This massive relief, set high here on the wall, must have been one of a series of slabs that decorated a public building, or funerary monument. It would have been part of the entablature—in other words, the section between the roof and columns.

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In the center of the lunette is a Nereid, a sea nymph. She is riding on the tail of a Triton, a sea creature with a fish tail and human torso. Notice how his serpent-like tail curls like the waves of the sea, and how his hair blows back as he faces the wind. He carries an ornate shield. And, the semi-draped Nereid holds an equally elaborate sword. In the space above the lunette are pendant sea monsters with long, winding tails and panther-like heads.

This composition derives from a passage in the Iliad—Homer’s account of the Trojan War. Thetis, mother of the Greek hero Achilles, brings her son newly wrought armor so that he may avenge the death of his comrade.

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