HESPERIA 70 (200I) ICONOG RAPHY Pages46z-492 AND THE DYNAMIGS O F PATRO NAG E A SARCO P HAGU S FROM T H E FAMILYOF HERODESATTICUS ABSTRACT A sarcophagusfiom the estateof HerodesAtticus in Kephisiacommemo- ratesthe intimate connections ofthe familywiththe cityof Sparta,the Battle of Marathon,and the cultstatue of Nemesisat Rhamnous.Theiconographic allusionsto Marathonalso reflect the prioritiesof the SecondSophistic, an intellectualmovement that appealed to the pastto establishcultural and po- liticalsuperiority. The unusualand meaningfill decorative program suggests thatthe family commissioned this sarcophagus. The earlierview that the more unusualAttic sarcophagiwere prefabricated, but that theirthemes simply provedunpopular, should be modifiedin lightof this study. INTRODUCTION In Septemberof 1866,during the construction of a housein the Kephisia suburbof Athens,workers discovered a marbleburial chamber, roughly squarein plan.1Robbers had long since plundered the chamber, removing thedeceased and most ofthe portable possessions. In 1866,the significant remainingartifacts included four carved marble sarcophagi and only a handfillof smallobjects.2 Otto Benndorf,who wrotethe firstcomplete descriptionof the chamberand its contents,was also the firstto suggest 1. I thankthe Universityof Mich- andNeel Smithfor discussing with me this study,still stand in the tomb iganfor support that allowed me to someof the ideaspresented here. Photo- today.Cramped space in the tomb undertakepreliminary research in graphswere kindly provided byJan San- makesit difficultto providea complete Athensfor this article;and the College ders;the BritishMuseum; the Deutsches photographicrecord. I thereforerefer of the Holy Crossboth for funds to ArchaologischesInstitut, Rome; the in manyinstances to the line drawings purchasephotographs and for a leaveof GreekArchaeological Service; and the of the Ledasarcophagus produced by absencethat allowed me to continue KunsthistorischesMuseum, Vienna. Robert(1890, pl. III andp. 9), which mywork. I amgrateful to Elaine Permissionto reproducedrawings was havebeen used in mostsubsequent Gazda,Mark Landon, Kenneth La- generouslygranted by MarinaBelozer- scholarship(Figs. 1 and5 here,respec- patin,and Miranda Marvin for their skaya(Fig. 15) andthe DeutschesArchao- tively).Benndorf (1868, p. 40) mentions commentson earlydrafts of this article logischesInstitut, Athens (Fig. 16). thata greenglass vessel (Gefass) without andfor their graciously offered insights 2. All foursarcophagi, including the handlesand a possiblebronze mirror andcriticisms; and to ThomasMartin so-calledLeda sarcophagus considered in werealso found in the tomb. American School of Classical Studies at Athens is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to Hesperia ® www.jstor.org X, , , X, \ -N ,> 462 ELLEN E. PERRY thatthe structurebelonged to the familyof the famous2nd-century A.C. Figure1 (opposite).Drawing of the sophist-millionaire,Herodes Atticus. At the timeof Benndorf'swriting, Leda sarcophagusfrom Kephisia. theevidence to supportthis attribution was meager. Philostratus and Aulus Front(top), left and right sides Gelliusboth indicate that Herodes owned a villain Kephisia(Philostr. VS (center),back (bottom). Robert 1890, 2.562;Aul. Gell. 1.2.1-2), but these testimonia and a fewadditional arti- pl. III factsonly placed Herodes in thegeneral neighborhood. Since then, how- ever,a numberof archaeologicaldiscoveries, including portraits and in- scriptions,have confirmed not onlyHerodes' presence in Kephisiabut, morespecifically, his ownership of landin theimmediate neighborhood of the tomb.3 An inscriptionfound built into the nearby Church of HagiaParaskevi identifiesthis tombwith the family.It recordsthe recentloss of an un- namedinfant child of Herodes.The textof the inscriptionindicates that otherchildren of his hadalready died: 'Hto8Ns, o' v8r xotuNv,ov wavTa rvtavTov ovr xo,uNvutorv vas ovr or waoa (ptov ,uNvt\ oXx , xroas,, vsof \ xrvrcet, n xaToa, yas,, 'Htocl)8Ng8ruceas axtoa xos Aaxtoucet qZ- n rTvZovXO waocl)v o N v )vXag otcetv,o Cl)C,c, wor cecl)a- 0rXaU^, an rvn Urlxatc,a, v,urxrtootof , waooc,. , Herodesset in the depthsof the earththis his lock of hair, Havingdampened the tipsof the hairwith his tears, Whenfor less than the cycleof a year He hadneither grown his hairnor reared you, dear son, Forhe cutthis lock in the thirdmonth. Mayit be a truetoken to youthree children's souls Thatyou will someday receive among the coffinsthe body of your father.4 JenniferTobin notes that the block on whichthis inscription was found is 3. Tobin(1997, pp.211-239, fig. 42) similarin thicknessand treatment to the blocksfrom the dromosof the hasthoroughly documented the arch- Kephisiatomb.5 This observation supports the identification of the struc- aeologicalevidence for Herodes' presence tureas the restingplace for several of Herodes'children. in Kephisia. 