Terracotta pyxis (box)

Marlay Painter

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The daughters of Danaos Women driving chariots at full tilt are rare in Greek mythology. For that reason, the figures in this scene have been identified as the formidable daughters of the mythical king Danaos. There were fifty daughters, known for their accomplishments at hunting and warfare. They had been forced to marry their fifty cousins, sons of king Aigyptos, but slew their husbands on the wedding night. Thereafter, they found new spouses.

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