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31. Memnon

Description: Pottery: red-figured kylix. Interior: Within a circle consisting of sets of four to seven single maeanders, separated by red cross squares, a woman seated in a chair, confronted on right by a youth closely draped, who leans backward, with his staff resting against his back, keeping it in position with hands under his cloak. The woman holds between each thumb and forefinger a flower, raising the one in her right towards her face. She wears a sleeved chiton, a himation passing over her left shoulder, and her hair is looped up and confined with a sphendone; beside her in the field hangs a mirror. The youth wears a fillet. The seat of the chair is decorated with vertical bands in sets of three, in very light brown. The figures rest on a line which cuts off an exergue left red. Exterior: (a) Combat of Achilles and Memnon in presence of Thetis and Eos. Memnon falls backward to right, his right leg bending under him, his spear glancing harmlessly off his opponent's thigh: his opponent's spear, broken in two, sticks in his right groin, and the purple blood gushes out. He is bearded, and wears short chiton, cuirass with scale body, and a helmet with low visor and cheek-pieces; his left arm with the shield falls helplessly backward. Achilles, disregarding the lance of Memnon, strides forward to despatch him with his sword; he wears a short chiton, a cuirass decorated with chequers, a Greek helmet with frontal decorated with a snake; his shield, like that of Memnon, is seen from the interior; his scabbard hangs from a purple cross-belt; he is beardless, and has long hair falling in parallel wavy tresses, like that of Memnon. Behind Achilles Thetis moves swiftly forward with a gesture of pleasure, raising both hands as if to clap them; her long hair is neatly arranged and tied with a fillet, which forms a bow at the back. Behind Memnon Eos rushes forward with outstretched right, tearing her disordered hair with her left. Each of the goddesses wears a long sleeved chiton, undertied, and a himation over the left shoulder. Their feet overlap the palmette ornament. (b) Two pairs of warriors. On the left a man wearing chlamys and fillet, and holding spear, confronted by a man with shield and spear, dressed in short chiton, helmet and cuirass, with a mantle over his shoulders; device, a Pegasos springing to left. Next is a similar figure en face, also with shield and spear, but with helmet tilted back; device, a lion springing to left. He looks to right over his shield at a fourth warrior, who has shield and spear on left arm and holds out his helmet in his right; he is dressed like the last, and has a purple fillet around his hair; device, a crescent. On the left of him, καλός. All these figures are bearded, and have long curly hair. Purple is used for the flowers and inscriptions, and in the details indicated below. No inner markings. The hair of the women is indicated by dark brown lines on a light brown wash. Eye of the archaic type, in transition to profile (i.e. with disc against inner angle slightly opened). Below each handle a single palmette. --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

32. Music Lesson

Description: Scenes of the daily lives of Athenian schoolboys decorate this red-figure cup. In addition to basic literacy and mathematics, Greek boys were trained in athletics and music. On the interior of the cup, a boy holding a lyre stands in front of a bearded man, who must be his music teacher. On the outside, men and boys form similar scenes. The imagined walls of the schoolroom are hung with musical instruments and athletic equipment: lyres, string bags with knucklebones, sponges, and aryballoi. The scenes on this cup are not purely educational, however. On one side of the vase, a boy holds a hare on his lap, while on the other, a man offers a hare to another boy. In addition to serving as a classroom, the gymnasion in its role as the center of Greek physical and intellectual life was also the center of romantic courtship. Hares were popular love gifts in the homosexual relationships between older men and boys favored by the Athenian aristocracy in the early 500s B.C. --J. Paul Getty Museum Bareiss Loan: S.82.AE.36, May, Helmut, ed. Weltkunst aus Privatbesitz, exh. cat. (Cologne: Kunsthalle Köln, 1968), cat. no. A 31; fig. 13.; Bothmer, Dietrich von.

