Limestone cippus of Olympianos
Funerary monuments of this type were common on Cyprus from the Late Hellenistic through the Roman period. Each was engraved with a standard formula of farewell addressing directly the deceased in the vocative. Sometimes a comment is added, such as "no one is immortal." Here the inscription in Greek simply reads: "Good Olympianos, farewell." Above is a wreath decorated with pine cones and fruit that flank a plain circular disk on which a portrait of the deceased may have been painted.
Artwork Details
- Title: Limestone cippus of Olympianos
- Period: Imperial
- Date: early 3rd century CE
- Culture: Roman, Cypriot
- Medium: Limestone
- Dimensions: 42 × 14 in., 290 lb. (106.7 × 35.6 cm)
- Classification: Cesnola Inscriptions
- Credit Line: The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76
- Object Number: 74.51.2268
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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Roman, Cypriot
2nd–3rd century CE
Roman, Cypriot
ca. 2nd–3rd century CE
Roman, Cypriot
ca. 2nd–3rd century CE
Roman, Cypriot
2nd–3rd century CE
Roman, Cypriot
2nd–3rd century CE
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