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A Spartan warrior in the Roman legions

A tombstone that can be seen in the National archeological museum of Athens belongs to a Spartan who once fought for the Roman army. On the left side: someone can read the following


«ΜΑΡΚΟΣ ΑΥΡΗΛΙΟΣ ΑΛΕΞΥΣ ΘΕΩΝΟΣ ΣΤΡΑΤΕΥΣΑΜΕΝΟΣ ΚΑΤΑ ΠΕΡΣΩΝ ΕΤΗ ΒΙΩΣΑΣ Λ΄».


Marcus Aurelius Alexis son of Theon fought against the Persians and lived for 30 years. We can assume that Alexis died during this campaign. In the sculpture, we see him wearing a cap, armor and a cloak. On his right hand, he's holding a spiked club and on the left, we see a sword sheathed. Next to him there is also a large oval shield.


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