 The ancient Greeks did not generally leave elaborate grave goods, except for a coin to pay Charon, the ferryman to Hades, and pottery; however the "epitaphios" or funeral oration from which the word epitaph comes was regarded as of great importance, and animal sacrifices were made.Those who could afford them erected stone monuments, which was one of the functions of "kouros" statues in the Archaic period before about 500 BCE.These were not intended as portraits, but during the Hellenistic period, realistic portraiture of the deceased was introduced and family groups were often depicted in bas-relief on monuments, usually surrounded by an architectural frame.