Phrasikleia Kore (c-545). Marble. 210. The Phrasikleia Kore is an Archaic Greek funerary statue by the artist Aristion of Paros, created between 550 and 530 BCE. It was found carefully buried in the ancient city of Myrrhinous in Attica and excavated in 1972. The exceptional preservation of the statue and the intact nature of the polychromy elements makes the Phrasikleia Kore one of the most important works of Archaic art. The Phrasikleia and the Attic korai are the most well-preserved statues in existence from the 6th century BCE. They represent a type of Archaic female statue intended specifically for funerary use. The Phrasikleia Kore is a Parian marble statue that features prominent polychromy as seen in the hair and the dress. It is thought that the skin of the Phrasikleia Kore was covered with a type of gum arabic to give it a realistic appearance. This practice is also seen during the same period, used on the sarcophagi of Egyptian mummies. The preservation of the Phrasikleia Kore was so successful because it was buried in a custom-designed pit. It is thought that the circumstances of the burial of the Phrasikleia Kore was due to the return of the tyrant Peisistratos. As he was consolidating political power over Athens, upon his return to the city he and his followers sought to expel any family from Athens who disagreed with his authority. Scholars believe that the Alcmaeonid family of Athens was responsible for commissioning the sculpture, and for the subsequent the burial of the Phrasikleia Kore. The freshness of the statue indicates that this powerful family may have still been grieving the young woman when Peisistratos returned to Athens. This is supported by distinct absence of mutilation to the Kore. Additionally, the ancient Greek orator Isocrates recorded that the followers of Peisistratos not only demolished the houses of the Alcmaeonids but they even opened their graves. The name Phrasikleia is derived from the archaic Greek word kleos meaning fame. The word was important to archaic Greek culture, and had significant meaning to the Alcmaeonid family. Evidently, part of an Alcmaenoid family tradition was to bestow given names derived from kleos. This is repeated from generation to generation, including the names Megakles meaning great fame, Kleisthenes meaning fame-strong, and Perikles meaning wide fame. Michel Fourmont, who visited Greece in the years 1729-1730, described a block of marble with an inscription that was found in the church of Panagia of Merenta. The inscription had been rendered illegible before being used in the church, but it was able to be reconstructed By 1972, the archaeologist Efthymios Mastrokostas discovered two marble statues in the tombs at Myrrhinous, a kouros and the Phrasikleia Kore. The two sculptures matched the inscription found on the blocks, discovered at the church of Panagia, located just 200 meters from where the statues were excavated. In the lower part of the statues an irregular ring of lead was discovered; based on this mass of lead a comparison was made between the statues and the block of marble. The comparison found that the lead ring fit perfectly onto the marble base securing the plinth of the kore, confirming the connection between the two. The Phrasikleia Kore and base were reunited after 25 years, and also confirmed that the statue had been made by the artist Aristion of Paros. Before this reunion, Aristion of Paros had been known from a number of inscriptions, however a singular work had never been officially associated with him. The epigram found on the marble base that identified Ariston may be the earliest extant Attic example of a stoichedon inscription, a style of text where letters are evenly spaced and aligned vertically as well as horizontally.