symbolic protection of a grave in Athens or its territory. The back of the statue was damaged and has been been recut. The lion's face and mane are stylized, and the body is rather doglike. This unrealistic rendering of lions is typical of Greek artists, who would never have seen a real lion and thus modeled their depiction on a combination of artistic tradition, large dogs, and house cats.

In antiquity, walled family burial plots lined the roads out of Athens. Sculpted lions such as this one, placed at the corners of the plot, were especially popular in the 300s B.C. Funerary sculptures had a dual purpose: they protected the tombs and served to show the wealth and prestige of the family. The ostentation of these displays led to an Athenian law of 317 B.C. that banned all but the simplest of grave markers.