Illustration
This is the best preserved of the column drums carved in relief. It shows a youthful winged Thanatos (death), a draped woman, a figure of Hermes Psychopompos (leader of souls to the underworld), a standing woman and a seated man identified as Persephone and Plouton (Hades), gods of the underworld. The female figure has been tentatively identified as either Alkestis leaving the underworld, or Eurydike, wife of Orpheos. From the south-west corner of the later temple of Artemis, Ephesus. Circa 325-300 BCE. (The British Museum, London)
About the Author

Associate Professor of Neurology and lover of the Cradle of Civilization, Mesopotamia. I'm very interested in Mesopotamian history and always try to take photos of archaeological sites and artifacts in museums, both in Iraq and around the world.