Clay; fired
530-520 BCE
Greece, Italy
Antikensammlung, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Details
Culture/Civilisation
Greek civilisation
Theme
Later Civilisations of Land and Sea
Subtheme
The Mediterranean
Case Title
The Mediterranean World
Display Location
Coomaraswamy Hall
Findspot
Made in Athens; Found in Vulci
Measurements
40.3 x 27 x 25 cm
Accession Number
F 1695
Description
Two elite young men are being prepared to play their part as citizens and warriors. Naked as they train in the gymnasium, they are mentored in philosophy and politics by their elders. On the back, a young citizen is occupied with cavalry training.
This wine vessel from around 500 BCE, along with another Greek amphora (V.I. 3228) displayed in this exhibition shows a fundamental contradiction in ancient Greek society: free citizens, committed to the ideal of individual liberty, who yet owned slaves.
Politics and philosophy were frequently discussed in gatherings and banquets (symposia).
