A Classical Athenian Grave (No 48, 470–50 BC) and Its Content from the Area between the So-Called ‘Ēriai’ Gate and the Dipylon

Abstract

Abstract During a rescue excavation a section of a cemetery dated between the Geometric and Hellenistic periods came to light, approximately 300 metres away from the archaeological site of the Kerameikos, along the ancient road that linked the route of the Dēmosion Sēma with the road that passed through the so-called ‘Ēriai’ Gate, and near the Sanctuary of Artemis Aristē and Callistē. Of the 91 graves that were unearthed, two are of particular interest. This paper offers an in-depth discussion of Grave 48, dated to 470-50 BC, which belongs to a boy aged between ten and thirteen years. The grave contains lekythoi, a strigil, a lyre and an aulos, deposited as grave goods next to his left arm. The grave goods that characterize the life of the dead are buried along with the body and symbolize their unlived future: hence they express the unbounded grief which the death of unmarried young men inevitably causes. The paper attempts to analyse the grave goods as symbols of the life of the deceased, and interpret the presence of the lyre in children’s graves.