Tomb of the Diver, Ancient Greek grave in Paestum, Italy.
The Tomb of the Diver is a Greek burial site in Paestum, Italy, consisting of a limestone chamber with five painted slabs. The ceiling slab shows a diver while the four side walls present scenes from a symposion.
The chamber was discovered during excavations in 1968 about two kilometers south of ancient Poseidonia. It dates to the fifth century before the common era and belongs to a small necropolis.
The inner walls show participants reclining in pairs on couches while a single guest holds a lyre. These depictions follow the Greek tradition of understanding the symposion as a place of community and transition.
The National Museum of Paestum displays all the frescoes together with the burial items in a dedicated room. The presentation is well lit and allows close examination of the painting and its preservation.
The diver on the ceiling shows a man leaping from a diving platform into water and symbolizes the passage to the afterlife. This depiction is otherwise unknown in Greek funerary painting and remains singular to this day.
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