Vase Catalog Number: Mississippi 1977.3.87

Essay: Shapiro No. 10

Attic Red-Figure Neck-Amphora with LidCollection of The University Museums, University of Mississippi Phase I Cultural Center (1977.3.87a-b)
Attributed to the Harrow Painter490-480 B.C.Height: 40.4 cm. without lid.Diameter: 23.5 cm.Height of lid: 14 cm.Side A: Dionysos pursuing Ariadne. Side B: Companion of Ariadne, fleeing.

When the Athenian hero Theseus came to Crete to rescue his companions from the man-eating Minotaur, he needed the help of King Minos' daughter Ariadne to find his way into and out of the impenetrable maze, the Labyrinth, in which the monster was confined. She gave him a golden crown to light his way, or in some versions of the story, a ball of thread; he tied one end of this to the entrance and unrolled it as he went in, then followed it back when he had killed the Minotaur. Ariadne sailed with him for Athens, expecting to become his bride, but he deserted her on the island of Naxos. There Dionysos saw her, fell in love and married her. The Athenians had a version of the story more flattering to their national hero: Theseus left Ariadne only because Dionysos, having fallen in love with her himself, compelled him to sail away without her.

Like some of his contemporaries, the Harrow Painter liked to concentrate the viewer's attention on the painted figures by isolating them against the black background without a decorative frame or other distracting ornament. This device also allowed the painter to experiment with the expression of complex emotions and psychological states by means of carefully chosen details and gestures, rather than with the broad, energetic pantomime used by many black-figure and early red-figure painters. Here, the pursuit is over almost before it has begun, without violence or panic. A mortal cannot resist the power of a god, but this god has refrained from using his full power; although his parted lips betray his emotion, he does not seize the girl in his arms or struggle with her. He takes one stride forward and grasps her shoulder with his left hand, while with his right hand he gently touches her arm but does not yet clasp it with his fingers. She takes a single step away, her right hand stretched out to the god with an imploring gesture, her left hand fearfully clutching a small round object (a flower, or the ball of thread?) to her bosom. She seems more hesitant and bewildered than frightened; even before the god's hand closes on her wrist, she has begun to turn back toward him, lifting her eyes to his face and gravely meeting his gaze. Soon the faithless mortal lover will be forgotten.

The god is identified as Dionysos by his wreath of ivy leaves, and the identification of Ariadne is almost equally certain, since in vase painting Dionysos does not appear with any other identifiable female figure. The companion of Ariadne on the reverse is not given any name; such fleeing companions are standard figures in scenes of gods or heroes pursuing women, and the painter of this amphora was not much interested in her. He has drawn her much more loosely than the main figures, with less attention to the details of clothing and jewelry, and her gesture is entirely conventional.

The Harrow Painter, to whom this vase is attributed, is one of the better Late Archaic and Early Classical painters of large pots, a follower of the Berlin Painter (see Sarasota 1600.G2).

Keywords:

Ariadne, ball, Dionysos, Dionysos and Ariadne, Dionysos and figures, fleeing, flower, god, holding, ivy, leaf, pursuing, running, wearing, wreath

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