746. A boy, Serapion, stands between two figures, probably those of his father and mother. All three are closely wrapped in himatia. Behind is a tree, about which is a serpent; a bird sits on a branch. The relief is bounded by pilasters, a circular arch with rosettes in the spandrels, and a pediment.
Inscribed: Σεραπίων, χρῆστε καὶ ἄλυπε χαῖρε.
Greek marble; height, 3 feet 2 inches; width, 1 foot 8¼ inches. This stone was formerly at Venice, and afterwards in London, "apud Dodd chemicum." Boeckh, C.I.G., 6990.
RELIEFS WITH RIDER AND HORSE, HEROIFIED.
In the following reliefs the deceased person is heroified, and represented as receiving libations or worship. The sepulchral serpent is frequently introduced. For a discussion of the type, see above, [p. 301].
750. Sepulchral relief of a warrior. In the centre of the relief is a bearded male figure, heavily armed. He wears a helmet, cuirass, and greaves, and has a spear in his left hand. He stands near a trophy which consists of a helmet, cuirass, and greaves attached to the trunk of a tree. On the left side of the trophy stands a female figure, pouring a libation from a jug into a cup. A serpent, coiled about the trophy, drinks from the cup. On the right of the relief is the forepart of the warrior's horse and the head of a groom. The relief is bounded by two pilasters and an architrave.
The inscription on the upper and lower edges contains a list of names of men in the dative case, with their cities added. The persons commemorated belonged to various parts of the Peloponnesus, Northern Greece, Thrace and Macedonia. From the position of the inscription, it is plain that it is independent of the relief, and probably it is earlier.—Brought from Greece by Mr. Topham, 1725; Presented by Sir Joseph Banks and the Hon. A. C. Fraser, 1780.
Greek marble; height, 2 feet 1⅞ inch; width, 3 feet 8½ inches. Mus. Marbles, II., pl. 41; Ellis, Townley Gallery, II., p. 157; Jahn, De Ant. Minervae Simulacris, p. 23, pl. 3, fig. 1; C.I.G., 1936; Wolters, 437.
751. Mutilated relief. A horseman is mounted, to the right. He has an elaborate skin saddle-cloth, terminating with an animal's head before the horse. Behind on the left is an attendant with a tunic worn over one shoulder (heteromaschalos), and with a shield. On the right are an altar and a tree, about which a serpent is entwined. An uncertain object is seen in the upper left corner of the relief. The relief is very high. The horse originally had reins of bronze.
Marble; height, 3 feet; width, 3 feet.