Terracotta pelike (jar)

Chicago Painter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Obverse, Apollo and his sister, Artemis, pouring libation at altar Reverse, two women Dressing in a long chiton, Apollo holds a kithara, the stringed instrument used for professional and public performances. He appears here in his role as leader of the nine muses and patron of the arts. Artemis pours liquid into the phiale held by her brother, and he in turn pours a libation onto the altar between them.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.

Metropolitan Museum of Art