Terracotta column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
Attributed to the Lykomedes Painter
Within the mouth, ships and dolphins
On the body, obverse, the struggle between Herakles and Apollo for the Delphic tripod; reverse, onlookers
Representations of Herakles' attempt to seize the tripod from the oracle of Apollo at Delphi were popular in Attic vase-painting from the end of the sixth century B.C. to the mid-fifth. In addition to featuring the local hero, Herakles, they afforded artists the opportunity to depict two male figures in motion. This challenge particularly interested practitioners of the newly introduced red-figure technique, but it also spurred black-figure artists who wished to remain up-to-date.
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