Vase Catalog Number: Malibu 83.AE.217

Decoration:

The tondo is framed by a labyrinth meander. Inside the frame, a man stands on the left in front of a seated youth. The man's left leg is set slightly behind his weight-bearing right, as he leans on a walking stick. The man, with dark hair and beard, is wearing a wrap that covers his left shoulder and upper arm, his front torso, buttocks and both legs to the calves. With his right hand on his hip, he appears to be talking to the youth, who slumps head down on a stool with rectangular legs. The youth is wrapped from the neck down in heavy drapery. His feet are propped on a foot stool. A piece of athletic equipment appears in the background on the left of the picture.

The lower border of the exterior scenes is marked by a band of palmettes just under the groundline. Side A depicts the archery contest from the story of Herakles and Eurytos. The lower bodies of eight figures are preserved. Herakles stands in an active pose on the far right, recognizable by his lionskin rendered in dilute glaze. On the far right is a draped woman, assumedly Iole, the prize of the contest. In between are six archers, all dressed in animalskin boots laced up around the legs, with spotted decoration at the tops. These men, the sons of Eurytos, wear short chitons and carry scaley quivers (visible on three figures) and bows (seen on two).

On side B, a different contest, probably a pankration, is depicted. Three watchers, preserved in lower body only, are seated on stools to the right, apparently the judges. All are draped to the ankles. The legs of five standing spectators, one a boy, are crowded in front of those on the stools. On the far left are the two naked contestants, seen from the waist down. The contestant on the right is kicking the lefthand figure, a recognized pankration maneuver, which resembled a karate stroke.

Inscriptions:

An inscription in the tondo reads ÊERMOLUKOS KALOS (Hermolykos is beautiful). Following it is the signature of the painter, DORIS EGRAPHSEN. On the foot the potter's signature is written, KLE[O]PHR[ADES EPO]IESE[N].

Parallels:

At least five other vessels show archery contests: Palermo V 653 (ARV2, 73.30); Madrid 10.916 (ABV, 508); Athens Acr. 288 (LIMC, 4 (1988), pl. 62); Paris, Cab. Méd. L 243, L 46, L 78, 600 (ARV2, 370.8); and C. Isler-Kerényi, Stamnoi (Lugano, 1976/1977), pp. 36-42.

Condition:

The foot was broken off and reattached in antiquity.

Sources Used:

Diana Buitron-Oliver, "A Cup for a Hero," Greek Vases in the J. Paul Getty Museum 5 (1991): 65-74.

(Deirdre Beyer-Honça)