No R 03
White marble archaic bas-relief slab from the
neighbourhood of Kodi Keui.
Museum Istanbul, no. 524 (1136).
The relief, surmounted by a dedication in lettering
550-500 B.C., portrays a man, looking to the left, seated on
a high-backed throne. A woman standing behind the throne
places her right hand on his head, her left hand on his left
shoulder.
Another woman standing in front of the man clasps his
hands in hers.
The group is flanked by two other figures: females depicted
on a somewhat smaller scale. One of these stretches out her
hands, the other raises her right hand to her head as if in
bewilderment.
A long time this representation has been considered as a "birth of Athena", but since the inscription has been deciphered we know it is a tombstone.
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