P21.4 ACHILLES DRAGGING THE BODY OF HECTOR
Museum Collection: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Catalogue Number: Boston 63.473
Beazley Archive Number: --
Ware: Attic Black Figure
Shape: Hydria
Painter: Attributed to the Antiope Group
Date: ca 520 - 510 BC
Period: ArchaicSUMMARY
Side: In scenes from books 22 and 23 of Homer's Iliad, Iris, the winged messenger of the gods, descends to Troy to instruct King Priamos to ransom the body of his son Hektor from Akhilleus. The Greek hero in the painting drags the corpse of the Trojan prince around the tomb of Akhilleus, whose spirit, depicted as a tiny winged man, flits overhead. Old Priamos and his wife Hekabe stand in the palace. The striding warrior before them is perhaps Hermes in the guise of a Myrmidon warrior, ready to lead the king to the Greek camp.
Shoulder: Herakles battles Kyknos (not shown).
