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

Persephone Painter

ca. 440 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Above, obverse, Odysseus pursuing Circe; reverse, women and king Below, obverse, man between women; reverse, youth and women The primary and most interesting scene on this two-row krater shows Odysseus pursuing the enchantress Circe. In the air between them are Circe's magic wand and the skyphos (deep drinking cup) that contains the potion with which she transforms men into animals. Behind Odysseus, two of his men with features of a boar and a horse or mule gesticulate toward him. The pursuit may also be mythological.

Artist

Persephone Painter

Date

ca. 440 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Gift of Amelia E. White, 1941