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Lot Essay
PUBLISHED:
J-R. Gisler, 'Prometheus', in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologicae Classicae, Zurich, 1994, vol. VII, p. 534, pl. 421, no. 5.
Exhibition catalogue, Mythen und Menschen, Griechische Vasenkunst aus einer deutschen Privatsammlung, Mainz, 1997, pp. 120-123, no. 33.
R. Krumeich et al, Das griechische Satyrspiel, Darmstadt, 1999, pl. 21A(A).
The Peleus Painter takes his name from a calyx-krater from Spina depicting the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, and is recognised for his large and dignified figures. Beazley comments that, "within the Group of Polygnotos there is a great group that may be named after the chief artist in it - the Peleus Painter. It comprises, besides the works of the Hector Painter, of the Peleus Painter, of the Coghill Painter, many vases not certainly by the Peleus Painter himself but close to him and sometimes of very high quality. The separating lines are often hard to draw".
Prometheus was the son of a Titan and the cousin of Zeus. He was known as a trickster after playing a practical joke on Zeus. In retaliation, Zeus refused to give mortal man the gift of fire. To help mortal man Prometheus then stole sparks of fire from the wheels of the sun and brought them back to earth within a giant fennel stalk. In revenge against this, Zeus sent man Pandora and had Prometheus chained to a rock, sending an eagle to eat his liver which would continually renew itself.
The myth of Prometheus is first recorded in Hesiod's Thegony in the 8th Century B.C. and later in his Works and Days. The Greek tragedian Aeschylus is believed to have written the Prometheiai in the 5th Century B.C. which included Prometheus Boundi Prometheus Unboundi and Promethueus the Firebringeri
Satyr plays of the 5th Century B.C. lent themselves well to describing the escapades of the wiley Prometheus, helped by an equally incorrigible satyr chorus as the first receivers of the gift of fire. In 472 B.C. Aschylus entered the Dionysia with a tetralogy, three tragedies with a connecting theme and a comic satyr play. It included Phineusi The Persiansi Glaucus of Potniaei and the satyr play Prometheus, the Fire Kindleri where the satyrs, having seen fire for the first time, try to kiss the flames. The theatrical scene of Prometheus giving fire to the satyrs was a popular one on attic red-figure pottery of the 2nd half of the 5th Century B.C., which includes the fine example above.
In Archaic and Classical Athens, Prometheus, as the bringer of fire, was also an important figure in religious and civic life. There was an altar dedicated to him in the Academy and at festivals including the Promethia and the Panathenia, torch races were started from his altar and would run through the city.
J-R. Gisler, 'Prometheus', in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologicae Classicae, Zurich, 1994, vol. VII, p. 534, pl. 421, no. 5.
Exhibition catalogue, Mythen und Menschen, Griechische Vasenkunst aus einer deutschen Privatsammlung, Mainz, 1997, pp. 120-123, no. 33.
R. Krumeich et al, Das griechische Satyrspiel, Darmstadt, 1999, pl. 21A(A).
The Peleus Painter takes his name from a calyx-krater from Spina depicting the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, and is recognised for his large and dignified figures. Beazley comments that, "within the Group of Polygnotos there is a great group that may be named after the chief artist in it - the Peleus Painter. It comprises, besides the works of the Hector Painter, of the Peleus Painter, of the Coghill Painter, many vases not certainly by the Peleus Painter himself but close to him and sometimes of very high quality. The separating lines are often hard to draw".
Prometheus was the son of a Titan and the cousin of Zeus. He was known as a trickster after playing a practical joke on Zeus. In retaliation, Zeus refused to give mortal man the gift of fire. To help mortal man Prometheus then stole sparks of fire from the wheels of the sun and brought them back to earth within a giant fennel stalk. In revenge against this, Zeus sent man Pandora and had Prometheus chained to a rock, sending an eagle to eat his liver which would continually renew itself.
The myth of Prometheus is first recorded in Hesiod's Thegony in the 8th Century B.C. and later in his Works and Days. The Greek tragedian Aeschylus is believed to have written the Prometheiai in the 5th Century B.C. which included Prometheus Boundi Prometheus Unboundi and Promethueus the Firebringeri
Satyr plays of the 5th Century B.C. lent themselves well to describing the escapades of the wiley Prometheus, helped by an equally incorrigible satyr chorus as the first receivers of the gift of fire. In 472 B.C. Aschylus entered the Dionysia with a tetralogy, three tragedies with a connecting theme and a comic satyr play. It included Phineusi The Persiansi Glaucus of Potniaei and the satyr play Prometheus, the Fire Kindleri where the satyrs, having seen fire for the first time, try to kiss the flames. The theatrical scene of Prometheus giving fire to the satyrs was a popular one on attic red-figure pottery of the 2nd half of the 5th Century B.C., which includes the fine example above.
In Archaic and Classical Athens, Prometheus, as the bringer of fire, was also an important figure in religious and civic life. There was an altar dedicated to him in the Academy and at festivals including the Promethia and the Panathenia, torch races were started from his altar and would run through the city.