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The Harpy Tomb at Xanthos

The Harpy Tomb is located behind the theatre overlooking the agora (marketplace) at Xanthos and several scholars believe it to be the final resting place of Kybernis, a local ruler who led a Lycian contingent under Xerxes against the Greeks.

The Harpy Tomb gets its name from the four half-woman, half-bird figures that adorn the frieze. They were located on the four corners of the rectangular box and served to frame and focus the attention on the in-lying figures. The ‘Harpies’ can be seen carrying infants or small people in their hands, often believed to represent them harvesting the souls of the deceased and transporting them to the underworld.

Although the tomb’s name derives from these highly dominating creatures, the figures that they frame seem to be more important, however. The subject of the frieze is open to interpretation and is still a contentious issue. Take, for example, the slab showing four women (three standing and one seated); it has been suggested that the scene depicts mortal women offering gifts to a goddess. Alternatively it has been suggested that the seated woman is a deified ancestor or simply a depiction of the person buried within.

The Cast Gallery’s cast of the Harpy Tomb

The Cast gallery acquired its casts in 1888. They were produced by the workshop of D. Brucciani in London and they were among the earliest monuments to enter the collection.