Phintias and Euthymides
Jenifer Neils, Case Western Reserve University

5. Composition and Style Part 1

As one can see on this amphora and others (for instance, Illustration 34;Illustration 35),Euthymides' preferred composition is three figures to a panel (in contrast to Phintias' four) with those at the sides acting as parentheses for the central figure, a tradition carried on by the Kleophrades Painter.

Illustration 34

Illustration 35

This reduction allows the artist leeway for bigger, beefier figures who contort their bodies as they revel, so that the viewer is given profile, back and frontal views of the male anatomy. The simple arming scene on the obverse is repeated on another amphora in Munich (Munich 2308; Illustration 36;Illustration 37;Illustration 38).[18]

Illustration 36

Illustration 37

Illustration 38

Although the two youthful warriors are identical, on the first vase he is labeled Hektor and is accompanied by his parents, King Priam and Hecuba, while on the second he is named Thorykion and is flanked by archers in Scythian garb (Illustration 39). Thorykion is otherwise unknown but since the word means "wearer of a breastplate", the name is certainly apt. He and Hektor both bend their heads downwards (Illustration 40), in a pose favored by Euthymides, while they concentrate on fastening their cuirasses.

Illustration 39

Illustration 40