Distinctions of types—Costume and attributes of individual deities—Personifications—Heroes—Monsters—Personages in every-day life—Armour and shield-devices—Dress and ornaments—Physiognomical expression on vases—Landscape and architecture—Arrangement of subjects—Ornamental patterns—Maeander, circles, and other geometrical patterns—Floral patterns—Lotos and palmettes—Treatment of ornamentation in different fabrics.

It may be profitable to supplement the foregoing account with a few general considerations, such as the attributes, emblems, and costume by which the different figures may be distinguished, the general treatment of the subjects at different periods, and the use of ornamental motives in the various stages of Greek vase-painting.

§ 1. Distinctions of Types

In the earlier vase-paintings deities are often not only indistinguishable from one another, but even from kings and other mortal personages, attributes and subtle distinctions of costume being ignored; and in the period of decline a similar tendency may be noted, due in this case not so much to confusion of ideas as to a general carelessness of execution and indifference to the meaning of the subject. In the former vases it was, doubtless, largely the result of conventionality and limitation in the free expression of forms; but it is a peculiarity not confined to painting, and may be observed not only in the minor arts, in terracotta and bronze figurines, but even in sculpture of a more exalted kind—as, for instance, in the female statues from the Athenian Acropolis. Thus, all the deities are draped, and their costume differs in no respect from that worn by mortals; all alike wear the chiton, himation, or chlamys, and ornamentation of the drapery with embroidered patterns is no mark of distinction. It is only as the art advances in the B.F. period that the necessity for differentiation makes itself felt, and each deity becomes individualised by some peculiarity of costume or special attribute which makes it possible to recognise them without difficulty. To give a brief survey of these characteristic marks will be the object of the following pages.^[1942]

Among the Olympian deities, Zeus is generally bearded, and fully draped in long chiton and mantle; on R.F. vases he wears a laurel-wreath. He fights the giants from his chariot, but otherwise is standing, or seated on a throne, which is often carved and ornamented with figures.^[1943] He usually holds a thunderbolt, or a sceptre, surmounted by an eagle or otherwise ornamented; in one or two cases the termination is in the form of a lotos-bud, curiously conventionalised.^[1944] Hera is distinguished by the stephane or broad diadem, often ornamented, and covered with the bridal veil, the edge of which she draws forward with one hand in the attitude considered typical of brides. Her sceptre is sometimes surmounted by her emblem—the cuckoo.

Poseidon, on the Corinthian and Attic B.F. vases—on which he is but a rare figure—is often hardly to be distinguished from Zeus, the approximation of the types extending even to their emblems. Where he holds in addition a dolphin or tunny-fish, there is, of course, no doubt as to his presence; nor, again, in the Gigantomachia, where he wields a rock (see p. 13, and Fig. 112); but his trident, which subsequently becomes the unmistakable evidence of his identity, often assumes (as on the Corinthian pinakes) the form of a sceptre ending in a lotos-bud,^[1945] which is typical of Zeus, and, indeed, of Olympian deities generally. The other sea-deities are, however, of a more clearly defined type. The essential feature of Triton is the fish-tail in which his body terminates. Nereus, on the other hand, is represented as an old man, bald and grey-bearded. In this form he contends with Herakles (see p. 101), and it may be that the differentiation was necessary to avoid confusion with the Triton type. As attributes he often holds a dolphin or tunny-fish, and a trident or sceptre. The winged deity with a long sinuous fish-tail seen on early Corinthian vases is probably Palaemon (see p. 26); but in one case this deity is feminine.^[1946] Amphitrite, as the feminine consort of Poseidon, holds a sceptre or tunny-fish, and Thetis and the Nereids appear in ordinary female form. The former, however, in her struggles with Peleus, is accompanied by lions, serpents, and other animals, which indicate the transformations she was supposed to assume. Skylla appears as described in Homer, with fish-tail and the fore-parts of dogs issuing from her waist, which is encircled by a fringe of scales or feathers.

Demeter and Persephone are not always distinguishable from one another, both having the same attributes—a torch or ears of corn (cf. Plate LI.). Their identification depends rather on the nature of their respective actions in the scenes where they appear. Triptolemos is always seen in his winged two-wheeled car (sometimes drawn by serpents), and usually holds ears of corn or a libation-bowl; on B.F. vases he is bearded. The other Eleusinian deities, on the late R.F. vases where they occur, are marked by the large torches which they hold.

