Sarcophagus
EN- The type of tomb we call ''lahit'' in Turkish is Sarcophagus, meaning "meat eater" in Greek. It is usually rectangular in shape, made by carving blocks of marble, basalt, sandstone, and its covers are in the form of a roof.
It is seen that sometimes a single individual is buried in the sarcophagi and sometimes different members of the family are buried together. It is also understood from the inscriptions that the sarcophagi were used for different people in different periods.
EN- The sarcophagus you will see is a Roman-made sarcophagus in Iznik. I will share what the carvings on the 4 sides of the sarcophagus mean below.
EN- The woman who owns the tomb is in a sitting position in the middle of one of the long faces of the sarcophagus. The woman holding a handkerchief in her hand is the symbol of her nobility. The mythological figure playing Kithara indicates that the deceased loved music and art, while the helmeted person with a sword in his hand expresses courage.
EN- The person holding the lion skin in the middle of the other long part of the sarcophagus is Heracles. The depictions of Eros on the right and left symbolize the deceased person's spirit. The person on the far right is Narcisso.
EN-The three women on the short side symbolize abundance, fertility and nature.
EN- The men and women on the other side represent the deceased. The sad eros on the cover shows that the couple had a peaceful marriage.
EN-You can visit the sarcophagus in Iznik Museum.
