Arkhaia Anatolika (Feb 2022)
Pednelissos’tan Geç Hellenistik Dönem Bir Mezar Steli / A Late Hellenistic Period Grave Stele from Pednelissos
Abstract
The ancient city of Pednelissos is located within the borders of Antalya province and it is possible to suggest that it was inhabited at least from the beginning of the Hellenistic Period. There are three figures on the grave stele from Pednelissos. To the left, Hermes dressed in chlamys is leaning against an angular plaster or wall. Also it has kerykeion, talaria and maybe petasos. In this stele, Hermes is found especially as a psychopompos. Hermes, by being depicted smaller than the man who owns the grave stele on his right, also enables the deceased to become a hero. In addition, Hermes keeps his feet crossed like the servants on the grave steles and exhibits a mourning pose for the dead. It is possible to consider Hermes' mourning for the dead as a kind of farewell scene. Hermes may also have assumed a role as the savior and supporter of the deceased person and perhaps his relatives. It can be said that Hermes’ stance was modeled Praxiteles’ Leaning Satyr. The man who owns the stele becomes a hero here, and the origin of the divine stance seen in him must be a Zeus statue of Pheidias. The lion on the stele, on the other hand, symbolizes the stele owner's victory over death and attaining immortality and the power of this person, in addition to its protective feature. The Pednelissos Grave Stele is a frameless grave stele, Attic type or produced in this tradition. The stele may have been made by a local craftsman who knew the Attic-type grave stele tradition in Pednelissos, or by a traveling craftsman who stopped by here. It is also possible, though less likely, that the stele will be traded to order. In addition, it is possible to accept the grave stele as a unique work, in which the variation of the two works belonging to Pheidias and Praxiteles is given successfully. The Pednelissos Grave Stele can be dated to the Late Hellenistic Period, around 150-50 BC.
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