Apollo on the B.F. vases almost invariably occurs in his character of Kitharoidos,^[1947] the lyre which he holds being of the form known as kithara (on later vases it is a chelys); he is therefore, like all musicians, fully draped in long chiton, and his hair falls in curls on his shoulders, or is gathered in a κρώβυλος. Unlike most gods, he is at all times youthful and beardless.^[1948] He is also represented holding a laurel-branch, shooting an arrow from his bow, or riding on a swan or Gryphon, or accompanied by a hind or other animal. His sister Artemis is draped in long chiton and mantle, and often wears a high cap on B.F. vases; it is not until the later R.F. period that she appears in hunting costume, with knotted-up hair, short chiton, and high laced-up hunting-boots or endromides; sometimes also a fawn-skin. She is usually distinguished by her bow and arrows, and is accompanied by a hound, deer, goat, or other animal.^[1949]

Hephaistos is usually bearded,^[1950] and often appears in the workman’s dress of the exomis or short chiton covering one shoulder, and high conical cap; his craft is further symbolised by a hammer or tongs, or by the axe with which he brings Athena forth from the head of Zeus. In the Gigantomachia he uses his tongs with savage violence against an unfortunate opponent (see p. 14). Ares is the typical Greek fully-armed warrior, bearded, with helmet, short chiton, cuirass, and greaves, sword, spear, and shield; but is not otherwise to be distinguished. Hermes, as the messenger of the gods, appears in appropriate costume of chlamys and petasos (the Greek travelling-hat), and carrying the caduceus or herald’s staff; he usually wears high boots, and on the earlier vases a short chiton in addition. He is occasionally winged, but it is more usual to find the wings attached to his petasos or boots. On B.F. vases he is always bearded, but not after the sixth century. Hestia, who but rarely occurs on vases, forms a pair to Hermes in assemblies of the gods, but is not distinguished further than by the Olympian lotos-sceptre.

Athena on the earlier B.F. vases is not always distinguished from an ordinary woman; later, the helmet, spear, shield, and aegis become inseparable adjuncts of her costume, the shield being always circular in form. The spear, which is sometimes her only characteristic, is usually brandished or couched in her right hand, and sometimes she holds her helmet in her hand (see Plate XXXVI. and p. 40). Her costume consists of a long girt chiton, over which the peplos or small mantle is thrown, and the aegis round her chest. The latter is covered with scales and has a fringe of rearing serpents, and sometimes, on later vases, the Gorgon’s head in the centre of the front. On the Panathenaic amphorae she is always represented in the Promachos attitude, at first to left, but later to right, brandishing her spear. At either side of her are columns surmounted by an owl, a cock, or other emblems. On the later specimens her figure is greatly elongated, and her drapery is often elaborately embroidered with patterns in purple and white. Her statue when represented is usually a mere reproduction of the living type; but on some later vases there seems to be a reminiscence of the Parthenos or other statues (see p. 40).

Aphrodite is less individualised than any other deity, at any rate on the earlier vases, on which she is invariably draped in the ordinary manner. She sometimes carries a lotos-headed sceptre (as in Judgment of Paris scenes). Occasionally she is represented armed. On the later vases the influence of fourth-century sculpture becomes apparent in the treatment of this, as of other deities. She now first appears nude (when bathing or washing), scantily clad or half draped, and in transparent Coan draperies, through which the outlines of her form are visible. She has no characteristic attribute, but is frequently represented with a dove or other bird. The types of Eros have already been fully discussed (p. 45); briefly it may be said that on the Attic R.F. vases he is a full-grown nude youth with wings; on those of Southern Italy the type is more boyish, though never the child or putto of the Hellenistic Age, and in Apulia the androgynous type, with hair arranged in feminine fashion and jewellery profusely adorning his person—earrings, necklace, chains, and anklets—is invariable.

