Neck Amphora (storage jar): Herakles and the Nemean Lion; Theseus and the Minotaur

Artists

Description

Group E amphora. On side A, Herakles wrestles with the Nemean lion between Iolaus and Athena. Herakles stands in the center facing right and strangles the lion, clinching his neck. On the left is Iolaus (Herakles' companion) who moves to the left and looks back over his shoulder. On the right stands Athena, wearing her customary peplos and helmet, and bearing a shield. On side B, Theseus battles the Minotaur between two maidens. Theseus, the Athenian hero, stands in the center facing right wearing a short garment and ani mal skin. With his left hand he grasps the Minotaur (half man, half bull), stabbing the monster with a short sword. The hero is flanked on either side by two maidens, both wearing floor-length, decorated peploi. On the shoulder, a cockfight. The neck is decorated with a palmette-lotus chain and tendrils, palmettes, and lotuses appear beneath the handles. Added red and white provide detail including the mens' hair and the womens' skin, respectively. Both of these scenes were popular during the mid-late sixth century BCE

Dimensions

41.3 cm h x 31.5 cm diam (16 1/4 x 12 3/8 in.)

Provenance

David M. Robinson, Baltimore, MD, (by 1958), bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1960.