Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)

Class of Athens 581.1

ca. 490 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

The centaur Pholos, Herakles, Athena, and Hermes On this vase, the centaur Pholos prepares for a feast, an event whose smell attracts other centaurs and leads to a fierce conflict in which Herakles eventually drives off his assailants. This depiction of Pholos is unusual in that he does not have the expected human abdomen, but instead, his human legs are attached directly to his equine body, giving him the chest of a horse.

Artist

Class of Athens 581.1

Date

ca. 490 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1908