.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The most important festival celebrated in ancient Athens was the Panathenaia, which honored the city's patron deity, Athena Polias. Every fourth year was the Great Panathenaic festival, which included musical and athletic competitions. The victors were awarded huge prize amphorae containing one metrates (over ten gallons) of oil from the goddess' sacred grove. The obverse of these amphorae always depicts the goddess between columns, usually surmounted by cocks. The reverse depicted the event for which the vase served as the prize.
Smaller scale vases of Panathenaic shape and decoration, similar to the example presented here, must have served a different function than the larger prize amphorae. According to J. Neils ("Panathenaic Amphoras: Their Meaning, Makers and Markets," in Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens, p. 44), these small-scale imitations had a capacity of approximately half that of the prize amphorae. "It has been suggested that these are either wine jars for a victory celebration or commemorative vases which functioned as souvenirs for competitors at the Panathenaia." Further, "an alternative explanation is that these jars were made as export containers for the excess olive oil from the sacred trees of Athena, known as the Moriai."
Depicted on the center of the reverse of this vase are two boxers. The contestant to the right is depicted with his right arm raised and the left extended toward his opponents’ face. His opponent to the left falls back, staggering from the blow, and raises his right index finger in a sign of defeat. To the left of the pair is another boxer, who ties a thong around his left hand, perhaps preparing to fight the victor. To the right of the scene is a bearded referee, draped in a himation and holding a forked rod above the right contestant, indicating that he has won the competition. Weiss and Simon (op. cit., p. 59) observe that the painter originally positioned the rod above the raised arms of both athletes; the scheme was then abandoned, but the remnants of this placement are still discernable.
Smaller scale vases of Panathenaic shape and decoration, similar to the example presented here, must have served a different function than the larger prize amphorae. According to J. Neils ("Panathenaic Amphoras: Their Meaning, Makers and Markets," in Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens, p. 44), these small-scale imitations had a capacity of approximately half that of the prize amphorae. "It has been suggested that these are either wine jars for a victory celebration or commemorative vases which functioned as souvenirs for competitors at the Panathenaia." Further, "an alternative explanation is that these jars were made as export containers for the excess olive oil from the sacred trees of Athena, known as the Moriai."
Depicted on the center of the reverse of this vase are two boxers. The contestant to the right is depicted with his right arm raised and the left extended toward his opponents’ face. His opponent to the left falls back, staggering from the blow, and raises his right index finger in a sign of defeat. To the left of the pair is another boxer, who ties a thong around his left hand, perhaps preparing to fight the victor. To the right of the scene is a bearded referee, draped in a himation and holding a forked rod above the right contestant, indicating that he has won the competition. Weiss and Simon (op. cit., p. 59) observe that the painter originally positioned the rod above the raised arms of both athletes; the scheme was then abandoned, but the remnants of this placement are still discernable.