Terracotta bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
Obverse, Kadmos
Reverse, Hermes and Athena
The oracle of Apollo at Delphi directed Kadmos to follow a cow that he would find and to establish a city where she lay down. That site became Thebes, in the region of Boeotia. The only available spring was guarded by a dragon born of Ares, the god of war. With the help of Athena, Kadmos killed the dragon—here depicted as a snake—and from its teeth a population of armed warriors sprang up. Kadmos advances with a hydria to fetch water and a stone and spears to kill the snake. The identity of the woman is unknown; she may be a personification of the city or possibly his future wife, Harmonia, the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares.
Reverse, Hermes and Athena
The oracle of Apollo at Delphi directed Kadmos to follow a cow that he would find and to establish a city where she lay down. That site became Thebes, in the region of Boeotia. The only available spring was guarded by a dragon born of Ares, the god of war. With the help of Athena, Kadmos killed the dragon—here depicted as a snake—and from its teeth a population of armed warriors sprang up. Kadmos advances with a hydria to fetch water and a stone and spears to kill the snake. The identity of the woman is unknown; she may be a personification of the city or possibly his future wife, Harmonia, the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta bell-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)
- Artist: Attributed to the Cassel Painter
- Period: Classical
- Date: ca. 440–430 BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
- Dimensions: H. 13 7/8 in. (35.3 cm)
diameter of mouth 14 5/8 in. (37.1 cm) - Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1922
- Object Number: 22.139.11
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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