Stele

stele (stē`lē), slab of stone or terra-cotta, usually oblong, set up in a vertical position, for votive or memorial purposes. Upon the slabs were carved inscriptions accompanied by ornamental designs or reliefs of particular significance. Stelae were often used as commemorative stones in ancient Egypt and as boundary markers in Mesopotamia. The marble funerary stelae of Greece, especially of Athens, are among the most beautiful monuments of classical art. Likenesses of the dead were sculptured in relief and painted upon them. Stelae of great age are found in China and among the ruins of the Mayan culture in Mexico and Central America.

---

stele

 or stela

Standing stone tablet used in the ancient world primarily as a grave marker but also for dedication, commemoration, and demarcation. Though the stele's origin is unknown, a stone slab was commonly used as a tombstone in Egypt, Greece, Asia, and the Mayan empire. In Babylon, the Code of Hammurabi was engraved on a tall stele. The largest number of stelae were produced in Attica, chiefly as grave markers. The dead were represented on the stelae as they were in life: men as warriors or athletes, women surrounded by their children, and children with their pets or toys.

---

stele [′stēl]

(botany)

The part of a plant stem including all tissues and regions of plants from the cortex inward, including the pericycle, phloem, cambium, xylem, and pith.

---

stele, stela

finial to a Greek stele

1. In classical architecture and derivatives, an upright stone, usually a slab, marking a grave.

2. A wall area set aside as a memorial.

---

Stele 

in botany, the central, or axial, part of the stem and root in higher plants. The stele consists of conducting and mechanical tissues and is surrounded by a primary cortex.

---

Stele 

an upright stone slab with an inscription or a relief. In the ancient world, particularly in Greece, steles served as gravestones. They were frequently used to mark boundaries or to commemorate an important event, for example, the issue of a new law. Today steles are often used not only for gravestones but also for monuments of all types and purposes.