Sarpedon Boy Krater of the Euphronius Painter

The Ancient Greeks were masters of sculpture and architecture, but they also excelled at painting, particularly in the decorative painting of ceramics used in both daily life and rituals. Over twenty thousand pots have survived to present what Wood, Cole and Gealt (1989) have characterized as an excellent overview not only of the functional uses to which the Greeks put such items, but also of the major philosophical, historical, cultural and religious currents shaping Greek life. This brief report will consider one such work û the Sarpedon Boy Krater, attributed to the painter Euphronius, and made about 515 B.C.

The Krater of the Sarpedon Boy is an excellent example of the monumental nature of a subject matched to the inherent grandeur of a pottery vesselÆs shape (Wood, et al, 1989). The piece is an example of the calyx krater, which has two small horn-shaped handles low on its sides; it is a red-figure vessel that has been described by Woodford (1986) as representative of a time of lively experimentation and bold exploration of forms, colors, techniques, and even ideas. The subject depicted on the vase is the body of a fallen warrior, Sarpedon, son of Zeus, who is being carried from the field of battle by the twins Sleep and Death under the supervision of Hermes (Wood, et al, 1989).

The body of the fallen warrior is inert and heavy, giving weight to an essentially somber action. Further adding to the strong ve

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painting was fully established in Attica, and Athenian potters were beginning to experiment with a wider range of wares, introducing the calyx krater and the volute-krater (Hornblower & Spawforth, 1998). Around 525, the red-figure technique was invented in Athens, possibly by Psiax or the Andocides Painter. In red-figure, the decoration is left in the clay color and the background is painted black while inner details are painted with lines of varying thickness. The use of the brush rather than the engraving tool allowed the artist greater fluidity of drawing (Hornblower & Spawforth, 1998). Euphronius, along with Phintias and Euthymides are regarded as the pioneers of the red figure style (Hornblower & Spawforth, 1998). The work of these painters, as the item under consideration herein demonstrates, is characterized by adventurous anatomical depictions. The fully developed pectoral and abdominal musculature of the fallen Sarpedon boy is an excellent example of the attention to anatomical detail that was commonplace in this period. According to Gisela Richter (1959), from approximately 530 to 400 B.C., red-figure was securely established. During this time, painters of the highest caliber decorated vases and their myr
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