Weight and grip of sarissa and shield in macedonian phalanx

[MeinPanzer]

Ruben, Paralus,

I think in light of the images Ruben posted and others like below of a Theban stele, the safest bet would be a hoplite. Of course we cannot be certain, but this would appear to be in the "cannon" of hoplite poses.

I agree with you on this point. As much as I would like it to be a depiction of a phalangite, the evidence shows otherwise, and the evidence is always right!

Do you guys know of any studies on readig steles such as this? Is the image supposed to be a man and one of his companions? Himself in different poses? I'm sure someone must have done some comparative work on these.

Pfuhl and Moebius' Die ostgriechischen Grabreliefs is essential for examining Hellenistic funerary stelae. Unfortunately there is little beyond the general shape of this piece to indicate its purpose.

This could be a funerary stele, but I don't know of any examples that have full scenes of combat depicted lengthwise like this. The long horizontal format of the stele as well as its style suggest an east Greek origin, while its design may indicate that it was a votive relief, but I don't think much more can be said than that. I do know of another fragment, also of marble, which is very similar in style to this one, though it is held in Italy now. It's a shame the website doesn't give dimensions for the Glasgow stele, as I could then compare dimensions and see if these are closely related. They were both acquired in the 1800's, apparently, though the Glasgow example around the middle of the century and this one toward its end:

http://antiquemilitaryhistory.com/images/eastgreek1.JPG