Sarcophagi, like modern tombstones and epitaphs, are the dead telling us who they are. Sometimes pithily, sometimes ornately. The Amanthus Sarcophagus, of hard limestone (to hasten decomposition), probably belonged to a king on the island of Cyprus. It reflects its era's confluence of Greek, Roman and Cypriot culture. There's a fairly typical chariot scene, but check out those opposite faced reliefs of naked dancing ladies (Astarte figures) and beast-men (Bes figures). They're about fertility. Yikes.
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