Red Figure Stamnos

This highly ornamented stamnos (wide-mouthed vessel for holding wine and other liquids) was created on the Italian peninsula in the fourth century. Inspiration for the decoration was likely drawn from the flourishing vase-painting tradition in southern Italy. The unknown Etruscan vase painter favored animated figures with expressive gestures.  Southern Italy was a center of Greek theater and many of the subjects of Italian red-figure vases depict scenes from rather bawdy Greek plays.

The main side of the vessel depicts a bearded Herakles, riding the four-horse chariot or quadriga, likely returning from battle with the Giants, since he appears wearing the laurel crown. Ushered by a flying winged victory, the chariot makes its way across the vase toward a standing figure of a maenad, a follower of the god of wine Dionysus, who holds a thyrsus, a spear tipped with a pinecone-like ornament. The vessel’s other side depicts a nude, seated maenad being teased by two satyrs. The satyrs, male followers of Dionysus, are depicted with their typical goat ears, tails and wearing a panther pelt around their necks. Bunches of grapes appear above them to reinforce their connection to Dionysus. Busts of a satyr and another figure, perhaps Athena, accompanied by an owl (one of her symbols), appear beneath the vessel’s horizontal handles. The bust may also be an image of a youthful, beardless Dionysus, as both Athena and Dionysus were present at the Battle with the Giants.