Votive Relief to Achilles and Thetis

This fragmentary relief depicts a group of figures approaching a larger than life-sized pair in a chariot. The scene is unclear, but it may represent the Greek hero Achilles, identifiable by his shield and helmet, riding with a female figure, perhaps his mother Thetis. The chariot slowly converges on a procession of seven men wearing cloaks and wide-brimmed hats. These figures could be worshippers, and the three rams in front of them brought as sacrifice. There is a partially preserved inscription along the bottom edge of the relief that reads: Λ]Ε[Ι . .]ΑΣ ΛΑΚΡΑ[ΤΗΣ] ΓΕΙΦΕΙΣ ΑΧΙΛΛΕΙΔΑΣ (translated as "...Lakrates and Gephes of the Achilleides").

The relief takes the usual form of a votive monument that was set up as an offering in a sanctuary. The dedicators are named in the partially legible inscription at the bottom of the Getty relief, which gives the names of Lakrates and Gephes and refers to the religious association of the Achilleides, who claim to be descendants of Achilles. In Greek religion, many heroes were worshipped and had religious cults associated with them. It was believed that they could intercede on the behalf of mortals. Achilles was certainly worshipped as a hero, and in some places he may even have been worshipped as a god. In this relief, the group of worshippers brings three rams to sacrifice to Achilles. The relief probably comes from Thessaly, where, according to Greek mythology, Achilles was born and educated.