Lowenstam Collection of Ancient Western Art and Archaeology
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Work provided by University of Oregon

Achilles and Ajax

Alternative Title
  • Storage Jar with Achilles and Ajax Gaming
  • Attic Black-Figure Neck Amphora
Creator Display
  • attributed to Leagros Group (Ancient Greek vase painters, active ca. 525 to 500 BCE)
Creator
Photographer
Date
  • -0515/-0505
Description
  • Scenes from the mythological Trojan War decorate this Athenian black-figure neck-amphora. On the front, Achilles and Ajax, two great heroes of the Greeks, sit playing a board game. The goddess Athena stands in front of the board and gestures. The warriors have their armor and weapons ready, as if just pausing during a break in the conflict. This scene of Ajax and Achilles gaming was very popular in Athenian vase-painting of the late 500s B.C. and was a favorite of the painters in the Leagros Group. Many scholars believe that this mythological scene also served as a contemporary political parable on the value of staying alert, since the tyrant Peisistratos had been able to take control of the city of Athens while the army was distracted. The back of the vase depicts three hoplites, or warriors, in a line. Such files of hoplites are rather unusual in vase-painting, and this depiction may have been meant to relate to the scene on the front of the vase. These hoplites may be Greeks on the march to counter a Trojan attack, while Ajax and Achilles are notified by Athena. Such an interpretation would explain Athena's unusually prominent position on this rendition of the scene. --J. Paul Getty Museum; Bareiss Loan: S.80.AE.292
  • May, Helmut, ed. Weltkunst aus Privatbesitz, exh. cat. (Cologne: Kunsthalle Köln, 1968), cat. no. A 24.; Bothmer, Dietrich von, and J. Bean. Greek Vases and Modern Drawings from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Bareiss. Exh. checklist, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: 1969. p. 2, no. 19.; Brommer, Frank. Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage. 3rd ed. (Marburg: 1973) p. 335, no. 23.; Woodford, Susan.
View
  • Front
View Date
  • 1986-11
Temporal
  • ca. 510 BCE
Coverage
  • Molly and Walter Bareiss Collection (owner)
  • Athens, Periféreia Protevoúsis, Greece (creation)
Keyword
  • Leagros Group
  • Pottery IV Black Figure, Red Figure
Work Type
Cultural Context
Style / Period
Material
  • terracotta
Measurements
  • Height: 45.3 to 45.8 cm; Diameter (body): 30.4 cm
Rights Holder
  • University of Oregon, Department of Classics
Identifier
  • Lowenstam_VRC_05892
Item Locator
  • Box 13, Section 13
Repository
Current Repository ID
  • 86.AE.81
Local Collection Name
Institution
Submission Date
  • 08/03/2015
Modified
  • 07/25/2022
Collections

APA

Lowenstam Collection of Ancient Western Art and Archaeology, University of Oregon. (25 Apr 2024). Achilles and Ajax Retrieved from https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df6923489

MLA

Lowenstam Collection of Ancient Western Art and Archaeology, University of Oregon. "Achilles and Ajax" Oregon Digital. 25 Apr 2024. https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df6923489

Chicago

Lowenstam Collection of Ancient Western Art and Archaeology, University of Oregon. "Achilles and Ajax" Oregon Digital. Accessed 2024-04-25. https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df6923489

Wiki

{{cite web | url= https://oregondigital.org/concern/images/df6923489 | title= Achilles and Ajax |author= |accessdate= 2024-04-25 |publisher= }}

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