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Amphora with Dionysus between dancing sileni (A) and Heracles with the Erymanthian boar (B), H538

Explanation

  • The scene on the neck of the amphora shows the hero Herakles bringing the captured Erymanthian Boar to King Eurystheus. Overcome by fear, the king has hidden in a large container. The motif refers to the third of the Twelve Labours that Herakles had to carry out as punishment for the fit of madness that made him slay his wife, Megara, and their children. The scene on the other side of the neck of the vase renders the god of wine, Dionysos, with two sileni. The vase was produced in Athens, but was found in Italy close to the city of Viterbo. It is decorated using the black figure technique. The figure decoration is in this instance limited to the neck, while the other surfaces are covered with black glaze. Only few other examples of work decorated in this manner are known. This vase was made by the potter Andòkides and decorated by the Antimenes Painter.