ATTRIBUTED TO THE MANNER OF THE ANTIMENES PAINTER, CIRCA 530-520 B.C.

The body of this large hydria depicts a procession of the gods. To the right is Hermes, shown bearded and wearing his winged boots and a broad-rimmed petasos. He holds his signature kerykeion in his left hand. In the center is Dionysos, clad in a chiton and himation, with a wreath in his hair, holding large branches of ivy that fill the space around him. On the far left is another similarly draped god, perhaps Zeus, holding a scepter in his right hand. In between the gods are two pairs of draped female figures, their flesh indicated by added white (some now missing), with one in each grouping holding a pair of krotala (castanets) in her outstretched hand. On the shoulders are two racing quadrigae and in the predella are panthers and deer.

Steinhart (op. cit., p. 56) remarks that the female figures are probably nymphs, deities associated with springs and lakes, who are frequently depicted making music. They are associated with Dionysos, in whose entourage they often appear, but also with Hermes, who the Athenian statesman Aristeides called “the leader of the nymphs,” and Zeus, who is considered their father by Homer.