ATTRIBUTED TO THE PAINTER OF THE FLORENCE STAMNOI, CIRCA 475-460 B.C.

According to C. Benson in E. D. Reeder, Pandora: Women in Classical Greece, Princeton, 1995, p. 398, 'Eos, goddess of the dawn, was notorious among the Greek goddesses for her unabashedly self-satisfying sexuality. She took a variety of mortal lovers, including Kephalos, Tithonos, Orion, and Kleitos, snatching them from the midst of their manly pursuits to become her consorts in the land of the immortals. The goddess fell in love with Kephalos of Athens when she saw him hunting one morning on the slopes of Mount Hymettos. Kephalos was the son of Hermes and Herse, one of the daughters of Kekrops, and as such was an important figure to the Athenians; he was thought to be the founder of the tribe known as the Kephalidae and the eponym of the Attic deme Kephale. Eos pursued and abducted him, and they had a son, Phaethon, who in turn was abducted by Aphrodite, and became the guardian of her shrine. In late traditions, Kephalos was a personification of daybreak, or the morning star that vanished with the dawn.'
The staff which Kephalos holds is a symbol of Athenian youth, indicating that he is eligible to stand in the Assembly.