Funerary stele with lions

This stele portrays two antithetically placed seated lions. Similar early archaic funerary stelae from Cyprus were often crowned with lions or sphinxes. Sphinxes, mythical monsters and lions were considered to be apotropaic symbols and were often used in this sense in funerary stelae. The iconography has its origins in the Near East.此石碑（stele）刻画了一对呈镜像对称摆放的坐姿石狮。塞浦路斯地区出土的同类早期古风丧葬石碑，其顶部常以石狮或斯芬克斯（Sphinx）作为冠饰。斯芬克斯、神话怪兽与石狮均被视作驱邪护佑的象征，这类形象常被应用于丧葬石碑之中以承载此寓意。该图像题材的起源可追溯至近东地区。