Dionysos is distinguished primarily by the ivy-wreath which crowns his head; he generally wears a long chiton and mantle, but on the latest vases is frequently nude. On all B.F. vases, and often on those of the R.F. period, he is bearded, and it is only on those of Southern Italy that he appears as a somewhat effeminate youth, half draped like Apollo, with rounded and graceful limbs. His attributes are the rhyton or keras (only on B.F. vases), the kantharos, a form of drinking-cup specially associated with him, a vine-branch, and the thyrsos; he is accompanied by panthers and other animals, or swings the limbs of a kid (χιμαιροφόνος). Usually he maintains a calm and unmoved attitude amid the wild revelries of his followers. Ariadne is undistinguished except by her association with him. Pan, who only occurs on later vases, is almost invariably represented as a beardless youthful figure, with goat’s horns, but human legs; when, however, he has goat’s legs or feet, he is usually called Aegipan, and in this aspect he assumes a somewhat dwarfish and more bestial aspect.^[1951]

Satyrs are either elderly and bearded, or youthful; in all cases with pointed ears and horses’ tails, and undraped except for the fawn-skins which they frequently wear. They carry a thyrsos, drinking-cups, or musical instruments, according to the circumstances in which they are depicted. In Ionic art (Vol. I. p. 353 ff.) the Satyrs invariably have horses’ feet as well as tails, and are usually of repulsive appearance. The Seileni are really aged Satyrs, depicted as bald or white-haired, but not otherwise differentiated, except in the case of Papposeilenos, who is covered with shaggy skin.^[1952] The Maenads are often represented (especially on B.F. vases) as ordinary draped women, or only with the addition of a fawn-skin or panther-skin over their chiton; they carry the thyrsos, or frequently on later vases a large tambourine (tympanon).

Of the personages associated with the under-world, Hades is usually an elderly bearded deity of the Zeus type. He carries a sceptre, often with ornamented top, and sometimes from his Chthonian association with Dionysos holds a kantharos, vine-branch, or cornucopia. Kerberos has three heads only on two Cacretan hydriae and the Apulian under-world vases; his usual number is two, but once or twice he has only one.^[1953] Hekate has torches for her customary attribute, and the Furies, who only occur on South Italian vases, wear short chitons with cross-belts and have rough hair, in which and round their arms serpents are intertwined. Charon the ferryman is represented as an elderly man in short chiton and conical cap (cf. Fig. 122), but the grim Etruscan Charun is a repulsive and savage hook-nosed demon, wielding a hammer. Thanatos and Hypnos, the two Death-deities, are both winged men, but only the former is bearded (cf. Fig. 123); there is usually nothing forbidding in his appearance. The question of the representation of ghosts or souls (εἴδωλα) has been fully discussed (p. 72); most commonly they are diminutive winged figures, and in other cases they appear as in ordinary life,^[1954] but possibly they sometimes appear in the form of birds.^[1955]

Gaia is represented half rising out of the earth, a beautiful but not young woman, with long hair (Fig. 112); or, as Pandora, her head alone is seen (see p. 73). Kybele occasionally appears, with her attendant lion, and an even rarer figure is Asklepios, with his serpent. The Eileithyiae, who attend at the birth of Athena, are ordinary women, distinguished by the appropriate gestures of their hands (Fig. 113). Iris, the female messenger of the gods, appears winged, with short chiton to allow of rapid movement, and carrying the caduceus or herald’s staff; Hebe, on the other hand, is an ordinary woman. Nike is usually to be distinguished from Iris by her long flowing draperies, even when in flight; the various attributes usually associated with her have already been dealt with in detail (p. 87).^[1956]

Among personifications, Helios is a youthful figure in a chariot, usually with rays round his head (as on Plate LIII.); in one or two cases his head is surmounted by a white disc; Selene appears on horseback, and is sometimes indicated by a crescent moon; where Helios is accompanied by a goddess in a chariot, it is probable that Nyx (Night) is intended (see p. 79). The Stars are represented as nude youths. The Aurae or breezes appear as girls floating through the air; the Hyades or rain-Nymphs are identified by their water-pitchers. A group of winged gods and goddesses is formed by Eos, Agon (the masculine counterpart of Nike), Eris, Lyssa (Frenzy),^[1957] and the various wind-gods, such as Boreas and Zephyros. These are found at all periods, but the types vary. Eris, who is only found on B.F. vases, resembles the Gorgons (see below), a somewhat grotesque figure with wings, rough hair, and short girt chiton; Lyssa only occurs on Apulian vases, and is akin in type to the Furies—in two instances her figure is enclosed in a circle of rays of light, perhaps to express the blinding effect of her action, and she holds a goad.^[1958] Oistros, a kindred figure, rides in a car drawn by serpents, and carries torches. The type of Agon is assimilated to that of Eros on R.F. vases; on those of earlier date (if this is the correct interpretation) he wears a short girt chiton and holds a wreath. The Wind-gods on B.F. vases wear the petasos and high boots, and short girt chiton; Zephyros is represented as a youth; and Boreas, who only occurs on R.F. vases, wears Thracian costume; he is bearded, and his hair is often rough and shaggy. But these winged deities cannot always be identified with certainty. Among other personifications, Geras is a somewhat ugly old man; the Muses are distinguished by their various musical instruments; and Cities and Countries are occasionally individualised. For instance, Thebes, on a vase by Assteas, wears a turreted crown; Sparta appears as a Nymph on horseback; and, generally speaking, their presence is usually indicated not only by inscriptions, but by their relation to the scene depicted.^[1959] River-gods, such as Acheloös, appear as human-headed bulls, with horns, but the last-named on a stamnos by Pamphaios (E 437 in B.M.) has a fish-tail.

