ArtofACOdyssey 4: Great Tumulus at Vergina

 

Hunt scene based on the Tomb of Philip fresco, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft 2018).

 

And here we are with DAY 4 of #ArtofACOdyssey! Today’s showcase is rather anachronistic, but so fabulous I don’t blame Ubisoft for including it in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Here it is in (I think) the temple of Athena at Megara.

Now, you might be tempted to identify it as one of the many Calydonian boar hunt vases/friezes but if you look closely you’ll also note a lion and a few deer. In a related note, you do get to fight the Calydonian boar in game but have to do it by yourself. I know Kassandra is part of “the bloodline” and all but even Meleager got to bring a party! I’m lodging an official complaint. At any rate, this particular hunt isn’t from a vase at all but rather the late 4th BCE facade (from the “Tomb of Philip”) of the Great Tumulus at Vergina.

By far the most impressive thing about the tomb is that it had not been looted – tomb III was intact as well, and while tomb I had been desecrated the famous Rape of Persephone fresco remained. Tomb II is referred to colloquially as the tomb of Philip II, Alexander’s father and ruler of Macedon. There has since been considerable debate about whether or not it was actually HIS tomb (Bartsiokas’ 2000 article aims to be decisive) but that’s beyond this thread.

The fresco in Athena’s temple is quite nearly faithful to the original but does repeat the figure sequence. It is also clearly based on the reproductions which, again, I don’t blame the devs for – I use them too when I teach about Vergina just for the sake of legibility. Like the Parthenon, this monument and its contents were also used repeatedly. Notice the golden boxes in this pile of offerings (screen shot at Tomb of the 1st Pythia)? That’s the 24 carat gold larnax which held the remains of Tomb II’s occupant.

 

Pile of treasure in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft 2018).
 
 

It has lower relief-work on the sides and the rosettes are part of the box rather than added separately, but otherwise the decorative scheme and distinctive “Vergina star” are identical. The larnax was the funerary vessel of choice in Minoan times and experienced a resurgence in the Hellenistic period. Most were terracotta but some, like this, were made of precious materials. If you’d like to learn more about the Vergina excavations, look up Manolis Andronikos.

I have to mention the adorable double-nozzle oil lamp in the first picture, with the beautiful black glaze. I haven’t found the original (YET) but if you’ve seen it, let us know!

 
 

 

This was originally posted on Twitter, October 10 2018.

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