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Lot Essay
PUBLISHED:
Seymour de Ricci, Catalogue of a collection of ancient rings formed by the late E. Guilhou, Paris, 1912, p. 20, no. 83.
Kapaneus was one of the 'Seven Aginst Thebes'. As he was climbing the walls of the city, he defied Zeus to stop him and was struck down by a thunderbolt for his hubris. He is shown here after being hit; with his knees buckling and his contorted body collapsing to the ground. For related examples, see G. M. Richter, Engraved Gems of the Greeks and Etruscans, London, 1968, nos 833-837, and J. Boardman and M.-L. Vollenweider, Catalogue of the Engraved Gems and Finger Rings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1978, p. 50, no. 213. For another example where Kapaneus's spear is depicted rather than Zeus's thunderbolt, see Richter, ibid., no. 836.
Seymour de Ricci, Catalogue of a collection of ancient rings formed by the late E. Guilhou, Paris, 1912, p. 20, no. 83.
Kapaneus was one of the 'Seven Aginst Thebes'. As he was climbing the walls of the city, he defied Zeus to stop him and was struck down by a thunderbolt for his hubris. He is shown here after being hit; with his knees buckling and his contorted body collapsing to the ground. For related examples, see G. M. Richter, Engraved Gems of the Greeks and Etruscans, London, 1968, nos 833-837, and J. Boardman and M.-L. Vollenweider, Catalogue of the Engraved Gems and Finger Rings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1978, p. 50, no. 213. For another example where Kapaneus's spear is depicted rather than Zeus's thunderbolt, see Richter, ibid., no. 836.