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

Nekyia Painter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Above, obverse and reverse, Herakles, Theseus, and Perithoos in Hades Below, obverse, Apollo and Tityos; reverse, Zeus and giant This important vase illustrates one of the stories that would have been sung or recited. To atone for having killed his wife and children in a fit of madness, Herakles entered the service of King Eurystheus of Tiryns, who imposed twelve tasks on him. The most difficult was to fetch Kerberos, the watchdog of the underworld. In the upper zone, Herakles with his guide, Hermes, stands beside Theseus and Perithoos, who were punished for attempting to carry off Persephone. Hades, the king of the underworld, is shown behind Perithoos. Around the circumference of the vase appear other heroes known chiefly from the Iliad and the Odyssey, each with his name inscribed. The two scenes in the lower zone depict further mythological punishments.

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