Ares: Brother, Commander, Deity or Son? A New Interpretation of the Ares Tombstone

Abstract

The so-called Ares tombstone, currently kept in the British Museum under inventory number GRA 1973.4-22.1 [Sc. 2271], is one of the most beautiful examples of Roman sepulchral art to come out of Egypt. Although the stela has been studied many times before, scholars are still intrigued by its problematical relief scene, depicting two full-length standing male figures with similar facial features. The Greek epitaph, inscribed underneath the relief, informs us that the stela was set up to commemorate the veteran Ares. Another Ares is mentioned, but his identity and relationship to the deceased are uncertain. Various theories have been proposed, identifying this Ares successively as a brother, commander or fellow soldier of the deceased, as Ares, the god of war, or as the deceased himself, but all of them have been refuted. The author proposes a new interpretation of the epitaph and relief.