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Black-Figure White-Ground Lekythos (Oil Vessel): Athena between Cocks and Hieropoioi (Officials)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The helmeted war goddess Athena strides forward on this oil vessel, raising her spear and a round shield emblazoned with a red snake. Flanked by two cocks, her pose recalls that on Panathenaic prize vases, the large black-figure amphorae awarded to athletic and equestrian victors in the Panathenaic Games. Beside the roosters stand two bearded, wreathed men, each holding a forked stick. Inscriptions identify the men as hieropoioi (doers of sacred things), officials charged with administration of sacred ceremonies and contests.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineBlack-Figure White-Ground Lekythos (Oil Vessel): Athena between Cocks and Hieropoioi (Officials), 500–485 BCE. Attributed to Athena Painter (Greek, c. 500–475 BCE). Ceramic; diameter: 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.); height: 29.7 cm (11 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 2022.42
