A pyxis, like this one, was a container for cosmetics and jewelry. It must have belonged to a woman, and might have been a wedding present. The decoration features the Judgment of Paris, a favorite theme in Greek vase painting. Paris was the young son of Priam, king of Troy. You see him on the pyxis, sitting on a rock with an outcrop for his footstool.

It fell to Paris to decide who should be given an apple inscribed with the words “Let the most beautiful take it.” Three goddesses laid claim to the apple and the title it conferred. Walk around to the left and find Athena, who holds a helmet and a spear. Athena was the virgin goddess of war and wisdom. Her elegant, many-colored dress is a witness to her talents as a weaver. Facing her is Hera, the queen of the gods. She wears a bridal crown and a carefully draped mantle. She seems to look down on Athena, as if she wonders what business Athena has pretending to be the most attractive.

Now walk around to the other side of the pyxis. There next to Athena you find Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, in conference with Eros, her winged accomplice. She holds her veil in the gesture typical of brides in Greek art; she will be the winner in the contest.

If you return to Paris himself, you see that he looks hardly qualified for the judgment he is about to make. The rest of the story confirms this: he gave the prize to Aphrodite because she offered him the sweetest bribe, Helen, the loveliest woman alive. Helen was already married, however, and her husband's efforts to win her back resulted in the Trojan War.

You notice that this scene was drawn in both line and color on a white background; this technique is known as white-ground. The pyxis was made in the first half of the fifth century B.C. In the same period, other artists painted on a large scale in panel paintings and on walls; their works do not survive, but may have influenced developments in vase painting.