FRAGMENT OF A RELIEF: GREEK HEROES
Classification
Dimensions
48 x 44 x 5 cm
Date
early 20th century
Period
Material
Iconography
Production place
Inventory
Ag.488
ID
Hyp-5863
References
The relief shows three men identified by the inscriptions next to them. On the left, Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks marching against Troy, sits on a stool. Behind him stands his messenger, Talthybios, holding a herald’s staff (kerykeion), followed by Epeios, the builder of the Trojan horse. We may be witnessing the moment Agamemnon was initiated into the cult of the Kabeiroi, who were especially revered at Samothrace. The relief is bordered by a frieze of lotuses and palmettes, a scroll pattern, and a (now damaged) griffin-head. The relief may have decorated the base of a cult statue, or the armrest of a throne.
