Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)

Ixion Painter

ca. 330–310 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

On the body, obverse, Hippolytos, attendant, and Phaidra, with a Fury above Reverse, two youths On the neck, obverse and reverse, youth The Ixion Painter drew on many sources, including drama and mythology, for his vases. The representation her shows Hippolytos, the son of the Athenian hero Theseus, and his step-mother, Phaidra, seated on the right. She fell in love with the youth, and when he repulsed her advances, she killed herself, leaving a letter incriminating Hippolytos. Theseus believed her allegations and was responsible for his son's death. The Fury here foreshadows the tragic fate of the protagonists. The playwrights Sophokles and Euripides treated the story.

Artist

Ixion Painter

Date

ca. 330–310 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, South Italian, Campanian

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1906