This detail is the central burial scene of the Dipylon Vase. Note the typically Geometric style of rendering the figures: chests become triangles, heads are circles, arms are just lines. There appear to be two funeral biers, one smaller and one larger, or perhaps this is again an attempt to indicate perspective, and the four legs may be of one table. In any case, the deceased male lies atop the bier, head on a pillow, painted frontally, even though he lies on his back. A priestess waves a frond above his head while she pulls at her hair in the traditional sign of mourning. Atop the bier with the deceased are two other figures who may represent the wife and child, or perhaps two children. To the left of the bier is a seated female figure, probably the wife, with a small child on her lap. She too waves a frond. Again, note the attempt to indicate depth, in the way the legs of the chair are painted. She rests her feet on a tripod footstool. Below the bier are sacrificial deer and geese. Above the deceased is an elaborate funeral shroud. To the left and right are processions of grieving women, all with their hands tearing at their hair.
Detail of Burial Scene on the Dipylon Vase, Footed Krater, Earthenware
from Athens, Greece, 800-700 BCE
