Hydria with Herakles Battling Kyknos

Artist A painter near the Edinburgh Painter (Greek)

Place of OriginGreece, Attica

Dateabout 510-500 BCE

DimensionsH (max) 17 × H (to rim) 16 1/8 × W (max, with handles) 14 1/2 × DIam (rim) 9 1/16 × Diam (body) 10 5/8 × Diam (base) 5 7/8 in. (43.2 × 41 × 36.8 × 23 × 27 × 15 cm)

MediumWheel-thrown, slip-decorated earthenware in black-figure technique with incised details.

ClassificationCeramics

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1955.42

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThe main panel depicts the mythological combat of Herakles and Kyknos. Herakles, wearing a lion skin and short chiton, grasps Kyknos's helmet as Kyknos sinks to one knee. Behind them stand Zeus and Ares, each reacting to the fight; Ares prepares to aid Kyknos, while Zeus gestures protectively. Flanking the scene are Athena, holding a helmet and spear, and Pelopeia, mother of Kyknos, with outspread hands. The shoulder frieze shows nude athletes and a clothed trainer, while the predella presents a siren flanked by lions and palmettes.

Label TextIn the main panel of this vessel, the Greek hero Herakles battles Kyknos, mortal son of the war god Ares, who robbed pilgrims to Apollo’s sanctuary at Delphi. Zeus, king of the gods, stands between them and raises his hand to show approval of this defense of pilgrims. Herakles is supported by the goddess Athena, representing justice in battle. Kyknos is supported by his father Ares (with serpent shield), representing bloodlust in battle. Kyknos sinks to one knee in defeat as his mother Pelopei looks on. In the band above this scene are athletes and a trainer; below is a band of lions and a harpy, motifs more popular in an earlier period.Published References

Beazley, John D., Attic Black-figure Vase-painters, Oxford, 1956, p. 715, no. 16 bis.

Brommer, Frank, Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage, Marburg, 1956, p. 62, no. 82 (there listed as being at a dealer's in Rome.)

Brommer, Frank, Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage, Marburg, 2nd ed., 1960, p. 83, no. 82.

Washington, Seldon, "Greek Vase Painting," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, vol. 5, no. 4, 1962, p. 87.

Hampe, R., and Erika Simon, "Gefalschete etruskische Vasenbilder?", Jahrbuch des Romisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, Mainz, 1967, pp. 73-74, pl. 34,1.

Beazley, John D., Paralipomena, Oxford, 1971, p. 161, 219.

Brommer, Frank, Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage, Marburg, 3rd ed., 1973, p. 105, no. 15 (hydria).

Boulter, Cedric G., and Kurt T. Luckner, Corpus vasorum antiquorum: Toledo Museum of Art, U.S.A. fasc. 17, Toledo, 1976, p. 17, repr. pl. 25,1 and 26,1.

Shapiro, H. Alan, “Herakles and Kyknos,” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 88, no. 4, December 1984, pp. 526 (n. 40), 527 (n.55).

Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC), Zurich, 1981-1999, vol. VII, pt. 1, p. 282, no. 1, p. 975, no. 60, repr., vol. VII, pt. 2, p. 218.

Ivanov, Dimitar, Ares, Sofia, 2000, figs. 9, 10 (dets., col.).

Zardini, Francesca, The Myth of Herakles and Kyknos: A Study in Early Greek Vase-Painting and Literature, London, University College London, 2003, p. 21.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Vian, E., "Le combat d'Herakles et de Kyknos d'apres les docuemtns figures de VIe siecle," Revue des Etudes Anciennes, no. 47, 1945, p. 5-32 (on the myth of Herakles and Kyknos).

cf. Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica, vol. IV, Rome, 1961, pp. 424 ff. (on the myth of Herakles adn Kyknos).

cf. Robertson, Martin, "Zur Griechischen Kunst," Antike Kunst, Beihelft 9, 1973, pp. 82-83 (on the panther masks as shield devices as on Kyknos's shield).