Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
Telephos, Orestes, and Clytemnestra
Telephos, king of Mysia, was wounded by the Greek hero Achilles during the Greeks' first offensive against Troy. The Delphic oracle told Telephos that he could be healed only by the offending weapon. In an attempt to secure Achilles' help, he sought out Orestes, the young son of Agamemnon, and threatened to kill him. Achilles finally heeded Telephos' entreaties and furnished scrapings of his spear that healed the festering wound.
The story of Telephos was the subject of a play by Euripides performed in 438 B.C. This lekythos is one of several vases inspired by the drama. Here Clytemnestra pleads for her child.
This vase is as noteworthy for the rare scene as for the rendering in low relief.
Telephos, king of Mysia, was wounded by the Greek hero Achilles during the Greeks' first offensive against Troy. The Delphic oracle told Telephos that he could be healed only by the offending weapon. In an attempt to secure Achilles' help, he sought out Orestes, the young son of Agamemnon, and threatened to kill him. Achilles finally heeded Telephos' entreaties and furnished scrapings of his spear that healed the festering wound.
The story of Telephos was the subject of a play by Euripides performed in 438 B.C. This lekythos is one of several vases inspired by the drama. Here Clytemnestra pleads for her child.
This vase is as noteworthy for the rare scene as for the rendering in low relief.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
- Period: Hellenistic
- Date: late 4th century BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta; applied relief
- Dimensions: H. 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm)
- Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1928
- Object Number: 28.57.9
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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Amasis Painter
ca. 550–530 BCE
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