Scenes from the mythological Trojan War decorate this Athenian black-figure neck-amphora. On the front, Achilles and Ajax, two great heroes of the Greeks, sit playing a board game. The goddess Athena stands in front of the board and gestures. The warriors have their armor and weapons ready, as if just pausing during a break in the conflict. This scene of Ajax and Achilles gaming was very popular in Athenian vase-painting of the late 500s B.C. and was a favorite of the painters in the Leagros Group. Many scholars believe that this mythological scene also served as a contemporary political parable on the value of staying alert, since the tyrant Peisistratos had been able to take control of the city of Athens while the army was distracted. The back of the vase depicts three hoplites, or warriors, in a line. Such files of hoplites are rather unusual in vase-painting, and this depiction may have been meant to relate to the scene on the front of the vase. These hoplites may be Greeks on the march to counter a Trojan attack, while Ajax and Achilles are notified by Athena. Such an interpretation would explain Athena's unusually prominent position on this rendition of the scene. --J. Paul Getty Museum; Bareiss Loan: S.80.AE.292, May, Helmut, ed. Weltkunst aus Privatbesitz, exh. cat. (Cologne: Kunsthalle Köln, 1968), cat. no. A 24.; Bothmer, Dietrich von, and J. Bean. Greek Vases and Modern Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bareiss. Exh. checklist, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: 1969. p. 2, no. 19.; Brommer, Frank. Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage. 3rd ed. (Marburg: 1973) p. 335, no. 23.; Woodford, Susan.
Pottery: black-figured hydria. Designs in black on red panels, with borders of ivy down the sides and palmettes along the bottom; accessories of white and purple. 1. On the shoulder: Departure of warriors: In the centre, a warrior to right, beardless, with long hair, fillet, short chiton, and sword, fastening a greave on his left leg, which rests on his helmet; the other greave is already on. Facing him, stands a female figure with long tresses, fillet, long chiton and diploidion, holding his spear in right hand. Behind her is a warrior to left with tall visored helmet, chlamys, greaves, spear and shield with device of a bent leg supporting with right hand the shield of the first warrior, which has a tripod as device. Behind him is an archer departing to right, and looking back, bearded, with peaked cap, short embroidered chiton, double-headed axe in right hand, left hand raised, quiver at side. Confronting him is a warrior, as last, with three pellets on shield. On the left of the centre group is a similar warrior to left, with three pellets on shield, confronting an archer, as the former, but beardless; also a beardless figure to right in long chiton and embroidered himation, holding in left hand a wand or spear. 2. On the body: Achilles and Penthesilea: In the centre is Achilles moving to right, bearded, with long tresses, fully armed, two spears in right hand, carrying over left shoulder the body of Penthesilea. Her head hangs down in front with eyes closed, long tresses and a purple wreath, and she wears a short chiton and cuirass, on right arm a bracelet, on right leg an anklet, at side a sword, with sheath terminating in a panther's head. By the side of Achilles is a Boeotian shield with device of an ivy-wreath. In front of him are a warrior and archer departing to right; the warrior, who is looking back, is fully armed, with triquetra as device on shield; the archer is bearded, with Phrygian cap, short embroidered chiton, and greaves, in left hand an axe, at back a quiver. On the left is a fallen Amazon lying back with left leg drawn up, long tresses, fillet, high-crested cap, cuirass, short embroidered chiton, greaves, spear, and shield with two pellets. Over her strides a warrior to left, fully armed, shield with device of a bull's head transfixing her with spear. Above this warrior is inscribed: KAΛOΣ; in front of Achilles is inscribed : KPITI ... Κρίτί[ας]. --The British Museum, A Catalogue of the Greek and Etruscan Vases in the British Museum, London, William Nicol, 1851; Walters, H B; Forsdyke, E J; Smith, C H, Catalogue of Vases in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1893; Walters, H B, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Great Britain 8, British Museum 6, London, BMP, 1931
Pottery: red-figured stamnos. (a) Departure of a warrior. In the centre a bearded warrior stands en face, with helmet, short chiton, ornamented cuirass, and greaves, sword at waist, shield on arm, and holding a spear upright in left hand; his cuirass is decorated with a star on each shoulder-piece, and a band of key pattern; the strings are fastened upon a stud in the centre of this band, which is formed like an eight-spoked wheel, with dots between the spokes. He looks to left, grasping the hand of a bearded man, in long chiton and mantle, who holds upright in his left hand a staff. On the right, a woman, with bordered Doric chiton with apoptygma undertied, and hair looped up with fillet, stands with a phiale in her left, and an oinochoe hanging at her side in her right hand. Behind the warrior a hound stands in the background to left: around its neck is a collar with bead (?) attached. (b) Similar scene. In the centre, a beardless warrior as in (a), but with his body mostly hidden by his shield (device, a