Terracotta neck-amphora (jar)

Antimenes Painter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Obverse, Herakles bringing the Erymanthian Boar to King Eurystheus Reverse, Ajax carrying the body of Achilles The Greek hero Achilles was killed at Troy by an arrow that pierced his heel, the only vulnerable spot on his body. Though shot by Paris, the arrow was guided to its mark by Apollo. After Achilles fell, a fierce conflict erupted for possession of his body. While Odysseus kept the Trojans at bay, Ajax carried the corpse back to the Greek encampment. Depictions of Ajax bearing his fully armed comrade always emphasize Achilles' weight. One can assume that a warrior's equipment weighed almost as much as he did.

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