Religion and Death

Terracotta Head of Silenos First half of the 3rd century b.c.

Heroes:

Mythological,

Legendary, and Epic


Images of Gods and HeroesFor the Greeks the world of religion frequently crossed over into the affairs of men. This is particularly true of mythological events in which a host of lesser deities, demi-gods, spirits, demons, and other creatures of the imagination mixed with the mortal heroes of the legendary past.

Attic Black Figure Amphora c.a 525-510 b.c. Attic Black Figure Amphora
ca. 525-510 BC
On loan, Philadelphia Museum of Art
L-64-258 detail
Dionysus, holding a grapevine and his drinking horn or rhyton, is flanked on each side by a goat-horned satyr and one of his band of female worshippers called maenads.
Photo by Maria Daniels for the Perseus Project. (large version)
Attic Black Figure Amphora ca. 540-530 b.c. Attic Black Figure Amphora
ca. 540&endash;530 BC
By Exekias
Orvieto, Italy
MS 3442
Scenes from the Aethiopis, a largely lost 7th century BC epic poem. Menelaus fights the Egyptian King Amasis, while Ajax lifts Achilles' body to drag it off the field of battle. The legendary exploits of mortals at the time of the Trojan War provide a rich source of material for artists, especially during the 6th and 5th centuries. Only human protagonists appear here, but the background roles of the gods would have been familiar to most Greeks through their close acquaintance with the epics of Homer and other literary sources.
H. 58.3; Dia. 34.0 cm. UM neg. S8-2751. (large version)
Terracorra Head of Silenos First half of the 3rd century b.c. Terracotta Head of Silenos
First half of the 3rd century BC
MS 1869h
Head of an elderly silenos or satyr. Originally part of a large terracotta figurine depicting one of the plump and intoxicated drinking companions of the god of wine. Normally jovial, here the snub-nosed creature grimaces fiercely. Absent too are the horse ears and beard that normally characterize silens in earlier Greek art.
H. 9.2; W. 7.0; Th. 7.0 cm. UM neg. S4-65788. (large version)
Attic Black Figure Kyathos ca. 520-510 b.c. Attic Black Figure Kyathos
ca. 520-510 BC
On loan, Philadelphia Museum of Art
L-64-175
A ladle for dispensing wine mixed with water from krater to drinking cup, the kyathos provided the vase painter with an appropriate surface for celebrating Dionysus, god of wine. (The eye, seen on the right, was a favorite decorative motif of the time.)
H. 15.3; L. 14.5; Dia. 11.2 cm. UM neg. S4-90898. (large version)

ReligionDeath
Heroes Sacrifice Religious Games
The Ancient Greek World Index