The monumental form of this vessel is like an architectural support for the band of palmettes beneath the rim, and the two great battle friezes in the registers below. Two scenes from Greek mythology are depicted here.

In the smaller frieze on the neck of the vessel, men fight with centaurs. Sometimes the centaurs act as people should, and sometimes they are wild and rowdy animals. The bridegroom Peirithous invited them to his wedding, trusting them to behave. Instead, they got quite drunk and tried to carry off the bride and the other women present. The men are now at arms to set things straight. In the center of the scene, a nude Greek swings an axe above his head, while the centaur across from him holds up a checkered pillow.

The lower, larger scene shows the battle between the Greeks and the Amazons. The battle is fierce and the two sides evenly matched. An Amazon attacks a nude Greek on the ground with her spear. Walk around the vase to the right. Under the handle, a standing Greek forces an Amazon beyond the lower boundary of the scene.

Both battles were favorite themes in Greek art. In the fifth century B.C., Athens was exultant over the Greek victory in the Persian Wars. The Amazons were supposed to have come from the Near East; they may be metaphorical substitutes for the Persians, who were accused of effeminacy in Athenian rhetoric. The centaurs stand for chaos and barbarism pitted against the forces of civilization.