Black-Figure Amphora

A naked youth rides a galloping horse on the body of this Athenian black-figure amphora. Horse imagery was extremely popular in early Greek art, reflecting the interests of privileged Athenian youths and serving as a symbol for members of the Athenian upper class. The scene with the rider appears in a small panel, set against the black glaze that covers the majority of the vessel. In the period from about 575 B.C. to about 540 B.C., Greek vase-painters frequently placed motifs in such panels to draw attention to them. 

Above the mounted figure on the neck of the vessel is the head of a bearded man. Many Athenian vases of this period display isolated human heads, and when, as here, they lack identifying attributes, they are difficult to name.  The other side of the vase has very similar, but not identical, motifs.