Marble funerary stele

3D Model

BLMJ 01052 Hellenistic period, ca. 200 BCE Anatolia

The inscription in Greek identifies the deceased as “Ariston, son of Apollas, the younger.” He is depicted sitting pensively on a chair; before him stand a woman and a child, probably his wife and son. A little dog paws at the drapery of his seat. In the upper right corner there is a tree, encircled by a snake; they probably symbolize the tree of life and the immortal serpent who sloughs his skin and “rises again.” Two funerary wreaths, expressing victory over death and the hope for immortality, are carved above the scene.