In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

177 C H A P T E R 3 Origins of the Kline-Tomb Where did the kline-tomb concept originate? It has sometimes been assumed that the custom of burying the dead on a kline was imported to Anatolia from Persia after Cyrus the Great’s conquest of Lydia ca. 545.1 Dusinberre has suggested that this burial type amended a preexisting concept of funerary banqueting in Lydia to reflect new dining habits (i.e., reclining) and to elevate the corpse above the ground, in accordance with the Zoroastrian beliefs of resident Persian nobility, and that it was soon emulated by local elites who wished to express an affiliation with the new power-holders.2 Some of the tombs discussed in Chapter 2, however, probably pre-date the Persian conquest. In this chapter I examine and refute the theory of Persian origin and propose an alternative based on an investigation into the essential conceptual components of the burial type. Since kline-burial represents an intersection of two different concepts—the “funerary banquet” (in all possible senses of the phrase) and the use of beds in funerary rituals—its origins are most likely to be found in an area where both concepts already existed. Another necessary ingredient is the kline itself: kline-burial most likely emerged in an area where klinai were used or at least known by the elite class that chose to bury their dead on them—that is, in a culture familiar with the reclining banquet and furniture designed for it. All these ingredients are found in West Anatolia. Preexisting traditions of bed-burial and funerary banqueting in Anatolia may have made this region particularly ripe for the emergence of the “kline-tomb concept” after the adoption of the reclining banquet, when the “bed” took on the additional function of “banquet couch.” Persian Precedent? The theory of Persian origin rests primarily on written accounts of the furnishings within the tomb of Cyrus at his royal capital, Pasargadae (see Fig. 1). The Persian ruler’s tomb has been convincingly identified with the gabled structure elevated on a pyramidal platform, known locally as the “Tomb of the Mother of Solomon” (Fig. 120). Its form and appearance accord well with ancient descriptions of the building, and details of construction and design place it in the right era, around the time of Cyrus’s death in 530.3 Though the chamber now stands empty, Greek historical sources claim that it once held a golden kline. Arrian and Strabo both provide descriptions of the interior of Cyrus’s tomb at the time of Alexander ’s visit to Pasargadae, based on the account of Aristoboulos, whom Alexander put in charge of restoring the monument to its original state when he discovered in 324 that the chamber had been plundered.4 Despite slight differences, both authors’ inventories include a golden kline in addition Origins of the Kline-Tomb 178 to the coffin or sarcophagus (puelos)5 that contained the body. Arrian’s account is the more detailed of the two: “In the chamber lay a golden coffin, where the body of Cyrus was buried, and next to/nearby (παρά) the coffin was a couch (kline). The kline had feet of hammered gold, a tapestry of Babylonian workmanship as a coverlet, and purple cloaks as coverings.”6 He goes on to describe the items placed on the couch, including a kandys (sleeved cloak), Babylonian garments, Median anaxyrides (trousers),7 robes dyed various rich colors, and jewelry, and then returns to the overall spatial arrangement of the chamber: “and a table stood there. In the middle of the couch [or, between the table and the couch]8 lay the coffin that held the body of Cyrus.” After a description of the exterior setting of the monument and its epitaph, Arrian goes on to relate the discovery of the looting and Aristoboulos’s restoration of the tomb interior: “[Alexander] found that everything else had been taken away except the coffin and the couch. . . . And Aristoboulos says that he himself was assigned by Alexander the task of decorating the tomb of Cyrus as it was originally.”9 While Arrian makes no effort to explain how Aristoboulos knew what the tomb originally looked like, Strabo claims that Aristoboulos had viewed the undisturbed tomb during an earlier visit to the royal city: “[Aristoboulos says that he] saw a golden couch and a table equipped with cups and a golden coffin and many garments and decoration inlaid with stone; and that he...

Share