Exam Flashcards
“Athena Promachos” on Panathenaic amphora (the association of the figure type on the vase with the statue of ‘Athena Promachos’ is disputed, however)
These types of vases were painted in the black-figure technique, in a deliberate archaism, even after introduction of the red-figure technique in the later 6th cent. BC.
The reverse of the vase shows a chariot race (the discipline in which the vase, filled with olive oil, was won). London, British Museum. End of 5th cent. BC.
So-called Mourning Athena.
Marble relief in Athens, Acropolis Museum (height: 0,48 m)
C. 460-450 BC.
Athena – Marsyas group by Myron, showing Marsyas discovering the flute (auloi) that had been invented, but then discarded, by Athena. Modern reconstruction of the original statue group from C. 450 BC (in bronze) in Frankfurt, Liebieghaus.
Athena and Marsyas. Roman marble copies after a sculpture group by Myron on the Acropolis of Athens. C. 450 BC.
Athena as judge in the struggle between Aias (on the left, with sword) and Odysseus for the arms of Achilles. The selection of this scene from the Trojan war, with Athena and the Greeks voting (right), reflects a new interest in democratic institutions at the time the vase was made.
Red figure kylix by Douris. C. 490 BC.
Erechtheion on the Athenian Acropolis, with Athena’s olive tree in front. The highly unusual architecture of the building reflects the cults it accommodated: of the mythical kings Kekrops and Erechtheus, Erichthonios; and the gods Poseidon, Hephaistos, Athena.
421-406 BC.
Parthenon. Plan and reconstruction with statue of Athena Parthenos in the cella/naos (4).
The Parthenon was built by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, the cult statue of Athena was made by Pheidias
447-432 BC. The cult statue was dedicated in 438 BCE.
Parthenon, west pediment (reconstruction). Contest of Athena and Poseidon over the land of Attica.
Fragments of the statues of Athena (left) and Poseidon (right) from Parthenon west pediment.
Parthenon, reconstruction of the West pediment with contest of Athena and Apollo
Parthenon, east pediment (reconstruction). Birth of Athena. Zeus in the center, Hera and Hephaistos on the left, Athena and Poseidon on the right.
Birth of Athena. Red figure Pelike from mid 5th century BC.
Parthenon, East pediment: reconstruction with scene of birth of Athena; surviving figures of deities now in the British Museum
Parthenon, east pediment. Birth of Athena.
Sculptures in the pediment as shown in the drawings of Jacques Carrey (1674), before the destruction of the Parthenon by explosion in 1684.
Roman puteal in Madrid, reflecting the birth of Athena in the center of the pediment.
Parthenon. Female figures in the east pediment.
From left to right: Probably Hestia, Dione and Aphrodite (others suggest Leto, Artemis, Aphrodite).
Parthenon, South metopes: Centauromachy (fight between Centaurs and Lapiths), cf. for west pediment of temple of Zeus in Olympia.
Parthenon, East frieze. Panathenaic procession and assembly of the gods.
1 (top). Young women with sacrificial instruments (cups for libations, jars), Eponymous heroes of Attic tribes.
- Assembly of the gods: Hermes, Dionysos, Demeter, Ares, Hera, Zeus. Then ‘Peplos scene’: Two girls carrying chairs, one of them is handed over to a female figure (priestess of Athena?); then older man (Athenian official) receiving folded Peplos from younger girl (who was in charge of weaving).
- Assembly of the gods: Athena, Hephaistos, Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Eros. Eponymous heroes of Attic tribes.
- Young women with sacrificial instruments (cups for libations, jars).
Parthenon, east frieze. Details with Hera and Zeus (left) and Peplos scene as well as Athena and Hephaistos (right).
Parthenon. Reconstructions with gold and ivory statue of Athena Parthenos by Pheidias
The relief on the base of the statue represented the myth of the birth of Pandora.
Roman ‘miniature’ copy of the Athena Parthenos in marble (‘Varvakion Athena’). Athens, National Museum. 2nd cent. AD.
Marble copy (from Roman times) of the shield of the Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon. The shield showed an amazonomachy (also represented on the west metopes) on the outside and a painted gigantomachy (also represented on the east metopes) on the inside.
Neptune. Drawing (by Abbate, c. 1844) after now lost wall painting in Pompeii, Casa di Nettuno.
Athena and Poseidon. Amphora by Amasis painter. C 540-530 BC.
