Terracotta kylix (drinking cup)
Reverse, the stables of Poseidon
The subjects are drawn from book 13 of Homer's Iliad. Poseidon, seeing the Greeks hard-pressed, decided to help renew their valor. At his underwater palace, he ordered his chariot prepared so that he could ride to their aid. On one side of this cup, an atmosphere of feverish excitement reigns in the stables as grooms attempt to soothe four high-strung horses tethered to columns. Supernatural forces seem to have been unleashed: tiny figures race over the horses' backs and swing down from the architectural frieze above. On the other side of the cup, Poseidon, carrying a trident, urges on the Greek heroes.
Artwork Details
- Title: Terracotta kylix (drinking cup)
- Artist: Attributed to the Amasis Painter
- Period: Archaic
- Date: ca. 540 BCE
- Culture: Greek, Attic
- Medium: Terracotta; black-figure
- Dimensions: H. 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm)
diameter 10 1/8 in. (25.7 cm) - Classification: Vases
- Credit Line: Gift of Norbert Schimmel Trust, 1989
- Object Number: 1989.281.62
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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