The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 24, 2025
Black-Gloss Mesomphalic Phiale (Libation Bowl): Apotheosis of Herakles
200s BCE
(Calenian)
Diameter: 20.6 cm (8 1/8 in.); Overall: 4.4 cm (1 3/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1926.515
Location: 102D Pre-Roman
Did You Know?
This type of glossy ceramic vessel likely imitates costlier objects made of precious metal.Description
Four four-horse chariots proceed around the interior of this libation bowl, each driven by a winged Nike (Victory) and accompanied by a flying Eros. Each carries a different figure—Athena, Herakles, Ares, and Dionysos—and small animals race along before the horses. The appearance of Herakles with these Olympians suggests his apotheosis.- ?-1926Dr. Frohlich, Vienna, Austria, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art1926-The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Beazley Archive. n.d. Beazley Archive Pottery Database. Oxford: Beazley Archive. BAPD 1001479 www.beazley.ox.ac.ukBoulter, C. G., Jenifer Neils, and Gisela Walberg. Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1971. p. 30, Plate 48,2 www.beazley.ox.ac.uk
- {{cite web|title=Black-Gloss Mesomphalic Phiale (Libation Bowl): Apotheosis of Herakles|url=false|author=|year=200s BCE|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1926.515