Attic Sarcophagus - I

From the second century AD, Athenian workshops competed with those of Rome in the production of monumental sarcophagi, which were often exported to other parts of Greece or across the Mediterranean. One such example is this sarcophagus, made circa AD 180 and found in Thessaloniki.

The roughly hewn lid represents the deceased couple on their funeral bed.

The box portrays the legendary battle between the Greeks and the Amazons; the back is adorned with garlands and griffons.

Athens was the third largest center for the production of sarcophagi after Rome and Asia Minor; its sculptural tradition was perpetuated by relief-decorated sarcophagi, often destined for a foreign clientele and exported across the Mediterranean or within Greece itself (as in the present case). Production ceased during the late third century under the impact of the economic crisis, which was partly due to the Herulian invasion of Attica in AD 267.

 

Source: Louvre WEB Site

 

Attic marble sacophagus

Made in Athens

About 180 AD

From Thessaloniki

Paris, Musée du Louvre

 

 

Done