Relief Fragment with Agamemnon, Talthybios and Epeios
Unknown (Samothrace?) · c. 560 BC
Three men from the story of Troy appear on a slab of marble less than half a metre square. Agamemnon, the king of the Greeks, sits on a stool wrapped in his mantle, his long hair falling on his shoulders. Behind him stands the herald Talthybios holding his staff, and behind the herald comes Epeios, the carpenter who built the wooden horse. Each figure is labelled with his name, carved in the Ionic dialect of Greek. On the right edge, the head of a griffin rises from a spiral, and borders of lotus flowers and a double braid frame the scene.
The relief was carved around 560 BC and is thought to come from Samothrace, the island in the northern Aegean later famous for its Winged Victory. Its shape and the griffin ornament suggest it decorated the armrest of a monumental throne, perhaps the seat of a cult statue, which makes it an unusual survivor of early Greek temple furniture. The lettering is among the earliest inscribed captions on Greek sculpture. The back was recut in antiquity and the left part is lost. The Louvre bought the fragment at a public sale in 1818.
Did You Know? The three heroes are captioned with their names, an early example of labels on Greek sculpture, like a caption on a vase.
Unlock the Full Guide
Read every room and listen to every work in all museums with premium.