The Amazonomachy on Attic and Tarantine Funerary Naiskoi

Abstract

Funerary naiskoi of monumental size were unusual in fourth-century BC Attic funerary art, but the evidence shows that a similar type of building was more commonly produced in the West: architectural andrelief fragments alongside depictions of naiskoi on Apulian red-figure vases indicate that this type of temple-like structure was also produced in Taranto. Relief decoration showing episodes of heroic myth and battles served to enhance the status of the dead in tomb iconography; being the Amazonomachy the single most popular subject on fourth-century BCfunerary monuments. Today, it is widely accepted that the popularity of the subject is indebted to its presence in the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos and other eastern funerary monuments, but little has been said about the myth’s connotations when placed in different geographic areas. This paper will explore the funerary uses of the Amazonomachy through both a contextual and an iconographic analysis of its presence on Attic and Tarantine funerary naiskoi.