Two Burials of 430 B.C. in Daphne, Athens: Their Topography, and the Profession of the So-Called ‘Poet’ in Tomb 2

Abstract

The two tombs discussed in a series of articles in GRMS 1, including the so-called ‘Tomb of the Poet’ belong to the cemetery of the demos Alopeke, which bordered both sides of a street, the Astiki Odos, which led from the Diomeia gate to Sounion and the Laureotike with its mining industry. Several other tombs were uncovered along this street, which coincides in many parts with the modern Odos Vouliagmenis. The grave gifts of the alleged poet are very unusual and call for explanation. Nearly all the items shown in teaching-scenes on the famous Duris kylix can also be found in Tomb 2. Perhaps, then, the young person buried in Tomb 2 was not a poet but a teacher. But questions about the age, sex and family relationship of the two deceased persons and reason for their deaths remain open and can only be answered by DNA-Analysis of the skeletons.