Black-Figure White-Ground Lekythos (Oil Vessel): Athena between Cocks and Hieropoioi (Officials)
Athena Painter (Greek, c. 500–475 BCE)
500–485 BCE
Medium
Ceramic
Dimensions
diam. 10.5 cm · height: h. 29.7 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
2022.42
Tags
gender unknown
About this artwork
The helmeted war goddess Athena strides forward on this oil vessel, raising her spear and a round shield emblazoned with a red snake. Flanked by two cocks, her pose recalls that on Panathenaic prize vases, the large black-figure amphorae awarded to athletic and equestrian victors in the Panathenaic Games. Beside the roosters stand two bearded, wreathed men, each holding a forked stick. Inscriptions identify the men as hieropoioi (doers of sacred things), officials charged with administration of ...