The central block of the outer side of the gate is in the foreground; in front of it the marble base of a statue with a low bench, also in marble. In the distance is seen the Acropolis, with the Propylæa at the right hand.
represent in a simple and impressive way the last farewell, by the mutual clasp of the hands, or by figuring the deceased as in the act of going on a journey. It was different, however, with the earthenware vases, called lecythi, which were placed within the tomb, for they had usually depicted on them a funeral scene of some kind, either borrowed from real life or having reference to the unseen world, Charon and his boat being frequently introduced in this connection. In some few cases the dead man is represented as partaking of a banquet, suggesting the idea that he still survived to claim the ministrations of his friends as a hero or demi-god. There was one form of large, two-handled vase in particular, generally of marble, which when deposited on a tomb indicated that the person interred there had died unmarried. As its name, loutrophoros, signifies, it was the jar used for carrying water from the spring Callirhoe for the bridal bath, and its presence on the tomb symbolised the belief that a marriage with Hades (Pluto) awaited those who had died in their virginity.
The ground, both inside and outside of the Dipylon Gate, was called Cerameicus (“Inner” and “Outer”), its name being derived from the fine red clay which for two or three thousand years has yielded material for one of the chief branches of industrial art in Athens. The Dipylon vase was well-known as early as the eighth or seventh century B.C. Its style of decoration was geometrical, with varieties of the “key pattern.” The men and horses depicted on it are conventional and angular; and from an artistic point of view it is inferior to the earlier style. Towards the end of the seventh century it gave way to the “Phalerum” vase, which was smaller and more delicate, with some oriental features, borrowed apparently from the woven fabrics of the east. In the sixth century Attic pottery underwent great improvements, both as regards the preparation of the clay and the decoration of its surface. It became famous all over the western world, and thousands of specimens have been found in the cemeteries of Etruria, as well as in the Cerameicus and elsewhere. Instead of the figuring being in black on the red ground, the terra-cotta began to be reserved for the figures, which were thus rendered much more attractive. Though so largely used for funeral purposes the fact that so many vases have been found on the Acropolis among the ruins left by the Persian invasion shows that that was not their only use—otherwise they would not have been suitable for dedication to the gods. Many of them seem to have been placed on the grave-mound, or near it, as useful and ornamental articles, which might supply the wants of the departed. The lecythi, which, as already mentioned, were specially intended for funeral purposes, were generally decorated with black silhouette figures on a fine white ground. Some of the vases placed on tombs had no bottom, so that when a libation was poured into them it sank into the grave.
From an early period there was a tendency to extravagance in connection with funerals. In Solon’s time it seems to have been excessive demonstrations of grief that needed to be restrained; but before long a law was passed that “no tomb should be built with more elaboration than could be effected by ten men in three days.” In the beginning of the fourth century Demetrius of Phalerum, who was then in power at Athens, forbade the erection of anything more than a mound of earth with a column not exceeding three cubits high, or a simple slab, or a water-vessel. We can judge of the extravagance which occasioned such regulations from the fact that Harpalus, to whose care Alexander the Great confided his treasures before invading India, had recently erected a tomb on the Eleusinian way in memory of his wife Pythionice, who was originally a slave, at an expense of more than £6000, which, Pausanias tells us, was the tomb best worth seeing in Greece. The same man built a still grander memorial to his wife at Babylon, at a cost of about £36,000. Even this was a trifle, however, compared with the two or three millions of pounds expended by Alexander himself on the funeral obsequies of his friend Hephæstion, shortly before his own death—which was brought on by the fierce intemperance in which he sought to drown his grief. A more precious tribute of affection was paid to the remains of the statesman Phocion by his widow. As the Athenians in a frenzy of excitement had found him guilty of treason, he could not be buried in his own country, and his body was therefore carried into the adjoining territory of Megara and burned there. His wife brought back the bones in her bosom by night, and laid them near her own hearth, with the prayer: “Beloved Hestia” (the Goddess of the Hearth), “I confide to thee these relics of a good man. Restore them to his own family vault, as soon as the Athenians shall come to their senses.” Before long the prayer was fulfilled, for the Athenians ordained a public funeral in honour of the condemned man, and erected a statue to his memory.
Besides the road westward to Eleusis, there were two other ways from the Dipylon Gate, the one leading in a north-westerly direction to the Academy, the other south-west to the Piræus. On the latter road were the tombs of some famous men, including Socrates, Euripides, and Menander, but the way to the Academy was the favourite place for monuments in honour of those who had fallen in war or had otherwise distinguished themselves in the service of their country. Cicero, who, like so many of his countrymen, studied at Athens, speaks with admiration of these monuments; and we can imagine that a walk in the neighbourhood must have been as interesting and inspiring to an Athenian as a visit to Westminster or St. Paul’s is to a modern Briton. Many of the monuments were in honour of large bodies of men who had lost their lives in battle; but, as Pausanias tells, there were also to be seen the tombs of great statesmen like Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles; great warriors like Chabrias, Phormio, and Conon; great benefactors like Thrasybulus and Lycurgus; and great philosophers like Zeno and Plato.
