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VILLA GIULIA PAINTER, NIKOSTHENES. Attic Black-Figure Eye Cup, about 530 BC. Creators: Villa Giulia Painter, Nikosthenes.

VILLA GIULIA PAINTER and NIKOSTHENES. Wine Cup with Herakles and Athena. Additional Info: A pair of large eyes frames busts of the hero Herakles and his patron goddess Athena on one side of this black-figure cup. In the 500s BC, Greek vase-painters frequently placed eyes on cups, perhaps because they were believed to be apotropaic--that is, they had the power to ward off evil -- or so that the cup would be transformed into a mask when a drinker raised it to his lips . Above the left eyebrow runs the signature of the potter Nikosthenes. The other side of the cup has a similar scene with three busts, two female and one male. The female figure in the middle was once painted white and wears a type of headdress called a polos, typical of Greek goddesses. These busts, however, are harder to identify than those on the front of the cup. Some scholars identify them as Zeus, Hebe, and Hera, suggesting that the subject of the cup as a whole would be the apotheosis of Herakles, his introduction on Mount Olympus as a god. Others, however, interpret the heads as Hades, Persephone, and Demeter and the cup's theme as Herakles' introduction into the Eleusinian Mysteries, a cult that promised a better afterlife to its followers.

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Author: VILLA GIULIA PAINTER • NIKOSTHENES

Title: Attic Black-Figure Eye Cup, about 530 BC. Creators: Villa Giulia Painter, Nikosthenes.

Caption: Wine Cup with Herakles and Athena. Additional Info: A pair of large eyes frames busts of the hero Herakles and his patron goddess Athena on one side of this black-figure cup. In the 500s BC, Greek vase-painters frequently placed eyes on cups, perhaps because they were believed to be apotropaic--that is, they had the power to ward off evil -- or so that the cup would be transformed into a mask when a drinker raised it to his lips . Above the left eyebrow runs the signature of the potter Nikosthenes. The other side of the cup has a similar scene with three busts, two female and one male. The female figure in the middle was once painted white and wears a type of headdress called a polos, typical of Greek goddesses. These busts, however, are harder to identify than those on the front of the cup. Some scholars identify them as Zeus, Hebe, and Hera, suggesting that the subject of the cup as a whole would be the apotheosis of Herakles, his introduction on Mount Olympus as a god. Others, however, interpret the heads as Hades, Persephone, and Demeter and the cup's theme as Herakles' introduction into the Eleusinian Mysteries, a cult that promised a better afterlife to its followers.

Credit: Album / Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Releases: ? Model Release: No - ? Property Release: No
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Image size: 10909 × 7468 px | 233.1 MB

Print size: 92.4 × 63.2 cm | 4294.9 × 2940.2 in (300 dpi)

Keywords: 6TH CENTURY BC • ANCIENT GREECE • ANCIENT GREEK • ANTIQUE • APOTROPAIC • APPLIED ARTS • ARTEFACT • ARTIFACT • ATHENA • ATHENE • ATHENIAN • ATHENS • ATTIC • BLACK FIGURE • BODIES • BODY • BROWN • CENTURY • CERAMIC • CERAMICS • COLOR • COLOUR • CONCEPT • CONTAINER • COUNTRY • CULTURE • CUP • DECORATED • DECORATION • DECORATIVE • DEITY • DOUBLE HANDLE • DRINKING VESSEL • EUROPE • EYE CUP • EYE • EYEBALLS • EYES • FACE • FLUSH • GOD • GODDESS • GREECE • GREEK MYTHOLOGY • GREEK • HANDLE • HANDLES • HEAD • HEADS • HERACLES • HERAKLES • HERCULES • HISTORIC • HISTORICAL • HISTORY • LOCATION • MYTHICAL FIGURE • MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE • MYTHOLOGICAL • MYTHOLOGY • NICOSTHRENES • NIKOSTHENES • ORGANS • PAINTER • PALLAS ATHENA • PALLAS ATHENE • POTTERY • PROFILE • PROFILES • RELIGION • RELIGIOUS • TERRA COTTA • TERRACOTTA • TWO HANDLED • TWO HANDLES • TWO-HANDLED • VESSEL • VILLA GIULIA PAINTER • VILLA GIULIA • WINE CUP