Volute Krater (Mixing Vessel) with Dionysus Visiting Hades and Persephone
Artist: Attributed to The Darius Painter (Greek)
Date: about 330 BCE
Dimensions:
H (to top of volutes): 36 5/16 in. (92.2 cm);
H (to rim): 30 3/4 in. (78.2 cm);
W (across volutes): 21 7/8 in. (55.5 cm);
rim diam: 17 7/8 in. (45.4 cm);
foot diam: 9 1/2 in. (24.2 cm)
Medium: wheel-thrown, slip-decorated earthenware
Classification: Ceramics
Credit Line: Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, Florence Scott Libbey, and the Egypt Exploration Society, by exchange
Object number: 1994.19
Label Text:Hades, god of the Underworld, with his wife Persephone next to him, shakes hands with Dionysos, god of wine and rebirth. This is the only known ancient image of Dionysos in the Underworld, perhaps interceding on behalf of his worshippers. The other figures, most of them labeled, are related to Dionysos. On the left: Persis (a maenad, follower of Dionysos), Oinops (a satyr), and an unnamed maenad; on the right: Aktaion (with antlers—he was turned into a stag by the goddess Artemis), Pentheus (mistaken for a beast and ripped apart in a Dionysian ritual), Hermes (the messenger god who conducted souls to the Underworld), and Agave (Pentheus’ mother). Below the palace, a paniskos (playful imp of the forest) plays with Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance of the Underworld.
On the reverse, a nude youth (probably representing the deceased in whose tomb this krater was placed) stands in a naiskos, or small tomb shrine, surrounded by youths and maidens with grave offerings.
On the reverse, a nude youth (probably representing the deceased in whose tomb this krater was placed) stands in a naiskos, or small tomb shrine, surrounded by youths and maidens with grave offerings.
DescriptionIncised inscription, red-figure technique.
On view
In Collection(s)