The Lysippides Painter was an Attic vase painter in the black-figure style . He was active around 530 to 510 BC. His conventional name comes from a kalos inscription on a vase in the British Museum attributed to him; his real name is not known.
31-511: His conventional name is derived from a kalos inscription on a neck amphora in the British Museum (B 211). He is considered the most significant pupil of Exekias , from whom he adopted not only his artistic style but also some important motifs, such as Ajax and Achilleus playing a board game. He also frequently painted scenes involving the hero Herakles . In total, about 30 known vases are ascribed to him. His collaboration with
62-424: A Greek symposium, wine was only drunk after dinner, and women were not allowed to attend. The wine was drawn from a krater , a large jar designed to be carried by two men, and served from pitchers ( oenochoe ) . Determined by the symposiarch, the wine was diluted to a specific strength and was then mixed. Slave boys would manage the krater , and transfer the wine into pitchers. They then attended to each man in
93-464: A figure of between seven and fifteen couches and reckons fourteen to thirty participants a "standard size for a drinking group"). If any young men took part, they did not recline but sat up. However, in Macedonian symposia, the focus was not only on drinking but hunting, and young men were allowed to recline only after they had killed their first wild boar. Food and wine were served. Entertainment
124-567: A number of Greek poems , such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara . Symposia are depicted in Greek and Etruscan art , that shows similar scenes. In modern usage, it has come to mean an academic conference or meeting, such as a scientific conference. The equivalent of a Greek symposium in Roman society is the Latin convivium. The Greek symposium was a key Hellenic social institution. It
155-783: The Andokides Painter , usually considered the inventor of red-figure vase painting , is unusual. On seven bilingual vases , six belly amphorae and a cup (now in Palermo ), he painted the red-figure side, while the Andokides Painter was responsible for the black-figure one. At times, the subjects painted by both are identical. It remains disputed amongst scholars whether both painters are identical and merely represent one artist using both techniques. Already John Beazley saw them as separate artists, an argument later developed by Beth Cohen and Heide Mommsen. The identity of
186-437: The symposium ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : συμπόσιον , sympósion or symposio , from συμπίνειν, sympínein , 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, or conversation. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues , Plato 's Symposium and Xenophon 's Symposium , as well as
217-573: The 204 vases attributed to Lysippides P in the Beazley archives, 112 are large amphorae . These contain all variations of Amphorae, Amphora A, Amphora B, Amphora Neck, and 4 Panathenaic Amphorae. There are also 32 cups consisting of Cup A and Little Master Band Variations. The basins of many of these large cups are decorated with the face of a gorgonian . These Gorgonians are typical of the Nikostenes workshop to which, it has been argued, Lysippides
248-471: The 416 BC Dionysia . According to Plato's account, the celebration was upstaged by the unexpected entrance of the toast of the town, the young Alcibiades , dropping in drunken and nearly naked, having just left another symposium. The men at the symposium would discuss a multitude of topics—often philosophical or political. A symposium would be overseen by a "symposiarch" ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : συμπόσιάρχης : symposiárchēs) who would decide how strong
279-536: The Etruria region. The other provenances include Sicily, Egypt and Turkey, but they appear in nominal numbers. Front and back: Achilles and Ajax playing a board game Kalos inscription A kalos inscription is a form of epigraph found on Attic vases and graffiti in antiquity, mainly during the Classical period from 550 to 450 BC. The word kalos ( καλός ), meaning 'handsome' or 'beautiful',
310-699: The Greek symposia; however, one major difference is that women of status participated more fully in this as in other realms of Etruscan society . Women were allowed to drink wine and recline with men at feasts. Some Etruscan women were even considered "expert drinkers". Additionally, Etruscan women were often buried with drinking and feasting paraphernalia, suggesting that they partook in these activities. The most apparent distinctions between Greek and Etruscan drinking parties appear in Etruscan art. Etruscan paintings show men and women drinking wine together and reclining on
