To My Family and Uğraş Uzun - Bilkent University

cultural pursuits by which the deceased might gain immortality or reach celestial
wisdom (Toynbee, 1965: 104). With his interest in philosophy, a person
understands this world and beyond (Wiegartz, 1965: 65). He then takes the
humane qualifications that he had acquired through philosophy or poetry to the
heavenly places (Nock and Beazley, 1946: 143).
Having presented the general suggestions about the seated and standing
figures on the Docimeum sarcophagi, now it is time to turn to a more detailed
analysis of the figures on the Antakya Sarcophagus and their discussion. It has
already been mentioned that the female standing figures of the Antakya
Sarcophagus represent matronly dignity, like their Hellenistic counterparts.
Moreover it has been mentioned that the philosopher/poet type is represented by
three figures on the Antakya Sarcophagus: Figures B, E, and I. Figure I has
already been identified as a relative of the deceased responsible for the libation
ritual. He is bearded and holds a scroll in his left hand, so he could be identified
as a philosopher/poet type figure, a “man of culture” (Walker, 1990: 51). Figure
B, a bearded male wearing a chiton and himation also appears to be a
philosopher/poet type figure (Wiegartz, 1965: 84), although it is not known
whether he held a scroll in his broken right hand or not.
The seated Figure E creates the most discussion. He is certainly a
philosopher/poet type, with his beard and teaching-like gesture. He and Figure D
next to him (Fig. 105) make up a composition similar to that on a fragment of a
columnar sarcophagus now in the British Museum (Fig. 106) (Walker, 1990: 51).
On that fragment, a seated man (turned right unlike the Antakya Figure E, who is
turned left) reads from a half-opened scroll to a mask-holding Muse Thalia
standing next to him (Walker, 1990: 51). He sits on a lion-paw legged chair, very
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