CIRCA LATE 6TH-5TH CENTURY B.C.

In Greek Gems and Finger Rings, Boardman notes that this motif is purely Greek. It is likely a stylized portrayal of the Greeks arriving at the shores of Troy (see pp. 319-320, no 953 in Greek Gems for a gem in the British Museum acc. no. 1922,0613.2). More detailed examples show a single warrior leaping or moving off from the warship - he is Protesilaos, the first Greek warrior killed in the Trojan War when he leaped on to the beaches of Priam's walled city. For another similar example, see no. 42.11.21. at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.