This subtle little bull is from a grave enclosure of Dionysios of Kollytos which was situated along the Way of the Tombs. It was placed on a high pedestal within the grave enclosure, and I can imagine it had a quite formidable look.
Made of marble, the bull dates to around 345BC and 340BC. Dionysios died unmarried and lived nearby to Kerameikos, at Kollytos. He served as a treasurer in Heraion in the years 346 and 345BC.
There was a larger museum at Kerameikos than I had anticipated and it was well laid out, with plenty of descriptions clearly available. Below are some of the items that I thought were interesting.
Dating to between 430BC and 200BC, this is a naiskos, which is a mini temple and inside is a statuette of Cybele seated on a throne.
This small cart with a white horse dates to 675BC to 650BC, and the archaeologists can be that precise as the items were all found within an offering pit which had dating evidence.
These are small lead sheets which are from the Athenian cavalry and they have the name of the horse owners engraved into them. Number 15 is Aristokrates, 16 is Laches, 17 is Kleomedon, 18 is Python and 19 and 20, which are rolled up, are Kydios and Menon.
I’m not sure that I would want to be called python, it’s a Greek word for the huge serpent which was killed by Apollo, and later of course used as a word for a snake.
Small dishes dating from between 325BC and 500BC.
A marble ossuary, or container for human bones.
This is a Pyxis, or effectively a box, which has horse figurines on the lid. This was found as part of a female burial which took place in the eighth century BC.
Another Pyxis with animal figurines, dating to around 775BC to 750BC.
A Roman multi-nozzle lamp in the form of a boat, dating to around the fourth century AD.
Dating to around 380BC to 370BC, this is a silver pendant amulet with a depiction of Aphrodite.
A pyxis from between 430BC and 200BC.
A jug dating from between 450BC and 400BC.
I found all of these grave markers fascinating, not because of their design, but because of their great age. The families of the dead would have spent some money on these grave markers and it’s wonderful that they’ve survived for so long. They’ve been moved for their protection (from the elements, not angry locals) from the main grave site just a few metres away.
A funerary vase showing Aristomache, who is seated, saying goodbye to her husband. Impressively the date is known, it’s from 338BC.
A funerary vase, apparently the image is of the deceased woman, Kleonike, saying farewell to Demostrate. It dates to the middle of the fourth century BC.
A depiction of a funerary vase.
It’s not a sheep, this is a marble grave marker of a brave and fierce lion. It was found to the south of the Street of Tombs at Kerameikos cemetery and it dates back to the fourth century BC.
Kerameikos was a district of Athens which took its name from the pottery makers who lived there. The Latin name for the district was Ceramicus, which is where the English word for ceramics comes from. The site is now all part of a museum complex and is part of the museum ticket which I purchased a few days ago.
There’s a lot at this site, so that’ll be several ‘fascinating’ posts from me about it. It includes an internationally important cemetery, former roads, walls, gatehouses and many buildings.
To start with, here are some photos across the general site.
