ATTRIBUTED TO THE FLYING ANGEL PAINTER, CIRCA 480 B.C.

One side of this amphora depicts a youthful participant in the hoplitodromos, a race in armor, including a shield and helmet and sometimes greaves. According to D.G. Kyle (pp. 88-89 in “The Panathenaic Games: Sacred and Civic Athletes,” in J. Neils, et al., Goddess and Polis, The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens), the race was first introduced at Olympia in 520 B.C. and at Delphi in 498 B.C. It first appears on Panathenaic prize amphorae circa 520 B.C. The reverse shows a judge, recognizable by the forked stick he holds.