Vases Red-figure Kylix Drinking cup (kylix) depicting Peirithoös and the...
Drinking cup (kylix) depicting Peirithoös and the birth of Helen

Drinking cup (kylix) depicting Peirithoös and the birth of Helen

Red-figure Painter: the Xenotimos PainterPotter: Xenotimos · Kylix · about 430–420 B.C.
Interior: Peirithoös (inscribed at right ΠΕΡΙΘΟΣ), the king of the Lapiths, seated. He is dressed as a traveler, with a long-brimmed hat (petasos), short cloak (chlamys), and sandals. He holds a staff in his left hand. Exterior side A: The birth of Helen, framed on either side by a palmette. Klytemnestra (inscribed at left ΚΛΥΤΑΙΜΕΣΤΡΑ) and her father Tyndareos (inscribed at right ΤΕVΔΑΡΕΩΣ) stand to the left of an altar topped with an egg and a bird. Her mother Leda (inscribed at right ΛΕΔΑ) stands to the right of the altar with arms opened in surprise. Exterior side B: Three women framed on either side by a palmette. The pair at left (inscribed ΚΛΕΟ[Π]Α[Τ]ΡΑ, “Kleopatra” at left and ΦΥΛΟΝΟΕ, “Phylonoe” at right) seems to be discussing. The woman at right stands. The signature of the potter appears on two lines to her right, ΞΕΝΟΤΙΜΟΣ ΕΠΟΙΕΣΕΝ (“Xenotimos made [me]”). In Greek mythology, Phylonoe was also a daughter of Tyndareos and Leda.
Shape
Technique
Period
Classical Period
Date
about 430–420 B.C.
Culture
Greek
Dimensions
H: 13.97 cm D: 41.91 cm
Medium
Ceramic, Red Figure
Findspot
Greece, Attica, Athens
Museum
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Accession Number
99.539
Image Source
boston_mfa
Images courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (CC0)