Terracotta calyx-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water)

Spreckles Painter

ca. 450 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Obverse, Kadmos and the snake Reverse, man between two women Kadmos, son of Agenor king of Tyre, was told by the oracle at Delphi to follow a cow until she lay down and to found a city there. The place was Thebes. In order to sacrifice the cow to Athena, Kadmos needed water. The nearest spring was guarded by a serpent, son of Ares. The representation here shows Athena seconding Kadmos, who raises his hydria (water jar) against the serpent. Ares stands at the far right. The seated woman is probably the nymph associated with the spring or a personification of Thebes. Kadmos kills the monster, and sowing its teeth in the ground, he produces the inhabitants of the new city.

Artist

Spreckles Painter

Date

ca. 450 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1907