341-426: The Greek virtue of moderation, the symposiarch should have prevented festivities from getting out of hand, but Greek literature and art often indicate that the third- krater limit was not observed. Symposiums are often featured on Attic pottery and Richard Neer has argued that the chief function of Attic pottery was for use in the symposium. An amphora was used as a jug to hold the wine and usually one single cup
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#1732772448422372-585: The Lysippides Painter in the Beazley Archive, there are over 60 of Herakles in various forms of heroism, fighting the lion, mounting chariots with Athena, fighting Amazons (Amazonomachy), and fighting giants (Giantomachy). He is almost always shown in his lion cape, with hood resting on the back of his black hair, defined with white paint. The arms of the lion are tied around his chest (where muscles are also well defined with white lines). Of
403-535: The boy is beautiful" ( Ancient Greek : ὁ παῖς καλός , ho pais kalos ). The inscription more often took the form of the beloved's name, in the nominative singular, followed by "kalos" ( X kalos , i.e. "X is beautiful"). The beloved is most often a male youth, but a few times girls or women were spoken of as kalē ( καλή ). In one early cataloging of the inscriptions, among the individuals labeled as beautiful were 30 women and girls, and 528 youths. Male names outnumber female by more than twenty to one. At least some of
434-617: The dregs of their wine in a kylix , a platter-like stemmed drinking vessel, and flung them at a target. Another feature of the symposia were skolia , drinking songs of a patriotic or bawdy nature, performed competitively with one symposiast reciting the first part of a song and another expected to improvise the end of it. Symposiasts might also compete in rhetorical contests, for which reason the word "symposium" has come to refer in English to any event where multiple speeches are made. Etruscan art shows scenes of banqueting that recall aspects of
465-422: The guests. Among the instruments women might play was the aulos , a Greek woodwind instrument sometimes compared to an oboe . When string instruments were played, the barbiton was the traditional instrument. Slaves and boys also provided service and entertainment. The guests also participated actively in competitive entertainments. A game sometimes played at symposia was kottabos , in which players swirled
496-481: The late 6th century and early 5th as his neck-amphorae stand on the front lines of a series of vases. Many of his works were extremely similar to Exekias. A vase in Detroit depicts the mythical Greek hero, Herakles wrestling a lion. This depiction takes after a neck-amphorae version done by Exekias in multiple ways. While there is no saying that Lysippides is the painter, the vase is grouped with his work stylistically in
527-481: The most abundant example being the find on Thassos of 60 kalos inscriptions carved on rock dating from the 4th century. The non-epigraphic literary evidence consists of two references in Aristophanes . Both of these instances, however, praise the demos (the citizenry as a whole) rather than any individual, and suggest the public performance role of the kalos tag. Symposium In Ancient Greece ,
558-513: The same cushions. The Sarcophagus of the Spouses , found in the Etruscan region dating to 520–530 BC, depicts a man and women lounging together in the context of a banquet, which is a stark contrast with gendered Greek drinking parties. As with many other Greek customs, the aesthetic framework of the symposium was adopted by the Romans under the name of comissatio . These revels also involved
589-408: The second for love and pleasure, and the third for sleep. After the third one is drained, wise men go home. The fourth krater is not mine any more – it belongs to bad behaviour; the fifth is for shouting; the sixth is for rudeness and insults; the seventh is for fights; the eighth is for breaking the furniture; the ninth is for depression; the tenth is for madness and unconsciousness. In keeping with
620-465: The symposium with the pitchers and filled their cups with wine. Certain formalities were observed, most important among which were libations , the pouring of a small amount of wine in honour of various deities or the mourned dead. In a fragment from his c. 375 BC play Semele or Dionysus , Eubulus has the god of wine Dionysos describe proper and improper drinking: For sensible men I prepare only three kraters : one for health (which they drink first),
