Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)

Attributed to the Swing Painter

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 155

Obverse, Poseidon fighting giant
Reverse, Judgement of Paris

The gods of Mount Olympos had to overcome several threats before their primacy was established. One was a great conflict with the giants. Here Poseidon, the god of the sea, overcomes Polybotes with a boulder that is, in fact, a piece of the island of Kos that he has broken off. The Judgement of Paris involved a potential threat as well, because it began a chain of events that led to the Trojan War. The sea nymph Thetis was fated to bear a son who would be greater than his father; she was therefore married to the mortal Peleus to whom she bore Achilles.

Terracotta neck-amphora (jar), Attributed to the Swing Painter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic

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Terracotta neck-amphora (jar), Attributed to the Swing Painter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta neck-amphora (jar), Attributed to the Swing Painter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic

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