Eleusis Amphora

The Eleusis Amphora is an ancient Greek neck amphora, now in the Archaeological Museum of Eleusis, that dates back to the Middle Protoattic (ca. 650–625 BCE).[1] The painter of the Eleusis Amphora is known as the Polyphemos Painter. It is decorated with black and white painted figures on a light colored background, which is characteristic of the "Black and White" style commonly seen in Middle Protoattic pottery.[1] The amphora's decoration reflects the pottery of the Orientalizing period (ca. 710–600 BCE),[2] a style in which human and animal figures depict mythological scenes.

The Eleusis Amphora

Purpose

The size and shape of the amphora, as well as the fact that it is highly decorated, indicate that it was created as a tomb marker or monument. However, the remains of a 10–12-year-old boy were found inside the amphora,[3] meaning that it was ultimately used as an urn. This type of urn burial was commonly used to bury the remains of children from the Iron Age (1100–900 BCE) to the Archaic period (600–500 BCE).[3]

Description

The Eleusis amphora shows some of the earliest artistic depictions of Greek mythology. On the neck of the vase, the figures depict Odysseus and his men blinding the cyclops Polyphemus.[2] The register just below the neck shows a lion chasing a boar. Although it is hard to see because the amphora was found in pieces and then reconstructed, the central register shows Athena and Perseus escaping after Perseus beheads Medusa.[3] The figures with cauldron-shaped heads are more gorgons, which are snake-headed creatures like Medusa.[3]

Sources
  1. Cook, J. M. “Protoattic Pottery.” The Annual of the British School at Athens, vol. 35, 1934, pp. 165–219. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30104423.
  2. Neer, Richard T. Greek Art and Archaeology : A New History, C. 2500-C. 150 Bce. New York, Thames & Hudson, 2012.
  3. Calkins, Renee M. Making Kleos Mortal: Archaic Attic Funerary Monuments and the Construction of Social Memory, University of California, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, 2010, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
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