page_title: Neck Amphora by Exekias (Berlin F 1720)
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Neck Amphora by Exekias (Berlin F 1720) / Description
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Akamas und Demophon mit ihren Pferden, attische Halsamphora, als Töpfer und Maler von Exekias signiert, um 540 v. Chr., Antikensammlung Berlin/Altes Museum (F 1720)
context_page_description: The Neck Amphora by Exekias ia a neck amphora in the black figure style by the Attic vase painter and potter Exekias. It is found in the possession of the Antikensammlung Berlin under the inventory number F 1720 and is on display in the Altes Museum. It depicts Herakles' battle with the Nemean lion on one side and the sons of Theseus on the other. The amphora could only be restored for the first time almost a hundred and fifty years after its original discovery due to negligence and political difficulties.
context_section_description: The clay neck amphora is 40.5 cm high. It is dated to around 545/0 BC and is executed in the black figure style which was still common at the time. The painter Exekias was a master of this style, which he brought to its peak. He added his own innovations and modifications which appear in part also in this amphora. The vase is fragmentary, but large portions survive. Conspicuous absences include the loss of one of the two handles, and a pair of sherds from the body of the vase. The surviving pieces are in good condition.
  Both sides of the amphora's belly are framed above and below by chains of painted and stylisted lotus flowers and buds. The area around the handles is decorated with volutes and palmettes. The scenes on each side are of similar size and are not divided into a front main image and a reversed opposite on the reverse as in later times. On the edge of the mouth there is a signature of Exekias, the most well-known Attic vase painter and potter, which reads ΕΞΣΕΚΙΑΣ ΕΓΡΑΦΣΕ ΚΑ ΠΟΕΣΕ ΜΕ, "Exekias painted and made me."
  On one side the battle between Herakles and the Nemean Lion is depicted – one of the twelve tasks which the son of Zeus had to perform in the service of King Eurystheus. Herakles strangles the lion, whose skin could not be wounded, while his brother Iolaos and the goddess Athena look on, serving to frame the scene. The naked Herakles has his left arm on the neck of the lion and holds the paw of the lion in his right hand. The lion is attempting to free itself from the hero's grip. Many details are indicated in red paint, like Iolaos' beard, Athena's shield and details of the lion's mane. On the other side of the vase is a depiction of the two sons of Theseus, Akamas and Demophon with their horses, which are named by inscriptions (just like the sons) as Kalliphora and Phalios. Between the two horses, which are led to the right by their masters, is a vertical Kalos inscription, reading ΟΝΕΤΟΡΙΔΕΣ ΚΑΛΟΣ, "Onetorides is gorgeous". Both men carry a large round shield on their backs and two spears over their shoulders. The shields are detailed in white paint. Their helmets have high plumes painted in red. The sons of Theseus are presumably departing to fight in the Trojan War.
  The scenes can be understood as combining two Greek regions which frequently interacted with each other: Herakles is the hero of the Peloponnese, while Theseus' sons represent the Athenians' conception of themselves. This vase marks the first appearance of the sons of Theseus in Attic art. The scene from the outbreak of the Trojan War stresses increasing Athenian self-importance. The participation of their heroes in the legendary Trojan War symbolically placed Athens on the same level as the traditionally important city-states of the Peloponnese, including the leading power of the time, Sparta. In subsequent Athenian art, the sons of Theseus were symbols of the new self-consciousness of the Athenian aristocracy.
caption: Akamas und Demophon with their horses
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