Polyxena sarcophagus
The Polyxena sarcophagus is a late 6th century BCE sarcophagus from Hellespontine Phrygia, at the beginning of the period when it became a Province of the Achaemenid Empire. The sarcophagus was found in the Kızöldün tumulus, in the Granicus river valley, near Biga in the Province of Çanakkale in 1994. The area where the sarcophagus was found is located midway between Troy and Daskyleion, the capital of Hellespontine Phrygia.
Polyxena sarcophagus

Elisa Triolo · Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Name
- Polyxena sarcophagus
- Period
- 600
- Region
- Turkey
- Related practice
- marble
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Documentary summary
The Polyxena sarcophagus is a late 6th century BCE sarcophagus from Hellespontine Phrygia, at the beginning of the period when it became a Province of the Achaemenid Empire. The sarcophagus was found in the Kızöldün tumulus, in the Granicus river valley, near Biga in the Province of Çanakkale in 1994. The area where the sarcophagus was found is located midway between Troy and Daskyleion, the capital of Hellespontine Phrygia.
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wikidata · Q60787246 · wikipedia · Polyxena sarcophagus
In this article
Overview
Overview
This is the earliest stone sarcophagus with figural reliefs ever found in Asia Minor. The style is Late Archaic Greek and the sarcophagus dates to the last two decades of the 6th century BCE (520–500 BCE), or slightly later (500–490 BCE), based on stylistic analysis. The reliefs represent a funerary celebration on three of its sides, and on the back what is believed to be the sacrifice of Polyxena, daughter of the king of Troy, Priam, by Neoptolemos in front of the tomb of his father Achilles. The description of the sacrifice of Polyxena may be suggestive of a hero cult for Achilles, usually only involving animal sacrifice, on the spot of a Troad tumulus where he may have been buried. Strabo (13.1.32) suggested that such a cult of Achilles existed in Troad: The men shown in the reliefs are Greek, while the women are Trojans. • Illustration — Side view. • Illustration — Side view. • Illustration — The sacrifice of Polyxena on the eponymous sarcophagus • Illustration — The sacrifice of Polyxena on the eponymous sarcophagus (detail). • Illustration — The sacrifice of Polyxena and tomb of Achilles. • Illustration — Sacrifice of Polyxena and tomb of Achilles with a tripod in front.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Polyxena sarcophagus • Material — Marble • Created — 520–500 BCE • Location — Troy Museum, Turkey • Illustration — Hoplites on the Polyxena sarcophagus
Chronology
Dated record
Chronology
The full dated record · 1 entries
600
Polyxena sarcophagus first recorded.
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- Turkey
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Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Rose, Charles Brian. The Archaeology of Greek and Roman Troy. Cambridge University Press. 72–. 2014. 9780521762076.
- 2.Çanakkale Archaeological Museum notice
- 3.Burgess, Jonathan S. The Death and Afterlife of Achilles. JHU Press. 115. 2009. 9781421403618.
- 4.Rose, Charles Brian. The Archaeology of Greek and Roman Troy. Cambridge University Press. 100. 2014. 9780521762076.
- 5.Burgess, Jonathan S. The Death and Afterlife of Achilles. JHU Press. 114. 2009. 9781421403618.
- 6.Burgess, Jonathan S. The Death and Afterlife of Achilles. JHU Press. 116. 2009. 9781421403618.
- 7.Perseus Under Philologic: Str. 13.1.32.
- 8.Rose, Charles Brian. The Archaeology of Greek and Roman Troy. Cambridge University Press. 80. 2014. 9780521762076.
- 9.Rose, Charles Brian. The Archaeology of Greek and Roman Troy. Cambridge University Press. 79. 2014. 9780521762076.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 6
- Assur Corfù, Nicolas (2016). "Der Polyxena-Sarkophag von Çanakkale – archaisch oder archaistisch?" In: Numismatica e Antichità Classiche, vol. 45, pp. 43–66.
- Draycott, Catherine M. Wandering myths: Transcultural uses of myth in the ancient world. 23–70. 2018. 9783110416855.
- Geppert, Karin (2006). "Überlegungen zum Polyxena-Sarkophag im Museum Çanakkale". In: Kreutz, Natascha; Schweizer, Beat (ed.), Tekmeria. Archäologische Zeugnisse in ihrer kulturhistorischen und politischen Dimension. Münster: Scriptorium, pp. 89–106.
- Reinsberg, Carola (2001). "Der Polyxena-Sarkophag in Çanakkale". In: Olba, vol. 10, pp. 71–99.
- Reinsberg, Carola (2022). "Der spätarchaische Polyxenasarkophag". In: Antike Plastik, vol. 32. Wiesbaden: Reichert.
- Sevinç, Nurten (1996). "A New Sarcophagus of Polyxena from the Salvage Excavations at Gümüşçay". In: Studia Troica, vol. 6, pp. 251–264.
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