Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
Athena holding spear and aphlaston (a symbol of naval victory)
Athena holds the curved stern of a trireme (warship) with a decorative attachment at the end. Following a rich strike of silver in Attica, the Athenian commander Themistokles persuaded the assembly to use the financial windfall to build a navy. By 480 B.C., Athens was able to provide the largest contingent of ships when the Greeks faced and defeated the Persians in a naval battle at Salamis. The Athenian navy came to dominate the eastern Mediterranean, and this vase may commemorate a victory at sea.
Athena holds the curved stern of a trireme (warship) with a decorative attachment at the end. Following a rich strike of silver in Attica, the Athenian commander Themistokles persuaded the assembly to use the financial windfall to build a navy. By 480 B.C., Athens was able to provide the largest contingent of ships when the Greeks faced and defeated the Persians in a naval battle at Salamis. The Athenian navy came to dominate the eastern Mediterranean, and this vase may commemorate a victory at sea.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
- Artist: Attributed to the Brygos Painter
- Period: Classical
- Date: ca. 480–470 BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
- Dimensions: H. 13 3/8 in. (34 cm); diameter of body 4 3/16 in. (10.6 cm); diameter of foot 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm); diameter of mouth 2 7/16 in. (6.2 cm)
- Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Purchase, The Cesnola Collection, by exchange, 1925
- Object Number: 25.189.1
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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