Commentary Prepared by Dr. Julia Lenaghan, Ashmolean Museum

A 119 C
Odysseus Slaying the Suitors; Trysa Heroon South Wall

Limestone
Architectural Relief
W (total) 761 cm

First discovered in 1841 but soon forgotten, the Trysa heroon was rediscovered in 1881 by Otto Benndorf, then Professor of Classical Archaeology in Vienna. In 1882/83 the friezes of the heroon were transferred to Vienna.
Austria, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum
Late Classical, ca. 370 BC

Preservation:
The entire surface of the relief is heavily weathered. The facial features of all figures are badly worn, on the left figure completely obliterated. Only faint traces of an object under the kline are preserved.

Description:
The relief shows three figures. On the left, partly overlapping, are two men depicted in three-quarter profile from the right, advancing to the right. The man in the foreground, slightly shorter, has a himation draped over his left shoulder and back. He wears a helmet and holds a sword in his right, the scabbard in his left hand. The man behind him, mature and bearded, wears a short chiton and a helmet. He takes aim with a bow, of which no traces are preserved. Further to the right is a tall volute krater, followed by a kline, on which a man depicted in three-quarter profile from the left reclines. Bare-chested, he has a himation wrapped around the lower part of his body. Propped up on his left, he has raised his right arm towards the men on the left.

Discussion:
To the left Odysseus takes aim with his bow to excite his terrible revenge on the suitors, accompanied by his son Telemachos. Their pose, surely not accidentally, is reminiscent of the famous group of the Tyrannicides by Kritios and Nesiotes (cf. C 5a/b). The volute krater and the kline illustrate the suitors vile drinking. To the right is a suitor, taken completely by surprise, his right hand raised in a plea for mercy. For the Trysa heroon in general see A 119a.

Bibliography:
O. Benndorf and G. Niemann, Das Heroon von Gjölbaschi-Trysa (Vienna 1889) esp. 96-105 pls. 7-8 The basic first publication of the monument.
F. Eichler, Die Reliefs des Heroon von Gjölbaschi-Trysa (Vienna 1950) esp. 55-57 pls. 6-7 Detailed guide with a description of the monument and the individual reliefs.
R. Noll, Das Heroon von Gjölbaschi-Trysa. Ein fürstlicher Grabbezikr griechischer Zeit in Kleinasien [= Führer durch das Kunsthistorische Museum Nr. 16] (Vienna 1971) esp. 4 A short guide with a detailed description of the various reliefs.
W. A. P. Childs, "Prolegomena to a Lycian Chronology, II: The Heroon from Trysa" (RA 2 1976) 281-316 Gives a detailed stylistic comparison between the reliefs from Trysa and sculptures from the Greek mainland and the rest of Lycia. The Heroon at Trysa is dated to ca. 370 BC.
C. Bruns-Özgan, Lykische Grabreliefs des 5. Und 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. [= IstMitt Beiheft 33] (Tübingen 1987) 56-81; 256-257 pls. 9-11.2; 12-13.2 Argues that the friezes from Trysa show an advanced style of ca. 370 BC and are influenced by the iconography of Greek paintings of the Classical period, probably through the use of established pattern books.
B. S. Ridgway, Fourth-Century Styles in Greek Sculpture (London 1997) esp. 88-94 pls. 24-25 Good summary and bibliography of previous research on the heroon.