In particular over the past 50 years, the tumulus-type tombs unearthed in ancient Thrace and Macedonia have generated interest in frescoes in terms of understanding the art of antiquity. As a result of the study of the tomb paintings in...
moreIn particular over the past 50 years, the tumulus-type tombs unearthed in ancient Thrace and Macedonia have generated interest in frescoes in terms of understanding the art of antiquity. As a result of the study of the tomb paintings in the two neighbouring regions, with the aim of understanding in terms of painting techniques and iconographic features, both the similarities and differences in these regions and be-tween each other. Furthermore; inferences are drawn the tomb finds and written sources relating to the soci-ocultural structure of the communities. Frescoes with-in the scope of this work are divided into two main groups according to whether they are figural or not. It is understood that the tombs in both regions, containing figures or not, have similar design schemes consist-ing of horizontal bands on top of each other. In the tombs in Thrace, dating from the middle of the first half of the Vth century B.C. to the middle of the Ist cen-tury A.D.; hunting scenes, the funeral dinner, funeral games, crowning, war dance and fighting scenes were depicted. In the Macedonian graves, the earliest of which is dated to around 340 B.C., the latest to the mid-dle of the IInd century B.C.; the subjects depicted were of hunting, funeral games, crowning, trophe, the kid-napping of Persephone, judgement (transition to the afterlife), philosophers’ meeting and royal symposia. The burial frescoes, which are concentrated in the second half of the IVth century B.C. and the IIIrd century B.C. in both regions, are important for depicting new subjects developed in the Hellenistic Period and they include the earliest examples of some techniques that are employed in modern painting