The Significance of the Handshake Motif in Classical Funerary Art

Abstract

The handshake motif was widely used by Greek, Etruscan and Roman artists in both funerary and non-funerary contexts. This article aims to give a general survey of the motif from Archaic Greece to the late Roman Empire, looking especially at the continuity of its use. The principal aim is to elucidate its meaning in funerary contexts, but to do so its appearance in non-funerary contexts is also considered. Throughout the period considered the handshake had a multiplicity of associations which were exploited by the artists to create an ambiguous meaning. The themes of meeting and parting were persistently associated with the handshake (especially parting from relatives at death, and reunion with ancestors in the Underworld), but various other themes were also related to it, especially marriage, an association that was first made in Greek art but which only became dominant in the later Empire.

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