Athena dressed for war by Antinaenes painter
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Athena dressed for war
Black-figure hydria, c. 525 BCE. Height 0.20 m. Attributed to the Antinaenes
Painter. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis.
- In the main scene the Goddess Athena, painted white to indicate her sex, helps harness her four-horse chariot.
- She holds the reins of the pole, or middle, horses, while two grooms calm them.
- Two more grooms lead the trace, or outside, horses forward to be harnessed under the supervision of the middle-aged, bearded charioteer.
- This harnessing technique accurately reflects sixth-century BCE practices.
- The appearance of Athena dressed for war may refer to her legendeary invention of the war chariot or perhaps to an episode from the Illiad.
- The scene on the shoulder of the vase depicts Zeus, the central figure, intervening in the fight between Hercules (on Zeus's right) and Cycnus (on his left).
- Hercules is supported by Athena and Hermes, while Cycnus is backed by his father, Ares, and two other figures.
- This divine battle occurred because Cycnus stole Apollo's sacrificial animals.
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