Grave stele of Stratokles

This modestly sized stele, a type of grave marker popular in and around Athens, especially in the fourth century B.C., is topped by a pediment carved in relief and inscribed with the name of the deceased, Strato-kles, son of Prokles. Below is a combat scene: a bearded warrior, wearing a crested, face-framing helmet and a tunic, with the right shoulder left free for action, raises his sword to strike at a fallen opponent, who is also bearded and wears a conical helmet. The scene is carved in low relief with a light yet energetic touch. The hints of foreshortening and the frontal head of the victor, tricky to render in shallow relief, are deftly handled, while the swirls of his cloak behind him echo the calligraphic drapery style fashionable in more ambitious sculpture of the time.The basic combat composition is a formula. Since the deceased always appears as the winner, Stratokles is recognized in the dominant figure, even though, in typical Greek fashion, the defeated warrior is also presented with sympathy and respect. The opponent's helmet style identifies him as a Boiotian, from the region neighboring Attika to the north. Since border skirmishes were chronic and more serious warfare frequent in this troubled period, Stratokles may have fallen in battle. However, he may have died of some other cause and been shown as a warrior simply because he was a man in his prime, accustomed to bearing arms. As was common around Athens at the time, this monument commemorates a specific individual by celebrating him for his role within society, rather than actively differentiating him from others.