Panathenaic amphora
Panathenaic amphorae were the
The vases were commissioned by the state from the leading pottery workshops of the day in large numbers. Their canonical shape was set by 530 BC, but the earliest known example is the
As the century progressed, the profile of the vases became elongated and the decoration more mannered. The last known dated vase is from 312/11, although production continues into the third and second centuries, the archons are no longer named, instead, the treasurers and stewards of the games are recorded in their place.
Some vases were used as grave goods by the families of the victors, some were dedicated to sanctuaries, and still others sold,[2] hence their wide distribution in the Greek world.
The survival rate of Greek pottery as a whole may be calculated from the remnant of panathenaic amphorae that exist. After approximately 350 BC at least 1450 vases were awarded every four years in the greater Panathenaia. Assuming the number of events was consistent throughout the history of the games and that all prizes were in the form of decorated amphora, dividing the number of unique vases known by the total production run, gives the figure of between 0.5% and 1% of all Greek vases awarded are still extant.[3]
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Runners (ca. 500 BC)
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Musical competition, pseudo-Panathenaic amphora (500–485 BC)
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Poseidon and Athena, miniature example (early fourth century BC)
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Detail of anapobatesrace (340–339 BC)
References
- ^ J. D. Beazley: Development of Attic Black-Figure, 1986, p. 89.
- ^ The public record of the goods sold off by the state after Alcibiades's disgrace has been partially preserved, IG I3 422.21, 41-60, includes mention of 102 panathenaics, Broadman (ABFV, p.170) suggests these sold for on average half a drachma each. See also AW Johnston, Trade Marks on Greek Vases, 1979.
- ^ R. M. Cook's Die Bedeutung der bemalten Keramik fur den griechischen Handel, JdI lxxiv [I959] II4-23. See also Philip Sapirstein Painters, Potters, and the Scale of the Attic Vase-Painting Industry, AJA 117 No4 pp.493-510.
Sources
- John Boardman: Athenian Black Figure Vases, London 1974
- Jenifer Neils:Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens, Hood Museum of Art, 1992
- Martin Bentz: Panathenäische Preisamphoren: eine athenische Vasengattung und ihre Funktion vom 6. - 4. Jahrhundert v. Chr. Basel, Vereinigung der Freunde Antiker Kunst 1998 (Antike Kunst: Beihefte; 18) ISBN 3-909064-18-3
- Martin Bentz; Norbert Eschbach (Hrsg.): Panathenaïka : Symposion zu den Panathenäischen Preisamphoren, Rauischholzhausen 25.11. - 29.11.1998. Mainz, Zabern 2001. ISBN 3-8053-2708-0
- S. A. Callisen: The Iconography of the Cock on the Column, The Art Bulletin, Vol. 21, No. 2 (Jun., 1939), pp. 160-178