WAR IN THE HELLENISTIC WORLD

AESTHETICS OF WAR
Figure 10.6 Representations of the weapons of the Macedonian soldiers Lyson
and Kallikles decorate their tomb in Lefkadia (ancient Mieza, ca. 200 BC).
(Courtesy of the Department of Antiquities of Pella.)
into a moment of eternal glory, for which one should not pity Menas or the
relatives bereft of him.
In the case of many warriors’ tombs we cannot tell whether they died in
action, because the monuments are not accompanied by an explanatory
inscription. Sometimes, military activity is alluded to through the representation
of weapons, as in the case of the painted Macedonian tomb of Lyson
and Kallikles at Lefkadia (ancient Mieza, ca. 200 BC; Miller 1993; see figure
10.6). The deceased is sometimes represented in scenes of successful military
action – for example, in the metopes with a battle scene in Taras (Pollitt 1986:
112, figs. 114–15; Smith 1991: fig. 204.2, early third century) and in the
painted Macedonian tombs at Lefkadia and Naousa (ca. 300 BC; Pollitt 1986:
189–90, fig. 201; Miller 1993: pl. 8a, fig. 13) – but it is striking that warriors
are more frequently represented in isolation. This may be connected with
the general trend towards individualism in the Hellenistic period (see Zanker
1993: 228). Aristonautes (“the excellent sailor”) appears in his monument
in Athens in full armor and in motion without, however, an opponent (late
fourth century); the occupant of a tomb in Taras is represented seated,
inactive, surrounded by his weapons (Smith 1991: fig. 204.1); the grave
relief of a young soldier in Rhodes shows him standing, but in a relaxed
position, supported by a column, watching the helmet he holds in his hands
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