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

Pan Painter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Obverse, Dionysos followed by attendant satyr Reverse, satyr with skyphos (deep drinking cup) A pupil of Myson, the Pan Painter was one of the best artists of his generation. Here he depicts Dionysos, the god of wine, enfolded in an ample cloak and crowned with a large ivy wreath, evidently on his way to a specific destination. The satyr behind him carries a cushioned stool, a kantharos—the drinking vessel most characteristic of Dionysos—and a branch of ivy. On the reverse, a satyr seems to welcome them with a skyphos. The god is subtly juxtaposed with his helpers who, despite their meticulous grooming and obedient service, do not entirely overcome their animal natures.

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