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Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)

Attributed to the Tithonos Painter
ca. 480–470 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 156
Hermes

Hermes, the messenger god, moves swiftly across this vase on some errand for Zeus, the ruler of the gods. Dressed in traveling clothes with a chlamys (short cloak) and a petasos (broad-brimmed hat), he wears winged sandals and carries a herald's staff, a kerykeion, which terminates in entwined snakes. The same symbol was carried by Greek heralds as they traveled from city to city.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)
  • Artist: Attributed to the Tithonos Painter
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: ca. 480–470 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, Attic
  • Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
  • Dimensions: H. 13 3/8 in. (34 cm); width 4 1/2 in. (11.4 cm); diameter of foot 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)
    diameter of mouth 3 1/16 in. (7.8 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1925
  • Object Number: 25.78.2
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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