Pegasos springing to left), with helmet tilted back and with a mantle over his arms, stands en face, holding out to left a phiale to be filled from the oinochoe of a woman with Doric chiton schistos, and hair looped up with radiated fillet. On the right stands a bearded man, as in a. Large style. Purple fillets, brown inner markings and edge of hair. Eye in profile. Below, pairs of maeanders separated by dotted cross squares. Above, tongue pattern; round lip, egg pattern. Below and above handles, a pattern of four palmettes. The helmet in both cases overlaps the border. --The British Museum, A Catalogue of the Greek and Etruscan Vases in the British Museum, London, William Nicol, 1851; Walters, H B; Forsdyke, E J; Smith, C H, Catalogue of Vases in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1893; Walters, H B, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Great Britain 4, British Museum 3, London, BMP, 1927
Pottery: black-figured hydria. Designs in black on red panels, with borders of ivy down the sides; accessories of white and purple. 1. On the shoulder: Contest of Achilles and Memnon?: In the centre lies the body of Antilochos (?) flat on the face, the head to left; he is nude and beardless. Over it Achilles and Memnon are confronted, both fully armed, with spears and Boeotian shields; that of Memnon has a rosette, incised, between four pellets, painted; Achilles also has a sword. Behind them are two beardless male figures, looking on, with long hair, fillets, long chitons and striped himatia; behind each of these, a beardless male figure, also looking on, wearing a fillet and chlamys; all four hold wands. 2. On the body: Marriage procession: A quadriga to right, in which are a beardless male figure with fillet, long chiton, and himation, holding reins in both hands, and a female figure in a long purple chiton and himation over her head. By the side of the quadriga walks a female figure with long hair, fillet, long chiton, and embroidered himation, clapping her hands. In advance, at further side of horses and looking back towards her, is a male figure with fillet, long white chiton, and striped himation, playing on the chelys. At the horses' heads is the proegetes (leader of the procession) to right, looking back; he has petasos, chlamys, endromides, and caduceus. In the field above is inscribed Λυσιππίδης καλός, Ρόδον καλέ. 3. Below, a frieze of animals: In the centre a Siren to right looking back, with wings outspread; on either side a panther and doe confronted. --The British Museum, A Catalogue of the Greek and Etruscan Vases in the British Museum, London, William Nicol, 1851; Walters, H B; Forsdyke, E J; Smith, C H, Catalogue of Vases in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1893; Walters, H B, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Great Britain 4, British Museum 3, London, BMP, 1927
Pottery: black-figured dinos (wine-bowl) and stand, incorporating the fragments 1978.6-6.1 and 2, and 1978.6-7.1 to 3. It shows the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis, above friezes of real and imaginary animals. Peleus receives the wedding guests at his house; among them Dionysos, Hebe, and the centaur Cheiron. Between the columns of Peleus' house is the artist's signature "Sophilos painted me". The first chariot in the procession carries Zeus and Hera, the second Poseidon and Amphitrite, the third Hermes and Apollo and the fourth Ares and Aphrodite. Between the chariots walk groups of Fates, Graces and Muses, one of whom plays the pipes. Athena and Artemis ride in the last chariot, and are followed by Thetis' grandfather, the fish-tailed sea-god Okeanos, his wife Tethys, and Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth. Hephaistos brings up the rear, seated side-saddle on a mule. --The British Museum, H.A.G. Brijder, Siana Cups II, The Heidelberg Painter, 8, Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum, 1991
Pottery: black-figured amphora: the ambush of Troilos; as Achilles attacks Troilos, Polyxena drops her water-jar and flees in terror. --The British Museum
Pottery: red-figured hydria. Thersites insulting Agamemnon. On the right stands Thersites, an old, bald-headed man with hooked nose and grotesque features, and peculiarly shaped head; he leans on a staff and wears a long chiton and an himation, which is passed over the back of his head. He looks at Agamemnon, who moves away with bearded face to front, carrying his spear sloped over his right shoulder, and shield (device, a lion to left) seen edgewise on his left arm; he wears a broad fillet, short chiton, cuirass, and a mantle hangs over his arms. On the left a bearded figure in a chlamys and a hemispherical helmet (Nestor?), with a spear over his right shoulder, moves away, looking back; the action of his left hand is not certain; he may possibly be touching the arm of Agamemnon. The cuirass of Agamemnon seems to be made in narrow vertical slips overlapping each other, and is decorated with a star on the shoulder-piece. Late stage of good period; drawing careless. Eye in profile. Below, a strip of maeander; above, of alternate palmette and lotus; round lip and handles, egg pattern. --The British Museum, Walters, H B; Forsdyke, E J; Smith, C H, Catalogue of Vases in the British Museum, I-IV, London, BMP, 1893; Walters, H B; Forsdyke, E J, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum: Great Britain 7, British Museum 5, London, BMP, 1930