Creative Commons

This dissertation was written as part of the MA in in the Classical Archaeology and the Ancient History of Macedonia at the International Hellenic University. The boundaries of Macedonia were extending to the Pierian mountains, the Big Prespa lake and mountain Dysoron during the periods under consideration while the most known cemeteries in Macedonia were those of Aigai, Pella, Amphipolis, Pydna and Aiane. We could encounter grave types such as pit, cist, sarcophagi and jar burials while the basic burial practices were the inhumation and the cremation. Factors such as the origins of the inhabitants in the cities under examination or the gender and the social status of the deceased played major role to the style and the iconography of the funeral monuments respectively. The grave markers could be divided into figured representations and architectural remains. In the first category the major part constitute the tombstones mainly subdivided in painted and relief grave “stelai”. A further categorization could be made according to typological elements such as the type of the crowning (pedimental, palmette), the framing of the shaft and the placement of the figure scene in a recessed panel. Finally, scene types and motifs such as the motif of anakalypsis or the seated hunter could characterize the iconography of the relief and painted grave “stelai”.