ABSTRACT
Every Athenian girl expected to be married, and marriage and motherhood were
considered the fulfilment of the female role. As Pomeroy has observed:
The death of a young girl often elicited lamentations specifically over her
failure to fulfill her intended role as a wife. Epitaphs express this feeling, and
some vases in the shape used to transport water for a prenuptial bath mark the
graves of girls who died unwed. The dead maiden is portrayed as a bride on
these memorial loutrophoroi vases.
