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

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Obverse, Ariadne and two satyrs Reverse, three youths Ariadne is often recognizable through her recumbent position. She was asleep when Theseus abandoned her on the island of Naxos. And she is often depicted as reclining with Dionysos. The presence of two satyrs indicates her identity here. She reclines under a vine arbor, another reminder of Dionysos. It is interesting that one of the satyrs carries a torch, suggesting a night scene. The other holds a lyre, which may refer to the theater.

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