The symposium, conventionally interpreted as a drinking party, was a well-established feature of Greek, particularly Athenian, society. For over a century, representations on vases document that wine, women, and song were central ingredients. Even more worthy of emphasis, however, is the importance of the symposium as an institution that permitted citizens to gather, transact business, and, as Plato's dialogue makes clear, to engage in serious discussions. An essential piece of equipment for the symposium was the krater in which the wine was diluted with water and from which it was served. In black-figure vase painting before the last quarter of the sixth century B.C., the decoration of large elaborate kraters tended to be mythological. (On red-figure vases, the symposium itself was often depicted.) This large column-krater, capable of holding nineteen gallons of liquid, is exceptionally significant as it is one of the first on which wine, women, and song are presented, albeit in a mythological guise.

The subject, which encompasses both sides of the vase, is the return of Hephaistos to Mount Olympus, home of the gods. Hephaistos, the son of Hera and Zeus, was born lame and, for this reason, Hera cast him out of Mount Olympus. Received and reared by the daughters of Okeanos, he became an expert craftsman and took his revenge on his mother by sending her a splendid throne with a hidden mechanism—when Hera sat on it, the springs relaxed so that she could not get up again. Only Hephaistos had the power to release her. As the gods became desperate, Dionysos resorted to the power of wine, subdued Hephaistos, and eventually convinced him to release his mother. Escorted by Dionysos and his entourage of satyrs and maenads, Hephaistos returned to Mount Olympus in triumph.

On this column-krater, no fewer than twenty-seven satyrs and maenads are shown in a frieze that continues around the vase. The procession is accented on one side by Dionysos, wearing long garments and a garland of ivy on his head; he holds a keras (drinking horn) and the vine he taught men to cultivate. Around him are the satyrs, shaggy creatures with horses' tails and ears, and maenads, female devotees of the god of wine, wearing animal skins over their dresses. Everyone proceeds in the same direction; dancers lift their feet and wave their arms in an exuberant manner. On the other side is Hephaistos, craftsman to the gods, riding a donkey. He is dressed in the short tunic of artisans and grasps a drinking horn—the cause of his undoing. One satyr carries a bulging wineskin, while two others turn to face the spectator; others are busy with grapevines and ivy tendrils. One of the satyrs plays the aulos, another holds a drinking horn, and one has his tail pulled by a maenad. In typical Archaic style, the painter has drawn the figures in pure profile or in full frontal view with no attempt at foreshortening. In this way, the contours of each figure stand out clearly against the background, and the composition becomes a decorative design. Incised lines and added white and red glaze enliven the black silhouettes.

This column-krater ranks among the acknowledged masterpieces by Lydos, an Attic vase painter whose name is known from two signatures. About one hundred vases are attributed to him, and several hundred more were painted in his manner by followers and companions. This vase shows Lydos at the height of his development, shortly after the middle of the sixth century B.C.

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