Black-Figure Neck Amphora
circa 510 BCE-500 BCE
6th century BCE
45.6 cm (17 15/16 in.)
Attributed to the Leagros Group
Primary
Object Type:
ceramic
Artist Nationality:
Europe, Greek-Attic
Medium and Support:
Terracotta
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund and the James R. Dougherty, Jr. Foundation, 1980
Accession Number:
1980.31
Object Description:
Athena, the goddess of wisdom, drives a four-horse chariot. The overlapping horses are laboriously rendered with incisions. Athena was also the goddess of defensive warfare, which might connect her with the battle scene on the other side of the vase. Two hoplites (armored foot soldiers) advance over a third who kneels. The warrior on the left carries a Boeotian shield with scooped indentations that allow him to thrust his weapon more effectively while protecting himself.