Kastor and Polydeukes usually appear on horseback and in hunting costume, with petasos, chlamys, and spears; on later vases they sometimes wear the pileus, a conical cap which often appears as their emblem on coins. Herakles on earlier vases is always bearded, and wears the lion’s skin fastened round his waist with a belt, the forepaws knotted round his throat^[1960]; the head covers his head like a cap, leaving his face only exposed, and under it he wears a short girt chiton; he is armed with his club, or bow and quiver, and sometimes with a sword. On R.F. vases he is often nude, or only wears the skin in chlamys fashion. On the earlier vases he is often less characterised, and the same applies to the later R.F. vases, on which he is frequently beardless; in many cases he is only to be identified by his club. Theseus always appears as a youth, and on the R.F. cups usually wears a short loose chiton of crinkly material (cf. Vol. I., Frontisp.); his arms are a sword, or sometimes a club. Perseus wears the winged petasos or cap of darkness and high boots (the shoes of swiftness), sometimes winged; he carries the wallet or κίβισις, and sometimes the ἅρπη or curved sword with which he slew Medusa. Pelops on the Apulian vases is usually characterised as an Oriental, with richly embroidered costume and a tiara or embroidered cap. The Homeric heroes are only to be identified by inscriptions, or by the actions in which they take part, but Paris is usually in Oriental costume; in Judgment scenes he holds a lyre, but when he takes part in combats he is attired as an archer, with bow and quiver, Phrygian cap, jerkin, and trousers. Kekrops, the mythical king of Athens, usually ends in a serpent’s tail, to denote his autochthonous origin; Midas has ass’s ears; Orpheus is recognised by his lyre, and sometimes wears, as a musician, feminine costume (see below, p. 197).^[1961]

Of other mythological types the Amazons are, of course, always armed, frequently in the Oriental fashion, with Phrygian cap or kidaris and trousers; their weapons are the crescent-shaped shield or pelta, and a peculiar type of battle-axe, the sagaris. The Giants on B.F. vases are ordinary armed warriors, not even of exceptional size, but in later times they often end in serpents, as on the Pergamene frieze. Typhon appears in this form on a Chalcidian vase.^[1962] Geryon is represented in the manner described by Pausanias (vi. 19, 1), as “three men joined together,” with distinctive arms and legs; on Chalcidian vases he has four wings, and is only triple from the waist upwards. The Centaurs on the more archaic vases, as on those of Ionia, appear as men with the body and hind legs of a horse attached behind; by the middle of the sixth century they appear in the familiar form of a human bust conjoined with a horse’s body. The Gorgons are always rendered in grotesque fashion, with grinning faces and dishevelled hair intertwined with serpents; they wear short girt chitons and high winged boots, and have four wings, the upper pair recurved; usually on B.F. vases they appear in what is known as “the archaic running attitude,” or, as the Germans more expressively phrase it, “Knielaufschema,” the figures being represented as if kneeling on one knee. The same grotesque type of face,^[1963] with the protruding tongue and teeth, appertains to the Medusa’s head or Gorgoneion, which is at all periods such a favourite decorative motive on vases, either as the interior design of a B.F. kylix, or as a medallion in relief on late vases. The more beautiful type of Medusa head is a creation of later date than most of the painted vases, but in the medallions on Italian vases much of the grotesqueness has disappeared.

