In Ancient Greece, as in many ancient societies, jewellery was an important social marker used to demonstrate wealth, social status and privilege. There, however, this was not only true for the living but also for the dead as this diadem reminds us: it was not designed for everyday life, as it appears too delicate and fragile. Rather, it was created for funeral purposes and decorated the forehead of a wealthy deceased. Indeed, the carrier of successful athletes could make them extremely wealthy, whether they were runners, boxers or wrestlers. They could have therefore decided to confirm their status in the afterlife with a precious gold diadem. Originally, diadems consisted in plain ribbons tied around the head, used as a symbol of power for men: this simple principle is what inspired gold funerary diadems. However, with time, diadems started being used by women too and became more and more sophisticated and elaborated in shape and decorative motives. The phenomenon reached its peak during the Hellenistic period, with diadems modelled in pure gold in the shape of laurel or oak leaves.