Panathenaic Amphora: Libation and Sacrifice

Artists

Description

Red-figure Panathenaic Amphora. Side A: Low altar flanked by a bearded man pouring libation and a youth holding an oinochoe. The youth holds the vessel in his right hand and round objects, which may be astragaloi, in his left hand (Bundrick 2014). The bearded man wears a chiton and an ependytes, with a decorative pattern and adorned with a woven wreath in the center. He also holds similar round objects in his left hand and pours a libation from a kantharos with his right hand. The wine for the libation, which is added with red paint over the black, pours out onto a low mound, which is either an earthen mound with the curling tail of a sacrifical bull or a shield with a snake protome. Side B: Poorly preserved. Youth holding a kanoun (sacrificial basket). He wears his himation tied around his waist, in a manner similar to the way in which the youth on the reverse side is dressed.

Dimensions

H. 34 cm (13 3/8 in.)