Vase Catalog Number: Philadelphia MS2489

Decoration:

Side A: Athena with two draped males. Athena, in full panoply, strides to the left brandishing her spear in her left hand and carrying her shield on her right. A ring-handled tripod stands on the ground in front of her. A young man wrapped in a mantle stands on the left holding a spear. Another youth in a mantle stands on the right in an identical pose, here reversed. Athena wears a long chiton, her aegis and a crested helmet.

Side B: three naked youths dancing. The youth on the right dances facing left, one foot off the ground held up in a stylized position in front of his face. The other two dance facing right. The youth in the center has both feet on the ground but has raised his right hand to his shoulder and holds his left at his waist. The youth on the left also touches his shoulder with his left hand, and his raised knee with his right.

Collection History:

The amphora was recovered in excavations led by A.L. Frothingham under the auspices of the American Exploration Society, and subsequently became part of the collection of the University Museum, Philadelphia. Funding for the museum's contribution to the excavations came from John Wanamaker.

Condition:

The surface of the vase is chipped and pock marked.

Shape Description:

Type B amphora with flaring mouth, round handles and echinus foot.

Sources Used:

Pinney & Ridgway 1979, 42-43, no. 18

(Kathleen Krattenmaker)