4. SEG XXVI290 (= Ameling1983, Thefour sarcophagi in theKephisia tomb date to theAntonine period II, pp. 143-146,no. 140).See Tobin andare therefore consistent with Herodes' dates.6 One sarcophagus has no 1997,p. 225,where this translationis figuraldecoration, while commonsepulchral motifs adorn two others: creditedto M. B. Richardson. garlandson one,and Erotes on the other.The fourthbox, known as the 5. Tobin1997, p.225. Ledasarcophagus, depicts a themethat is unusualon sarcophagi, the family 6. Benndorf1868, p. 40;Tschira 1948-1949,col. 86. of HelenofTroy (Fig. l).This particularcoffin presents a rareopportunity 7. Kochand Sichtermann 1982, to examinethe dynamicsof artpatronage in the 2nd century,precisely pp.46S461, whereKoch also cites becauseit hasbeen convincingly attributed to a"private" (i.e., non-imperial) (ns.28-30,32) otherexamples of anoma- butfamous family. louspieces from this period: a Dionysiac GuntramKoch suggests that this sarcophagus, like many, was prefab- sarcophagusnear the Hephaisteionin ricated.Because the theme is unusual,however, he alsoconjectures that its Athens;one with centaurs in the National Museum(NM 1184);one with Erotes decorativeprogram was a marketfailure, and that this and other anoma- in Thessaloniki(Thessaloniki Museum lousthemes were quickly eliminated from the filneraryrepertoire when 1248);and two cineraryurns, one in theyproved unpopular.7 The iconographyof thiscoffin, however, alludes Athensand one in Patras. = r WL I I l 464 ELLEN E. PERRY Figure2. Right side of sarcophagus, showingdetail of Eros.The gabled lid does not belong to the sarcoph- agus.Photo author, reproduced with permissionof the GreekArchaeological zervlce to specificconnections that the familyof Herodesenjoyed both with the cityof Spartaand with the deme of Marathon.In thiscase, the sarcopha- gus was clearlynot prefabricated,but commissioned,and its decorative programwas part of a self-consciousmythmaking that celebrated family identity.8The decoration may, more specifically, commemorate the coffinXs occupants HerodesXdaughter, Elpinike, whose very name is an allusion to Marathon;and perhaps her husband, L. VibulliusHipparchus, about whomwe knowlittle, but who is likelyto havebeen a kinsmanof Herodes. THE LEDA SARCOPHAGUS The Ledasarcophagus is of thekline type, with its originallid in theform of one or,more probably, two figuresreclining on a couch.The pitched- rooflid thatrests on thebox at present (Fig. 2) doesnot, therefore, belong 8. SimilarlyXEwald (1999> esp. to it, butto one of the othersarcophagi in the tomb.That this is a kline pp.79> 129-130)> in a studyof intel- lectualactivities as representedon sarcophagusis clear from a long,narrow rectangle set into the rightside sarcophagiXsuggests that unusual of theupper molding on thefront (Fig. 1, upperright; Fig. 3, upperleft). iconographiesreflect the particular A correspondinginset probably appeared on theleft sideof the molding, interestsof the deceased. ICONOGRAPHY AND THE DYNAMICS OF PATRONAGE 465 Figure3. Caryatidon right front cornerof sarcophagusand detailof inset rectangle(upper left). Photo author,reproduced with permission of the GreekArchaeological Service but damageto the stonein this areahas destroyedany trace of it. Such rectangularinsets often decorated the frames of ancientcouches, and thus it is not surprisingto findthem represented on klinesarcophagi and kline monuments(e.g., Fig. 4).9 These insets appear especially frequently on the earliestAttic klinesarcophagi, supporting an earlydate for the example fromKephisia.l° On the left end of the boxin question,Leda is depictedstruggling with a swan(Fig. 1). She is nude,in profile,and faces left. Shewears a "melonhairstyle" (melonenfrisur), and the bun in backsits high on the crownof herhead. She clutches a clothwith her right hand, apparently in an attemptto coverherself. She bends slightly at the knees,perhaps with 9. Robert1890, p. 9;Wrede 1977, the effortof strugglingagainst the swan,and raises her left heel off the p. 428. Forexamples of suchinsets on ground.Her rightleg is not visible;we arepresumably to thinkof it as bronzecouch frames, see Richter1966, obscuredby the left leg.With one armLeda holds the swanoff, but his p. 106,as well as fig. 530 (a couchfrom sinuousneck writhes toward her mouth in anattempted kiss. The swanis Boscoreale,now in the Staatliche enormous,with a torsoslightly larger than Leda's own. He is shownin Museen,Berlin, inv. 890J) and fig. 532 (a couchfrom Pompeii, now in the midair,with his wings fillly outspread, the left wing extending behind Leda NationalMuseum, Naples, inv. 78614). asif to embraceher. He hasthe