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Detail: Interior
Drinking cup (kylix) with a nude hoplites, satyrs, and a mule
Greek
Archaic Period
about 510–500 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens
Medium/Technique
Ceramic, Red Figure
Dimensions
Overall: 11.5 x 35 cm (4 1/2 x 13 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by contribution
Accession Number89.270
CollectionsEurope, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsVessels
DescriptionThis hoplite is nude accept for an Athenian helmet, a shield and a spear. He looks backwards as he runs towards the right within the tondo. This has led some to believe that this warrior is in flight from the enemy, and a similar nude figure flees two clothed hoplites in Corinthian helmets on the exterior of the cup. The bowl shape of the shield allowed it to be wielded like this: Resting on the shoulder and pushed outwards at an angle towards the enemy. This stance is attested in other vases and it aligns with the hypothesis that hoplites stood sideways in the phalanx, so that their shield covered their body fully.
Exterior side A: Three warriors striding to left.
Exterior side B: Two satyrs and a mule.
Exterior side A: Three warriors striding to left.
Exterior side B: Two satyrs and a mule.
ProvenanceBy 1889: with Rodolfo Lanciani (purchased from Sig. Marinangeli, Rome and said to come from Cervetri); purchased by MFA from R. Lanciani, 1889