Grave Stele of Herophanta and Posideos

about 150 B.C.

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

151.4 × 57 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-250737

The Greek city of Smyrna, on the coast of modern Turkey, honored prominent citizens at their death by erecting monuments. The form of a stele, or grave marker, with figures set in a shallow naiskos topped by honorific wreathes and an architectural pediment is typical of the monuments made at Smyrna. This stele honored Herophanta, who was a priestess of Demeter, the goddess of fertility, and her husband Posideos. Herophanta stands to the right of the large central torch, a symbol of Demeter, while her husband and two children stand on the left. Her husband Posideos is shown as a cultivated man, in a pose used earlier to depict philosophers and oraters. The inscriptions name both individuals: "The demos honors Posideos, son of Demokleios" and "The demos honors Herophanta, daughter of Timon." This monument is unusual, because unlike most civic stelai, it includes not only Herophanta but also her family. By the 100s B.C., when this stele was made, the family emphasis found on earlier gravestones had largely disappeared and was replaced by figures that stand frontally like statues without interacting.