skip to content

Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases

Grave Stele of an Athlete

A weathered memorial stone of a young man mourned by his father.

At the feet of the young deceased man crouches a servant boy who appears to be asleep. He is holding the sportsman’s strigil and aryballos, indicating that the dead man was an athlete. The two main figures, father and son, are unusually close together, which has led to an odd overlapping of hands and arm. Also out of the ordinary is the look of extreme dejection in the younger man’s face and stance; he seems to be in mourning for himself

Number: 
263
Material: 
Pentelic marble
Location of Original: 

Athens, National Museum 871

Size: 
1.62m
References: 

Lippold: Griechische Plastik, 252 (n.1), for type of stele
Walston: Catalogue of Casts in the Museum of Classical Archaeology (1889), 75, no.358
Papaspiridi: Guide du Musée Nationale d’Athènes (1927), 154
Conze: Die Attischen Grabreliefs (1890-1922) II, 225, pl. CCX
Clairmont: Classical Attic Tombstones (1993), vol. II, 824

Date: 
C4 BCE
Provenance: 

Found in the Dipylon cemetery in Athens, in 1840

Search Casts

Use our search tools to search the Casts Archive

Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge

Every cast tells two stories.
One ancient. One modern.

Admission is free.

We are open

Opening hours

Tues-Fri: 11am-2pm
Sat: 2-5pm (Univ. term-time only)
Sun & Mon: Closed

Closed on Bank Holiday Mondays

Visit us

Museum of Classical Archaeology
Faculty of Classics
Sidgwick Avenue
Cambridge
CB3 9DA

Get in touch

Tel. +44 (0)1223 330402
Email

Facebook Twitter

For an explanation of what personal information we gather when you visit the University’s website and details of how that information is used please see the following University Privacy policy:

https://www.cam.ac.uk/about-this-site/privacy-policy

Copyright statement

All images and material on our websites are ©Museum of Classical Archaeology, University of Cambridge unless otherwise stated. Permission is required to reproduce our images.

See also our Copyright Notice and Take Down Policy.

Important Information

Museum of Classical Archaeology Web Accessibility Statement