33. Boy with lyre

Description: Scenes of the daily lives of Athenian schoolboys decorate this red-figure cup. In addition to basic literacy and mathematics, Greek boys were trained in athletics and music. On the interior of the cup, a boy holding a lyre stands in front of a bearded man, who must be his music teacher. On the outside, men and boys form similar scenes. The imagined walls of the schoolroom are hung with musical instruments and athletic equipment: lyres, string bags with knucklebones, sponges, and aryballoi. The scenes on this cup are not purely educational, however. On one side of the vase, a boy holds a hare on his lap, while on the other, a man offers a hare to another boy. In addition to serving as a classroom, the gymnasion in its role as the center of Greek physical and intellectual life was also the center of romantic courtship. Hares were popular love gifts in the homosexual relationships between older men and boys favored by the Athenian aristocracy in the early 500s B.C. --J. Paul Getty Museum Bareiss Loan: S.82.AE.36, May, Helmut, ed. Weltkunst aus Privatbesitz, exh. cat. (Cologne: Kunsthalle Köln, 1968), cat. no. A 31; fig. 13.; Bothmer, Dietrich von.

34. Couple

Description: Scenes of the daily lives of Athenian schoolboys decorate this red-figure cup. In addition to basic literacy and mathematics, Greek boys were trained in athletics and music. On the interior of the cup, a boy holding a lyre stands in front of a bearded man, who must be his music teacher. On the outside, men and boys form similar scenes. The imagined walls of the schoolroom are hung with musical instruments and athletic equipment: lyres, string bags with knucklebones, sponges, and aryballoi. The scenes on this cup are not purely educational, however. On one side of the vase, a boy holds a hare on his lap, while on the other, a man offers a hare to another boy. In addition to serving as a classroom, the gymnasion in its role as the center of Greek physical and intellectual life was also the center of romantic courtship. Hares were popular love gifts in the homosexual relationships between older men and boys favored by the Athenian aristocracy in the early 500s B.C. --J. Paul Getty Museum Bareiss Loan: S.82.AE.36, May, Helmut, ed. Weltkunst aus Privatbesitz, exh. cat. (Cologne: Kunsthalle Köln, 1968), cat. no. A 31; fig. 13.; Bothmer, Dietrich von.

35. Woman splashing wine from Skyphos

Description: Scenes of nude male revelers and hetairai, or high-class prostitutes, decorate this Athenian red-figure kylix or cup. On the interior of the cup, a reclining hetaira plays kottabos, a popular drinking game at symposia, or aristocratic drinking parties. The woman slips one handle of a cup over her index finger and tries to flick the dregs from the bottom of the cup at a target some distance away. Related scenes cover the outside of the cup. On one side, another reclining hetaira plays krotala, castanet-like instruments, while one youth offers her a large cup and another youth dances behind her. On the other side, three more youths dance. Scenes of hetairai were a were a popular subject in Greek vase-painting, especially on vases meant to be used at a symposion. For most Athenian men, the only interaction that they would have with women outside their own family was with mistresses or hetairai, who were usually slaves or foreigners. Respectable Athenian women led a very secluded life in which the nudity and frolicking shown on this vase would have been unthinkable. --J. Paul Getty Museum

36. Revelers

Description: Scenes of nude male revelers and hetairai, or high-class prostitutes, decorate this Athenian red-figure kylix or cup. On the interior of the cup, a reclining hetaira plays kottabos, a popular drinking game at symposia, or aristocratic drinking parties. The woman slips one handle of a cup over her index finger and tries to flick the dregs from the bottom of the cup at a target some distance away. Related scenes cover the outside of the cup. On one side, another reclining hetaira plays krotala, castanet-like instruments, while one youth offers her a large cup and another youth dances behind her. On the other side, three more youths dance. Scenes of hetairai were a were a popular subject in Greek vase-painting, especially on vases meant to be used at a symposion. For most Athenian men, the only interaction that they would have with women outside their own family was with mistresses or hetairai, who were usually slaves or foreigners. Respectable Athenian women led a very secluded life in which the nudity and frolicking shown on this vase would have been unthinkable. --J. Paul Getty Museum