Much confusion at one time existed between the conceptions of the Harpy and the Siren, both names being indiscriminately applied to the female-headed bird so common on vases of all periods. But there is ample evidence for the representation of the Harpy more in the style of the Gorgons, as a purely feminine type, with the short chiton suited for rapid movement, high boots, and wings, and often in the conventional running attitude.^[1964] In this form they appear in one instance as feminine counterparts of the male Boreades.^[1965] The Siren types vary at different times, the earlier Sirens frequently having human arms.^[1966] The Sphinx is always a woman-headed winged four-footed beast; sometimes on Corinthian and Ionic vases she wears a high head-dress. The Gryphon^[1967] is a winged lion with eagle’s beak, and often with erect ears; the winged Pegasos and the bull-headed Minotaur require no description.

Turning now to personages concerned in events of every-day life, we find great variety of costume and equipment, especially at different periods and under different circumstances. The vases, in fact, may be said to supply the most instructive locus classicus for Greek dress and ornament, as well as for minor details—such as weapons, implements, and furniture—of which they provide contemporary illustrations.

Kings are usually distinguished by dignified flowing robes, by the wearing of a wreath or head-dress, or by the sceptre which they hold.^[1968] Oriental potentates wear the costume of their country, with lofty ornamented tiaras, or the Persian kidaris or kyrbasia—a peaked cap decorated with fringes and lappets. Their dress is often very elaborate on the later vases. Actors and musicians both wear appropriate costumes. The former, who hardly occur except on the Italian vases, wear the dress of the Old Comedy, with grotesque mask, padded stomach, loose jerkin, and trousers.^[1969] Tragic actors are seldom represented; but it has already been pointed out^[1970] that in the setting of the mythological scenes on the vases of Southern Italy there is an unmistakable reflection of the tragic stage, especially in the elaborate and somewhat exaggerated details of costume. Musicians invariably wear a long chiton, over which on R.F. vases they sometimes wear a short loose garment called the ὀρθοστάδιον, embroidered with patterns.^[1971] There are also a few instances of male performers (recognisable by their beards) in distinctively feminine costume.^[1972]

Athletes are invariably nude when performing their exercises, except in the case of the armed foot-race (see p. 164); in the torch-race they seem to have worn high crowns; on the reverse of late R.F. vases they appear inactive, wrapped in mantles and conversing in groups. Hunters wear a distinctive costume of petasos and chlamys, and usually carry two spears. Boys on horseback are usually represented nude, and on Ionic vases have their hair tied in a tuft behind.^[1973] Charioteers are always attired in a long girt chiton reaching to the feet, which on Attic B.F. vases is painted white. They usually hold a goad in the right hand, the reins in the left. Heralds wear the attributes of Hermes—the petasos, caduceus, and high boots, with a chlamys or short girt chiton. Warriors on the early and B.F. vases are equipped in a fashion which tallies to some extent with the descriptions of Homer.^[1974] Their armour usually consists of a crested Corinthian helmet, a metal cuirass, under which is a short chiton, and greaves, to which are sometimes added the thigh-coverings known as parameridia. Some peculiarities may also be noted—such as the hooked projection on the front of helmets on the Ionic vases of Daphnae and the Clazomenae sarcophagi,^[1975] the linen cuirasses (indicated by white paint) sometimes worn on Attic B.F. vases,^[1976] or the heavy helmets with large cheek-pieces seen on the Caeretan hydriae (Plate XXVI.). The R.F. vases often represent the fully armed Athenian hoplite equipped in the same fashion as the B.F.; but in these, and more especially in the Italian vases, there is a tendency to omit much of the defensive armour. Cuirasses on R.F. vases are often decorated with patterns of scales or panelling.^[1977] Helmets on Italian vases often assume a local character, with conical crowns and two or three lofty plumes.^[1978]

Of offensive armour, the full equipment consists of sword, spear, and shield. The two former call for no comment, but the shields, which are of two forms, the circular Argive or the indented oval Boeotian, present one feature of great interest—the devices with which they are adorned.^[1979] Investigations have failed to discern in these any symbolical or heraldic significance; they are not appropriated to particular personages, and all that can be noted about them is that they usually seem to suggest rapid movement. Thus we find an eagle or other flying bird, wheels, balls, chariots, a bent leg, a serpent, Pegasos, and so on. The passage in the Septem of Aeschylus (387 ff.), in which the shield-devices of the combatants are described, is of course familiar, and similar allusions are not wanting in Greek writers.^[1980] They are universal on B.F. vases, being painted in white on black ground, and are often found on the earlier R.F. vases in black on red; but they seem to disappear at an early stage of the R.F. period. Sometimes they consist only of letters of the alphabet, as on a Panathenaic amphora, where Athena’s shield has the letters Α to Θ; on a B.F. vase in the British Museum are the letters ΑΘΕ.^[1981] Other peculiar subjects are a winged boar, two rams butting, a figure of Artemis, a white-bordered square, and a ladder.^[1982] Some of those on R.F. vases are somewhat elaborate—a Seilenos,^[1983] a fox eating grapes,^[1984] an armed runner,^[1985] or a warrior blowing a trumpet.^[1986] A variation is when the device takes the form of an object in relief—a Satyr-mask,^[1987] Gorgoneion,^[1988] mask of Phobos (Panic),^[1989] or a Gryphon,^[1990] or a rearing serpent^[1991]; or when a shield is surrounded by a fringe of serpents.^[1992] Shields frequently have a piece of fringed and embroidered stuff suspended from them, which seems to have served as a protection to the legs.^[1993]

