Vase Catalog Number: Munich 2590 (inv. no. Munich J 401)

Decoration:

Interior: A naked satyr with a wreath in his hair moves to the right looking back to the left. He is depicted as moving rapidly in a knielauf position. He has the usual satyr attributes: beard, horse ears and tail. He holds a drinking horn in his right hand.

Side A: Herakles approaches the sleeping Alkyoneus while Hermes looks on. At the left of the composition, Herakles moves to the right. He wears the lionskin, with the head of the lion drawn up over his own, belted on top of a chitoniskos. He holds his club in his right hand and gestures at the sleeping giant with his left. The naked, bearded giant reclines in the center of the composition facing left. He rests on a pillow and has his right arm resting on top of his head. At the right of the scene, Hermes is shown moving up behind Alkyoneus. He is depicted as bearded, wearing a chitoniskos, nebris, hat and boots. He holds the kerykeion in his left hand and gestures at Alkyoneus with his right. All the figures are labelled.

Scenes of Herakles and Alkyoneus appear in greatest quantity in Attic vase-painting in the period 530-470. The literary tradition preserves two versions of the story. In Apollodorus (Apollod. 1.6.1) Herakles kills Alkyoneus in the context of the Gigantomachy, whereas Pindar (Pind. I. 6.31-35 makes it an adventure with Telamon. Following the tradition found in Pindar, Attic vases present the scene as an individual athlos of Herakles, and the scene's popularity in the late Archaic period appears to be part of the general popularity of scenes of Herakles at this time.

Phintias' depiction of this scene is unusual among late Archaic depictions of the myth. Other painters emphasize the uncivilized, savage nature of the giant. In this rendition, Alkyoneus reclines against a striped cushion like those found in symposium scenes, rather than the more standard rock. His pose with the arm thrown back is also a posture found among symposiasts. The giant is depicted as neatly coiffed with the same carefully rendered curls as Hermes. The figure of Hermes appears to replace a figure of Hypnos often found on other vases.

Side B: Herakles and Apollo struggle for the tripod. Herakles and Apollo, both naked, face each other and each grasps the tripod with two hands. Herakles faces towards the right and is depicted as bearded. A quiver hangs on the wall behind him and his club lies on the ground between his feet. Apollo facing left is depicted as unbearded with long locks. Both figures are labelled.

The theme of the struggle for the tripod is very popular in Attic art in the period of 530-515. In this period the usual depiction is that in which Herakles has actual possession and Apollo chases him, which Phintias uses on a later vase Tarquinia RC 6843. Phintias here uses the version more popular earlier in the sixth century showing the actual struggle. Even then the iconography of this vase is unusual for Phintias presents the struggle as a wrestling match, as shown by the nudity and the figures' stance.

Phintias uses lines of dilute glaze to render interior musculature and relief dots are used for the hair and beard of Herakles. Phintias also is innovative in the composition of the decoration of his vases. Seki 1985, 38 identifies this vase as one of the earliest Red Figure cups to be decorated with a frieze covering the entire side without palmettes. This vase with the use of the palmette complex under the handle extending only onto side B clearly stands as a transitional piece. Most cups have a symmetrical composition of secondary decoration.

Inscriptions:

On Side A the figures are all named with the inscription, retrograde, placed at the left: [h]ERAKLES, Herakles, ALKUONEUS, Alkyoneus, and hERMES. Deiniades signs as potter between Hermes and the handle, DEIN[IA]DES [E]POIESEN, "Deiniades made it." Phintias signs as painter, retrograde, along the giant's raised leg, PHILTIAS EGRAPHSEN, "Philtias painted it." Phintias signs vases using a wide variety of spellings, including Phintias, Phitias, Philtias, and Phintis.

On Side B, the figure at the left is labelled hERAKLEES (Herakles) between the body and the quiver. The figure on the right is labelled APOLLON, Apollo, behind the figure.

Date Description:

This cup is very early in the painter's career.

Sources Used:

AVMunchen II, pl. 5-6; Boardman 1975; Carpenter 1991; LIMC, I, Alkyoneus, no. 4 and 562-564; LIMC, V, Herakles, no. 2951 and 141-143; von Bothmer 1977, no. 137; Seki 1985, no. 55.

(AH)