Getty Museum

Fragment of a Votive Relief with Griffins

Date

second half of 4th century B.C.

Medium

Marble

Culture

Greek (Attic)

Department

Sculpture

Institution

Getty Museum

At the right of this relief fragment, a griffin begins to walk up a sloped landscape. The body of the beast is in profile, the head is turned back. The proper right wing is outstretched. There are two teats identifying this griffin as female. At the left of the relief are the hind leg, tail, and the tips of the wing of a second griffin. The ends of the feathers of the wings of both griffins are carved in shallow work onto the background of the relief. On this relief, there must have been two approximately symmetrical griffins, looking back towards each other. On the bottom edge, a fragmentary inscription in two lines reads: ]ΡΟΣ [vacat ]ΑΚΙΑ ΑΘ[Η]ΝΑΙΔ[ Griffins are related to the god Apollo and, on grave monuments, to hopes for the well-being of the deceased in the afterlife. This relief may have been erected in honor of the god Apollo.

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