Lekythos (oil vessel) depicting a woman and youth at a tomb,

ca. 430–400 BCE

These three vases (lekythoi) contained perfumed oil used at several moments in burial rituals. At the home, where the dead lay on display, family members applied oil to the skin and hair of the corpse, beautifying the body while scenting the air. Then, mourners deposited lekythoi alongside the remains of the dead in the tomb. Finally, after burial, visitors brought such vases to the grave to honor the deceased and anoint the monument with oil. The haunting images often found on lekythoi complement their funerary function. On each, a grave monument dominates the image. A woman approaches with a basket of offerings; a standing man, at rest, may represent the ghost of the dead, present at his tomb; another man plays his lyre, perhaps singing a song of lament. While some Greek myths glorify the dead and their exploits, these objects instead present the quiet grief of families confronting loss.

Nathan Arrington, Class of 2002
Professor of Art and Archaeology; Director, Program in Archaeology, Princeton University