VesselsGreek6th-5th century BCE

Amphora (storage jar): Poseidon and Giants; Peleus and Thetis

c. 500 BCE

Description

This black-figure amphora (storage jar) depicts two mythological scenes, each with a protagonist at home in the sea. On one side, the sea god Poseidon, trident in hand and naked but for a mantle slung over his shoulders, attacks two helmeted warriors with shields, who seem to stand little chance at victory. This is a scene from the gigantomachy, the battle of the gods against the giants (gigantes), sons of the earth, Gaia. According to the myth, Poseidon crushed the giant Polybotes with a piece of the island of Kos that he broke off and that would become the smaller isle of Nisyros. Here, Nisyros is depicted as a large boulder that the god carries on his left shoulder. Matching the overall maritime theme, the shield device of the giant on the right is an octopus. It is painted in white, as are the other giant’s shield and the island to be. On the other side of the vessel, Peleus holds on to the sea nymph Thetis as she shifts shapes in the futile effort to escape him. Her body is turned to the right, away from her assailant; she pushes back against his head with one hand and with the other pleads with a woman, likely one of her sisters, who flees to the left. Peleus, with nude upper body and a cloak wrapped around his hips, has emerged between the two women to capture his divine prey. Snarling lions by Thetis’ side indicate her fierce resistance and changing shape. As it had been prophesized that Thetis’ son would be more powerful than his father, Thetis had become unattractive to gods. Her marriage to the mortal Peleus would produce the mighty hero Achilles. An incised graffiti, likely a trademark, is on the underside of the vessel’s foot. The amphora has been recomposed from multiple fragments with inpainting covering the seams.

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Black-figure

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek

Period

Archaic period

Century

6th-5th century BCE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics

Dimensions

43.2 × 27.9 cm (17 × 11 in.)

Provenance

Hoyt Miller, (1883-1957), Kings Point, Long Island, NY, estate sale; to Lottie and Mark Salton, Hartsdale, New York, (1957- 2021), bequest; to the Harvard Art Museums.

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