Frontal view

Detail of the front, top: bearded Herakles grasping Nereus, a snaky monste...

Detail of the front, below: two confronting lions, both shown in profile, ...

Detail of the front, right: the head and upper body of the left lion, and ...

Frontal view

Detail of the back: a bird standing profile to the left, with his head tur...

Collection: Paris, Musée du Louvre
Summary: Above: Herakles and NereusBelow: A helmet between lionsBack, below: A bird
Ware: Attic Black Figure
Painter: In the manner of the Gorgon Painter
Context: From Boeotia
Date: ca. 600 BC - ca. 580 BC
Primary Citation: ABV, 12.23; Beazley Addenda 2, 3
Shape: Lekythos
Beazley Number: 300106
Period: High Archaic


Decoration Description:

On the shoulder is depicted bearded Herakles, grasping Nereus, a snaky monster, shown profile to the right; Herakles turns profile to the left, to face a lion's head, an epiphany of Nereus as he changes magically into another form.

The main frieze depicts two confronting lions, both shown in profile, with an Attic helmet, shown profile to the right, between them, on the ground; rosettes fill the field behind each lion while, at the back, stands a bird, profile to the left, with his head turned profile to the right.

Material Description: H. Payne and others thought that this piece might be Boeotian.

Sources Used: Boardman 1974, fig. 16