Lydos Column Krater Vase

Attribution Details: This vase’s name is Lydos Column Krater The painter was Lydos and it was created in 550BC It is 56.5cm tall. The potter is unknown. It was used for mixing wine and water, but not used for drinking. It’s purpose was to be used at a Symposium.

The name of the shape is: Column Krater.

The Characters Dionysus(Διώνυσος) –god of theatre and wine as well as the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy. Hephaestus(Ἥφαιστος)- He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and he was worshipped in the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece, particularly in Athens.

Characters Maenads- In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by him into a state of ecstatic frenzy, through a combination of dancing and drunken intoxication. In this state, they would lose all self-control, begin shouting excitedly, engage in uncontrolled sexual behavior, and ritualistically hunt down and tear animals (and sometimes men and children) to pieces, devouring the raw flesh. Satyrs- In Greek mythology, satyrs (Ancient Greek: Σάτυροι, Satyroi) are a troop of male companion Dionysus — In mythology they are often associated with sex drive and vase-painters often portrayed them with perpetual erections.

The story on the vase Return of Hephaistos to Olympus accompanied by Dionysus, Satyrs and Maenads. Dionysus and Hephaistos were placed on opposite sides of the crater where they appear to have been separated amid the riotous revelry of the party Hephaistos as the lame good is depicted riding a mule and carrying a wine flask, while Dionysus stands serenely clasping a vine, a piece of ivy and a wine horn- his godly attributes. Both gods stand aloof from the festivities and it is obvious that the focus of the artist’s decoration is the drunken behaviour of the satyrs and the maenads. The procession is led by a satyr playing the double pipes (aulus) and he’s followed by scenes of tail pulling, snake handling and wine guzzling.

Movements You can tell that they’re followers due to how their feet are arched and positioned all in the same direction. You can also tell they’re followers of Dionysus due to how they’ve positioned their heads and arms upwards as if in a celebratory dance. The usage of having the head upwards and arms also is a movement of the followers to show their loss of mind with the Dionysus cult.

Details It’s movement is a narrative technique, and it’s been portrayed in a grand style which is one main narrative running along the body. The figure is black, and is one of the earliest vases, so it has not developed the movement of drapery as it has later on in years. It creates a balanced composition of figures, and it focuses on the main characters which have been placed in the center on each side of the vase surrounded by their followers. The vase also has a single ground line so all the characters have been portrayed on the same level. Black figure painters have a fear of leaving space, which explains why it is so crowded on black vases. They also didn’t create much depth, but when they did it used to just be a gentle overlapping.