| Collection: | Cambridge, Harvard University Art Museums |
| Summary: | Side A: Warrior presented to Zeus by Iris. Side B: Departing warrior, with Iris. Tondo: Satyr and maenad. |
| Ware: | Attic Red Figure |
| Painter: | Attributed to the Penthesilea Painter |
| Context: | Said to be from Capua |
| Date: | ca. 470 BC - ca. 460 BC |
| Dimensions: | H. 0.113 m.; D. 0.273 m.; D. with handles 0.354 m. |
| Primary Citation: | |
| Shape: | Kylix |
| Beazley Number: | 211593 |
| Region: | Campania |
| Period: | Early Classical |
Condition:
Broken and repaired, with a few pieces missing, most noticeably in the maenad and the returning warrior. There are wide cracks through several figures and considerable abrasion in the interior (e.g. the satyr's legs, which are repainted).
Decoration Description:
Below each handle, a single enclosed palmette, with coiling tendrils. Side A: The subject is unusual and possibly unique. A bearded man is seated at left on stool (diphros). He wears a chiton and himation and holds a long scepter which identifies him as a king. On the wall behind him is a hook for hanging a helmet. Since the winged goddess standing in the center must be Iris, as shown by the caduceus she carries, the king is probably Zeus himself. The goddess wears a peplos and has her hair in a krobylos secured by a fillet. She stands frontally, gesturing at Zeus with her right hand but turning her gaze toward the warrior at right, who stoops to lay a branch of laurel on the ground, an offering to the King of the Gods. The warrior, who is badly damaged, wears a short chiton, cloak, and Thracian helmet and carries a spear and a round shield with a device in the form of a left eye, drawn in outline. Beazley suggested that the scene represents a Panhellenic thank-offering after the Persian Wars (JHS 47 (1927) 148Side B: Departure of a warrior, who stands in the center between an old man, at left, and Iris, at right. The goddess, wearing a chiton and sakkos and carrying her caduceus, faces the warrior and gestures toward him, as though summoning him. The warrior is nude except for a short cloak over his right arm, which he extends to hold a spear. On his extended left arm is a shield, the interior of which faces the viewer. The device is hidden, but a leather apron on the bottom is decorated with an outline eye, this time a right one. The old man is draped from ankle to chin. He leans on his staff to right as he clutches his bowed and balding head, apparently in grief. Iris is an unusual presence in a departure scene and suggests that the warrior's journey will be a special one. If he is the same warrior as on Side A, the messenger goddess may be summoning him to Olympos (or, perhaps, to the local sanctuary of Zeus). Another possibility, suggested by the grieving father, is that she has come to take him to the Underworld, though that is a task usually reserved for Hermes. If the warrior is indeed dead, and the two scenes are related, the seated man may be Hades instead of Zeus. Finally, it should be noted that although the caduceus is the usual identifying attribute of Iris, Nike also is sometimes represented carrying one: e.g. Tondo: Satyr attacking a maenad. The latter, wearing chiton, himation, and sakkos, moves to the left but turns to defend herself with the butt of her thyrsos. The bald satyr prances after her, clutching with both hands as he looks into her eyes.
Shape Description:
Type B kylix.
Essay:
Collection History:
Bequest of Joseph C. Hoppin. Bought in Athens in 1896.
Sources Used:
CVA, Hoppin-Gallatin; Buitron 1972.
Other Bibliography: