Athena Mourning, 470 BC, Parian Marblke Relief, H: c. 0.5m , Acropolis Museum Athens. Athena with a Doric Peplos and a Corinthian helmet, leans on her reversed spear in front of a Stele.

Discovered June 1888 S of the Parthenon, build in the wall of a building. Part of the left arm missing (restored), damages of the drapery and right hand. The background was original in dark blue color.

In a lecture this piece of Art is described as: “Athena contemplating a stele, reading an inscription? Effect depends on the collusion of viewer and piece, deeply modeled. Pillar has been interpreted as a terma (racing turn) or horos (boundary stone).“ Or she reads a list of Athenians soldiers who died. I prefer a different explanation given in a poem written by the Greek poet Kostis Palamas. When he looked at this piece of Art he was hit by emotions so much that he wrote a poem. Something terrible must have happened to see the great Athena Pallas in front of a grave stele mourning The Stele you stand before Athena is your holly city, Greece as it was and as it is now.

Πῶς ἀκούμπησες ἄπραγα τὸ δόρυ;
Τὴ φοβερή σου περικεφαλαία βαριὰ πῶς γέρνεις πρὸς τὸ στῆθος, Κόρη;
Ποιὸς πόνος τόσο εἶναι τρανός, ὦ Ἰδέα, γιὰ νὰ σὲ φτάση!
Ὀχτροὶ κεραυνοφόροι δὲν εἶναι γιὰ δικά σου τρόπαια νέα;
Δὲν ὁδηγεῖ στὸ Βράχο σου τὴν πλώρη τοῦ καραβιοῦ σου πλέον πομπὴ ἀθηναῖα;
Σὲ ταφόπετρα βλέπω νὰ τὴν ἔχη καρφωμένη μία πίκρα τὴν Παλλάδα.
Ὤ! κάτι μέγα, ἀπίστευτο θὰ τρέχη … Χαμένη κλαῖς τὴν ἱερή σου πόλη
ἢ νεκρὴ μέσ᾿ στὸ μνῆμα καὶ τὴν ὅλη τοῦ τότε καὶ τοῦ τώρα, ὠιμένα! Ἑλλάδα;
«Τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἀνάγλυφο» K.ΠΑΛΑΜΑΣ

Greek Money: 50 Drachmae, 1926

Lekythos NAMA 1968

See also (in Greek) : ΔΕΞΙΛΕΩΣ a Kostis Palamas poem inspired by the Dexileos Stele

German Reports

Jung, H., Die sinnende Athena, Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts (JdI) 110, 1995