Detail of a Terracotta Bell-Krater Attributed to the Achilles Painter in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2011

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

Attributed to the Achilles Painter

Period: Classical

Date: ca. 460–450 B.C.

Culture: Greek, Attic

Medium: Terracotta; red-figure

Dimensions: H. 14.5 in. (36.8 cm) diameter 17.5 in. (44.5 cm)

Classification: Vases

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1907

Accession Number: 07.286.81

Label:

Obverse, warrior and man
Reverse, Nike (the personification of victory) and youth

Individual characterization is rare in Attic vase-painting, but there are notable exceptions. The head of the wizened warrior on the obverse, with his unkempt hair, long bony nose, and furrowed brow, bespeaks a specific non-Athenian person. Identifying him is complicated by an inscription incised before the background glaze was applied and, therefore, difficult to read. The preferred interpretation is that this is Tereus, the king of Thrace, who seriously mistreated Philomela and Prokne, the daughters of King Pandion of Athens. Here Tereus may be asking Pandion for permission to marry Prokne.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/247961