Terracotta lekythos (oil flask)

Sappho Painter

ca. 500 BCE · Terracotta · Greek and Roman Art

Thetis in chariot with winged horses flying over the sea accompanied by the messenger gods, Iris and Hermes. This scene may reflect a passage in the last book of the Iliad (book 24, lines 95-96). Summoned to Mount Olympos, the sea nymph Thetis is ordered by Zeus to convince her son, Achilles, to return the body of his enemy Hector to Priam, the king of Troy, for proper burial.

Artist

Sappho Painter

Date

ca. 500 BCE

Medium

Terracotta

Culture

Greek, Attic

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1941