Black-Figure White-Ground Lekythos (Oil Vessel): Athena between Cocks and Hieropoioi (Officials)

500–485 BCE

attributed to Athena Painter

(Greek, c. 500–475 BCE)

Culture

Greek, Attic

Medium

Ceramic

Measurements

Diameter: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.); height: 29.7 cm (11 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2022.42

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Location

102B Greek

Did You Know?

Athena’s skin, typically painted white on black-figure vases, here remains black atop the white ground.

Description

The helmeted war goddess Athena strides forward on this oil vessel, raising her spear and a round shield emblazoned with a red snake. Flanked by two cocks, her pose recalls that on Panathenaic prize vases, the large black-figure amphorae awarded to athletic and equestrian victors in the Panathenaic Games. Beside the roosters stand two bearded, wreathed men, each holding a forked stick. Inscriptions identify the men as hieropoioi (doers of sacred things), officials charged with administration of sacred ceremonies and contests.