651-532: The two painters is supported by Konrad Schauenburg, Herbert Marwitz and John Boardman . Martin Robinson and others remained undecided. The Lysippides Painter's works consisted of many neck-amphorae that were based on the works of Exekias, his mentor. Lysippides' works however, were simplified compared to those of Exekias. This style actually became very popular in the Archaic Period. Especially showing in
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#1732772448422682-406: The way it takes after Exekias and that the work narrows all the attention on Herakles' role in the battle rather than the lion's. These elements are strongly associated with the work of the Lysippides Painter. Like most artists during this time, his work contained many religious references of Greek gods and goddesses in his work. Herakles being one of the more popular. Of the 204 vases attributed to
713-442: The whole local society. Symposia were usually held in the andrōn (ἀνδρών), the citizen quarters of the household. The participants, or "symposiasts", would recline on pillowed couches arrayed against the three walls of the room away from the door. Due to space limitations, the couches would number between seven and nine, limiting the total number of participants to somewhere between fourteen and twenty seven (Oswyn Murray gives
744-501: The wine for the evening would be, depending on whether serious discussions or sensual indulgence were in the offing. The Greeks and Romans customarily served their wine mixed with water, as the drinking of pure wine was considered a habit of uncivilized peoples . However, there were major differences between the Roman and Greek symposia. A Roman symposium ( convivium ) served wine before, with and after food, and women were allowed to join. In
775-470: The women labeled kalē were hetairai , courtesans or prostitutes. The names designated as kalos are characteristic of aristocratic Athenian citizens. Some kalos inscriptions are associated with certain vase painters or pottery workshops. The Antimenes Painter , for instance, is named for the kalos inscription to Antimenes on his pots, and the Leagros Group pottery workshop is named for
806-521: The youth Leagros, a widely popular object of kalos praise. These associations suggest a cult of celebrity or a concerted effort by a given youth's family to increase their son's public standing. The purpose of these inscriptions remains uncertain, and many examples may be declarations of love as part of same-sex courtship in Athens . In some cases, the inscriptions or vessels may have been made to order. Kalos names are also found as graffiti on walls,
837-457: Was a forum for the progeny of respected families to debate, plot, boast, or simply to revel with others. They were frequently held to celebrate the introduction of youth into aristocratic society. Symposia were also held by aristocrats to celebrate other special occasions, such as victories in athletic and poetic contests. Many archaic poetic sources were written by members of the social elite communities, and so may not be completely representative of
868-460: Was occasionally lent. Some of the other shapes that Lysippides works with are Krater, Columns, Oinchoes, Psykters, and Pyxis. These shapes have very small numbers, but many of them carry the same subjects as those of other Lysippides vases. Most of the Lysippides Painter's vases appear to have been traded to Italy, especially the area around Rome, Etruria. Of the 85 vases that have listed provenances, 74 were shipped to Italy and over of 50 of these to
899-491: Was often accompanied by the name of a certain man, or sometimes simply by the word pais ( παῖς ), meaning the 'boy' or 'youth', without naming a particular person. The female version was kalē ( καλή ). The kalos inscriptions typically had an erotic connotation. The kalos inscription is typically found on vessels used for a symposium . The scenes that accompany the inscription vary, and include athletic exercises and myths . Some inscriptions are generic, reading only "
930-478: Was passed amongst the men. Cups used at symposiums were not as nearly intricate as amphoras. Pottery used at symposiums often featured painted scenes of the god Dionysus, satyrs, and other mythical scenes related to drinking and celebration. Poetry and music were central to the pleasures of the symposium. Although free women of status did not attend symposia, high-class female prostitutes ( hetairai ) and entertainers were hired to perform, consort, and converse with
961-522: Was provided, and depending on the occasion could include games, songs, flute-girls or boys, slaves performing various acts, and hired entertainment. Symposia often were held for specific occasions. The most famous symposium of all, described in Plato's dialogue of that name (and rather differently in Xenophon's ) was hosted by the poet Agathon on the occasion of his first victory at the theater contest of