Horse and Rider

This terracotta figurine of a horse and rider is one of many similar figurines deposited at cemeteries in Boeotia, central Greece. They are often hand-made and highly simplified in form, efficiently communicating their subjects. This particular figurine is highly stylized and abstract (the horse and the rider are both decorated with reddish-black stripes); some others feature greater detail in their portrayal of animal and human form. Here, the rider figure lacks articulated legs, as its body merges into that of the horse. Their significance is not entirely clear, though they were always popular in graves, an indication that they were meant to display the heroic character of the dead in relation to his occupation as a warrior or hunter. Other horse and rider figurines are known from around the Mediterranean, including from Cyprus and Athens, where they have been attested earlier than those in Boeotia. Horses, whose ownership implied wealth on the part of their human owner, were status symbols in ancient Greek communities as well as important companions in human activities.