Description:
The lip of this skyphos, or drinking cup, with black-figure decoration is reserved; the inside is black except for a reserved circle in the center with a small black-glazed circle. The neck is decorated with a double row of dots separated by a line of dilute glaze and bordered above and below by black lines. The picture panels on the sides both depict the same scene of Herakles/Hercules resting from one of his twelve labors with Athena, and Hermes. Herakles/Hercules wears a lion skin; his club rests against his knee and the end of a quiver extends behind him. He sits on a rectangular plinth seat, his left hand raised in greeting, his right extended and holding a drinking cup. Athena, in chiton, himation, and Attic helmet, approaches from the right and extends her oinochoe to fill his cup; her skin, crest, and dotted decoration of her helmet are highlighted with added white. At the left, Hermes plays flutes; his hat and garments are detailed in added red and white. In the background is a tree with spreading branches; on side A, the tree's trunk is visible behind the seated god; on side B there are dots of added white perhaps indicating fruit. The bearded goats under the handles have white horns, muzzles, and underbellies. The insides of the handles are reserved. Below the picture panels two thin lines of dilute glaze frame a band of alternating red and black tongues. The simple foot is black-glazed. The edge of the underside of the foot is black, with the center reserved except for two circles around a central black dot. In the reserved area is a potter's mark composed of an incised triangle and three vertical lines.
Label Text:
Herakles is a unique figure in Greek mythology, achieving divine status through his feats of not only strength, but also intellect. The son of Zeus through an affair with the mortal woman, Alkmene, Herakles was half divine by blood, but he was barred from a seat on Mount Olympos until his unfortunate death by poison. The hero is famous for the 12 labors that he completed as purification for his blood guilt; while struck by a fit of madness by Hera, Zeus’ jealous wife, Herakles killed his own wife and children in a horrific act of violence. Following the directives of the Oracle at Delphi, Herakles indentured himself to his cousin, Eurystheus, and completed 12 daring feats to cleanse his conscious.
Herakles appears on this skyphos, a broad-mouthed drinking vessel with two lateral handles, in a seated position flanked by the goddess Athena on the right and the god Hermes on the left. He sits on a rectangular seat with a cushion and balances his club of olive wood between his legs; his other attribute, his quiver and bow, are just visible behind his back. Athena’s white skin identifies her as the only woman in the scene, and her crested helmet is her unique attribute. On the left, Hermes stands wearing his winged boots and traveling hat of the messenger and also plays the double flute.
The presence of music, goats (under the handles), and the pouring of a libation from Athena’s oinochoe (wine jug) into Herakles phiale (shallow bowl used for offering wine or oil) all reflect a theme of ritual sacrifice. This particular Heraklean subject matter is unusual and does not appear to have any literary references. Athena regaling Herakles could perhaps be a moment of reverence that occurred in between two of his labors or at the culmination of his apotheosis at Mount Olympos, but the scene is rarely illustrated on Attic vases. In fact, the Theseus Painter, to whom this vase is attributed, is the primary painter of the topic, yet even he only created four other known vases with the unusual scene.
While the Theseus Painter is so named for the frequency in which he depicted images of the Greek hero, Theseus, this vessel dates to a period in Attic history when Herakles was the paramount champion of the city. He was a favorite of Athen’s patron goddess, Athena, who frequently appeared at the hero’s aid in depictions of his labors, such as in four of the metope reliefs on the temple of Zeus at Olympia: the scene of the Nemean Lion, the Stymphalian birds, the apples of the Hesperides, and the Augeian stables. Heraklean themes were pervasive in Athenian artwork, appearing on 44% of vases up to 510 BCE, especially on black-figure pots like this example. This skyphos provides a fine example of the optimism of the Athenian people during the late Archaic period as they approached a limited form of democracy and ended the rule of the tyrants. As a mortal hero, Herakles proved that man could be victorious against even the greatest challenge, using his agility of mind and body to confront his enemies.
- From Reconstructing Antiquity, Rachel G. Beaupré
Tags:
ancient; archaeology; pottery; vessels; containers Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+1925.3.B.SII |