Amphitrite and Poseidon, Hera and Zeus. Red figure kylix by Kodros painter. London, British Museum. C. 440 BC
Center: Birth of Aphrodite, assisted by two females (either charites=graces, or horai=seasons)
Small sides: Nude flute player (hetaira/prostitute?) and dressed female (bride?) with incense burner in front of her, illustrating two different aspects of Aphrodite. The distinction between the two different aspects of Aphrodite reminds us of the distinction between Aphrodite ‘Urania’ and Aphrodite ‘Pandemos’.
So-called Ludovisi throne. Rome, National Museum. C. 460 BC
Epinetron from Eretria. Ca. 425 BCE. By the Eretria Painter, National Archaeological Museum Athens. Epinetra were used for the carding of wool, an exclusively feminine activity. Both sides of the vessel depict scenes related to marriage and the feminine realm. The front (behind the female bust) shows the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (parents of the hero Achilles). The particular object was probably never used in real life, but given as a grave gift to a young woman who died prematurely.
Preparation of the wedding of the mythical heroine Alcestis (top, right) leaning against the marriage bed in her palace.
Aphrodite (center, left), Eros in front of her, Peitho (persuasion, with mirror as sign of beauty), and other personifications related to Aphrodite, among them Himeros (‘desire’) holding a little vase.
Epinetron by Eretria painter in Athens, NaJonal Museum C. 420 BC
Punishment of Eros/Amor Peitho (‘persuasion’) returns the punished amor (crying, with a hoe or pick axe) to Aphrodite (seated, with quiver and another cupid). Wall painting from Pompeii, Casa dell’amore punito. 1st cent. CE.
Center: Birth of Aphrodite, assisted by two females (either charites=graces, or horai=seasons)
So-called Ludovisi throne. Rome, National Museum. C. 460 BC
Center: Birth of Aphrodite, assisted by two females (either charites=graces, or horai=seasons)
So-called Ludovisi throne. Rome, National Museum. C. 460 BC
Small sides: Nude flute player (hetaira/prostitute?), illustrating two different aspects of Aphrodite. The distinction between the two different aspects of Aphrodite reminds us of the distinction between Aphrodite ‘Urania’ and Aphrodite ‘Pandemos’.
So-called Ludovisi throne. Rome, National Museum. C. 460 BC
Small sides: Dressed female (bride?) with incense burner in front of her, illustrating two different aspects of Aphrodite. The distinction between the two different aspects of Aphrodite reminds us of the distinction between Aphrodite ‘Urania’ and Aphrodite ‘Pandemos’.
So-called Ludovisi throne. Rome, National Museum. C. 460 BC
Aphrodite from Knidos (‘Capitoline Venus’).
Roman copy after Greek original by Praxiteles (c. 360 BC).
Rome, Musei Capitolini
Aphrodite and Pan. Statue group from the clubhouse of the merchants from Beirut in Delos (Greece). Late 2nd cent. BC.
‘Venus de Milo’. From Melos (Greece). Paris, Louvre. Greek original from 2nd cent. BC.
Venus from Capua. Roman copy after Greek original from late 4th cent. BC.
Statue of a Roman lady in the guise of Venus, with contemporary hairstyle. Around 80 AD. Found near Lake Albano, Rome. Probably funerary function. Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek
Roman couple with (portraits) in the guise of Venus and Mars. Funerary monument from Ostia. Rome, National Museum. C. AD 160-170.
“The sculptor drew upon two famous Classical masterpieces as inspiration for his group, namely an image of Ares of the fifth century BC and an equally famous statue of Aphrodite of the fourth. The Classical types were not only intended to give the group a special dignity but also illustrate the couple’s virtues and individual traits. The group was evidently very popular and thus came to be used as a model for statues adorning the tombs of ordinary citizens. The divine images were interpreted allegorically: Mars represented masculine energy and fearlessness, Venus stood for female virtues, which included beauty and love but also maternity”. Paul Zanker, Roman Art (Los Angeles, 2010) p. 42
‘Ares Borghese’. Roman copy after Greek original (by Alkamenes?) from c. 400 BC. Paris, Louvre.
Mars and Venus.
Pompeii, House of Meleager. 1st. Cent. AD.
Hephaistos in his workshop, forging new weapons for Achilles. 19th cent. drawing after now destroyed wall painting in Casa delle Quadrighe (VII, 2, 25) in Pompeii.
Thetis in the workshop of Hephaistos, admiring her own beauty in the reflection of the shield. Wall painting from Pompeii (IX, 1, 7) in Naples, National Museum.
Hermes (the Roman Mercurius/ Mercury), son of Zeus and the nymph Maia. Characteristic attributes are the kerykeion/caduceus in his left hand and the large, winged hat (petasos), as well as the short mantle (chlamys). As the god of trade and merchants, he can also (as he does here) hold a sack of money. On the walls of Pompeii, Hermes plays an important role as a god associated with wealth and profit.
Drawing after wall painting in Pompeii (VIII,4,3).
Hermes psychopompos and “shadow” of a deceased woman at her tomb. White ground lekythos in Munich, Antikensammlungen. From Oropos in Alca. C. 440-430 BC.
Newborn Hermes (in a ‘liknon’) and cattle of Apollo, as well as his mother Maia at the entrance to the cave at Mt. Cyllene. Red figure cup by Brygos painter. C. 490-480 BC. Rome, Musei Vaticani.
Apollo flying over the sea in his tripod. Hydria by Berlin painter in Rome, Musei Vaticani. C. 490 BC.
Artemis and Apollo kill the children of Niobe (=Niobids). Krater by Niobid painter in Paris, Louvre. C. 460 BC.
Artemis and Apollo (on the left and right end of the sarcophagus frieze) kill the children of Niobe (daughter of Tantalus). The myth here serves the purpose of consolation, by placing the personal misfortune of the sarcophagus patron against the much larger misfortune the figures of myth (Niobe and her children) had suffered.
The lid shows the 14 dead Niobids (=children of Niobe).
Roman sarcophagus in Munich, Glyptothek, c. 150 AD.
Artemis killing Actaeon.
Red figure krater by Pan painter, c. 460 BC.
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts.
Artemis and Actaeon. Watercolor after now destroyed fresco in Pompeii, Casa di Sallustio. 1st cent. AD.
Demeter (left) and Persephone send out Triptolemos (center), a young prince from Eleusis who brings Demeter’s gift of grain to humankind. On the far right the nymph Eleusis. Skyphos by painter Makron and potter Hieron. London, British Museum. C. 480 BC.
Votive relief with Eleusinian deities. Demeter (sceptre) on the left, then Triptolemos and Persephone (torch). From Eleusis. Athens, National Museum. C. 430 BC.
Vergina, Northern Greece, current entrance to the tumulus, tombs and museum
So-called tomb of Persephone with fresco in-situ; the tomb was looted in antiquity and was probably used for multiple burials. Some scholars believe this is the tomb where Philip II, father of Alexander the Great was buried.
Hades abducts Persephone. So-called tomb of Persephone. Vergina (Aigai), Greece. Late 4th century BC.
Abduction of Persephone/Proserpina. Roman sarcophagi in Rome, Musei Capitolini (top) and Florence (bottom). 2nd-3rd cent. AD.
Abduction of Persephone/Proserpina by Hades. Demeter on the left, Athena in the center, Hermes on the right. Roman sarcophagus in Florence, Uffizi. C. AD 170.
Bearded Dionysus in Greek vase paintings, with long chiton, kantharos, thyrsos, lion, ivy, maenads, snakes.
Dionysus with thyrsus on panther. Hellenistic mosaic from Pella (Greece). 3rd cent. BC.
Dionysus with thyrsus and tambourine, riding on a panther. Mosaic from house of Dionysus on Delos, 2nd cent. BC.
Dionysus and his retinue (Maenads/Bacchae and Satyrs/Fauns): Amphora by Amasis painter in Paris, Cabinet des Medailles (left, c. 540 BC) and kylix by Brygos painter (right, early 5th cent. BC).
Pan has accidentally attempted to rape a Hermaphrodite, and now he himself is about to become a victim of the latter (who does not intend to let him go). The point of the image is the unexpected reversal of “active” and “passive” in a sexual relation. Roman wall painting from Pompeii, Casa dei Dioscuri. 1st cent. AD.
Hermes hands over little Dionysus to the nymphs on Mt. Nysa, who are preparing a bath for the ‘newborn’. Roman mosaic from triclinium of House of Aion, Nea Paphos, Cyprus. C. 3rd cent. AD.
Baby Dionysos (crowned with ivy) and the Nymphs. Wall painting from Villa Farnesina in Rome, National Museum at Palazzo Massimo. 1st cent. BCE.
Ariadne abandoned by Theseus and found by Dionysus. Roman wall paintings from 1st cent. AD.
Dionysus in his ship, surrounded by dolphins.
Black figure cup by Exekias, c. 540-530 BC.
Munich, Antikensammlungen.
Death of Pentheus (who is torn apart by Maenads), Maenads, Satyrs (top, right), and Dionysus (right) on red figure kylix by Douris. Formerly Toronto, Borowski Collection. C. 480 BC.
Judgment of Paris on white ground Pyxis by Penthesilea painter. New York, Metropolitan Museum. The choice of theme relates to the function of the vase and the context of female adornment.
C. 460 BC.
Judgment of Paris (seated, with Phrygian cap) on Roman mosaic from Antioch (Antakya), so-called Atrium house. Now in Paris, Louvre. 2nd cent. AD. From left to right: Hermes, Paris (seated, with ‘Phrygian cap’, characterizing him as Trojan/’oriental’), Athena, Hera (bridal gesture), Aphrodite. Athena is holding a lance, Hera and Aphrodite are holding scepters. In the background (upper part of the image) are Psyche (left) and Amor/Cupid (right).
Other mosaics in the same dining room (triclinium) depicted Aphrodite and Adonis as well as the drinking contest between Dionysus and Herakles, themes that evoke the pleasures of life.
‘Wedding’ of Peleus and Thetis. Peleus wrestles with his bride, the Nereid Thetis, who tries to escape by changing her shape. Attic red figure kylix from ca. 500 BCE.
Achilles among the daughters of Lycomedes on Scyros. Odysseus (right) and Diomedes (left) try to grab Achilles; king Lycomedes is standing in the background. Roman wall paintings from Pompeii IX, 5,3 (left) and Casa dei Dioscouri (right). 1st cent. AD.
Achilles (with Deidameia) on Scyros. 4th style fresco (from a vaulted ceiling) from Rome, Domus Aurea (palace of emperor Nero). 1st cent. CE.
Briseis is taken away from Achilles. Wall painting from Atrium of the House of the tragic poet in Pompeii. 1st cent. AD. Another painting in the same room (far left) perhaps depicted the consignment of Chryseis to her father Chryses.
Achilles, Patroklos, Briseis. Wall painting from House of the tragic poet in Pompeii (detail). 1st cent. AD.
Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death) lift the body of the Lycian prince Sarpedon (who has been stripped of his armor) from the battlefield; after Homer, Iliad 16, 663-683. Red figure crater by the painter Euphronios. Rome, Villa Giulia. Formerly (until 2008) New York, Metropolitan Museum.
C. 510 BC.
Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death) li] the body of the Lycian prince Sarpedon (who has been stripped of his armor) from the baVlefield; a]er Homer, Iliad 16, 663-683. Red figure crater by the painter Euphronios. Rome, Villa Giulia. Formerly (unJl 2008) New York, Metropolitan Museum.
C. 510 BC.
Detail with the signature of Euphronios, and the inscriptions ‘Hermes’, ‘Thanatos’ and ‘Sarpedon’.
Thetis in the workshop of Hephaistos who is forging new weapons for Achilles (after Homer, Iliad 18). Wall painting in Pompeii, House of Paccius Alexander, Triclinium. 1st cent. CE.
Achilles-sarcophagus in Ostia, depicting the mourning over Patroklos on the right and Achilles leaving for battle on the left.
On the lid the dragging of Hector (left) and the preparation of his body for the funeral (right).
Mid 2nd cent. AD.
Achilles-sarcophagus in Ostia, depicting the mourning over Patroklos on the right and Achilles leaving for battle on the left. On the lid the dragging of Hector (left) and the preparation of his body for the funeral (right). Mid 2nd cent. AD.
Detail with Achilles (seated), the body of Patroklos on a kline, female mourners and crying heroes. The youth on the right is pouring water for the washing of the corpse into a basin. Cf. Homer, Iliad 18.
Priam (guided by Hermes) before Achilles (the other side of the cup shows the servants of Priam carrying the ransom). After Homer, Iliad, book 24.
The interior of the cup shows another representation of Priam and Achilles, constructing a link between the context in which the vase was used (symposium) and the reclining figure of Achilles.
Attic red figure kylix in New York, White and Levy collection. C. 480 BC.
Priam approaches Achilles who is reclining on a kline, with Hektor’s body underneath (cf. textbook, p. 502) Attic red figure cup (Skyphos) by Brygos painter in Vienna. C. 480 BC.
Achilles kills Penthesileia on a black figure Amphora by Exekias. London , British Museum. From Vulci. C. 530 BC.
Achilles and Penthesileia on cup by Penthesileia painter in Munich, Antikensammlungen. From Vulci. C. 460 BC.
Red figure cup by Penthesileia painter in Munich. C. 460 BC. This representation of the myth places greater emphasis on the psychological aspects of the story, reflecting the moral ambiguity and interest in emotions that permeates Greek tragedy: Achilles’ and Penthesileias eyes meet when he kills her.
A Roman couple in the guise of Achilles and Penthesileia on a Roman sarcophagus in the Vatican.
C. 230 AD
Laocoon group in Rome, Vatican. 1st cent. BC.
Death of Laocoon. Watercolor after now lost fresco in Pompeii, Casa di Laocoonte.
The Trojan horse on a clay pithos (storage jar) with relief decoration from the island of Mykonos. The faces of the Greeks hiding in the horse can be seen through square ‘windows’, other warriors have already climbed out of the horse. Note the wheels of the Trojan horse.
Mykonos, Museum. C. 670 BC.
Sack of Troy on a red figure Hydria from Nola by Kleophrades painter. C. 480 BC. From left to right:
- Aineias lifts his father Anchises onto his back; in front of him Askanios, leading the way.
- The lesser Aias/Ajax drags Kassandra away from a statue of Athena (rape of Kassandra). To the right of the statue wailing Trojan women.
- Neoptolemos kills king Priam (with the body of his grandson Astyanax on his lap) at the altar of Zeus.
- A Trojan woman (Andromache?) attacks a Greek warrior with a pestle.
- Akamas and Demophon rescue their grandmother Aithra (mother of Theseus)
Sack of Troy on a red figure Hydria from Nola by Kleophrades painter. C. 480 BC.
Detail with Neoptolemos killing Priam on an altar. The body of his grandson Astyanax is lying on his lap. The altar is spattered with blood.
Odysseus at the beach of Scheria, island of the Phaeacians. The hero (left, with Athena) tries to cover his nudity with two branches. The young women, among whom Nausikaa (daughter of the local king Alcinous) is not clearly identifiable, are washing clothes, some of which are hanging to dry in the tree on the left. Two of the females are scared and run away after having discovered Odysseus.
Athena is not only the helper of the hero Odysseus (who also rejuvenates him as they enter the city of Scheria), but also the one who told Nausikaa in a dream to go to the river and wash clothes.
Attic red figure amphora from Vulci. C. 440 BC.
Odysseus and two of his companions blind Polyphemos with a long pole. Polyphemos is holding a drinking cup in his right; Odysseus is painted white to distinguish him from his men, although the color is commonly used for females.
The story of a group of men working together under the leadership of one hero in order to overcome exotic monsters in foreign lands reflects the psychological experience of the “Greek colonization”.
Proto-attic amphora from Eleusis. C. 670 BC.
(textbook p. 528)
Odysseus and his companions escape from the cave of Polyphemos, riding beneath the bodies of rams.
Black figure Lekythos from early 5th century BC.
Circe and Odysseus. In the center, a somewhat masculine Circe stirs a poJon (with her magic wand) in a drinking cup which she hands to one of the companions of Odysseus, who is in the process of being transformed into a boar. From the left, Odysseus approaches with drawn sword; the man rushing off to the right is perhaps Eurylochos (leaving to warn Odysseus).
Attic black figure cup, c. 550 BC. Boston, Museum of Fine Arts
Odysseus and the Sirens, one of whom is commilng suicide by jumping into the sea as Odysseus sails by.
Attc red figure stamnos from Vulci in London, British Museum. C. 450 BC. (textbook p. 531)
Top: Penelope sits by her loom as if in mourning; in front of her stands her son Telemachos.
Bottom: Odysseus (left) is recognized from his scar by his old nurse (here named ‘Antiphata’ rather than ‘Euryclea’, as in Homer) as she washes his feet (after Homer, Odyssey 19,361ff.). The hero (with Pilos) leans on a stick and carries a basket, a wine-container, and a skyphos on a second stick. On the right Eumaios, offering gifts to Odysseus.
Attic red figure skyphos from Chiusi. C. 440 BC.
On the left (side A), Odysseus draws his bow; two female servants are looking on. On the other side of the skyphos (side B), two suitors on a kline (on which they have been feasting) try to defend themselves from Odysseus’ arrows. A third suitor uses a table as a shield.
Attic red figure skyphos from Tarquinia in Berlin, Pergamon Museum. C. 440 BC.