Archers are depicted in Oriental costume, wearing peaked caps with long lappets and a close-fitting dress of leather, consisting of jerkin and trousers, usually embroidered with various patterns. The different barbarian types which appear on vases—Persians, Scythians, Arimaspi, and Thracians—are more or less individualised, especially on the R.F. vases. Such subjects, indeed, were not really popular until the Persian wars. The details of Oriental costume have already been noted. Thracians on R.F. vases wear a long loose cloak known as the zeira and a cap of foxskin (alopeke) with long flaps, which dress is also worn by Boreas (see above). In the first half of the fifth century Oriental costumes seem to have had a period of popularity among the fashionable young men of Athens, especially the knights; and they are often depicted riding in the zeira or striped and embroidered dresses of outlandish style (see pp. 166, 179). Egyptians are often realistically rendered, with shaven heads,^[1994] as are negroes and Aethiopians. The latter, like all barbarians on vases, usually wear trousers. On the vases of Southern Italy details of local (Osco-Samnite or Messapian) costumes often appear (see p. 180, and Vol. I. p. 483), especially in the case of helmets and breastplates worn by warriors on Campanian vases.

On the earlier vases, down to the end of the B.F. period, there is frequently no distinction between the dress of men and women, and to this fact may have been due the practice of painting the latter white to differentiate them. Both wear the long Doric chiton, with a mantle or himation thrown over it; but men often wear the smaller chlamys over the shoulders in place of the himation. Women, again, on the earlier B.F. vases, often appear without the himation, and wear a long chiton tightly girt at the waist, with a short apoptygma or fold falling over the breast. On R.F. vases the Doric chiton is sometimes worn by women, open down one side (known as the χίτων σχιστός). Men in the “strong” R.F. period wear a short loose chiton of fine crinkly linen. Generally in the R.F. period there is greater freedom of costume and variety of material and arrangement. The Ionic chiton is introduced about 500 B.C., but its vogue does not seem to have lasted long at Athens. In place of the apoptygma women sometimes wear a loose over-garment, known as the diplois. On the earliest vases men are often nude, with the exception of a loin-cloth or pair of tight-fitting “bathing-drawers.” Women are practically never nude on vases, except when occupied in bathing or washing, or in the case of hetairae and jugglers.

The draperies, especially the chitons, are often richly embroidered with patterns, represented by incising and purple and white colours on the B.F. vases, by black paint on the R.F. On the former the women’s chiton is often covered with a sort of diaper pattern of squares, filled in with circles and stars, or the dresses (both of men and women) are covered with groups of dots and flowers in white and purple. In the late fine R.F. period and on the vases of Lucania and Apulia the patterns become exceedingly rich and varied^[1995]: chequers, wave-pattern, palmettes, stars, egg-pattern, maeander, and all kinds of borders are introduced. A further extension of the principle is seen in the introduction of borders of figures, the most notable instances of which are on the François vase and the Hieron kotyle.^[1996] On the former the technique is remarkable as a kind of anticipation of red figures on black. Aristotle speaks of a garment made for Alkimenes of Sybaris on which deities were represented between borders decorated with Oriental figures, the subjects being the sacred animals of the Medes and Persians.^[1997] We may also cite the remarkable statue of Demeter found at Lykosura in Arcadia, the drapery of which is decorated with inlaid borders of figures,^[1998] and the mantle of Jason described by Apollonius Rhodius.^[1999]

The hair of women on B.F. vases, and frequently also that of men, usually falls loose or in tight curls on the shoulders, with a fringe over the forehead. On the early R.F. vases men often wear their hair looped up behind in the fashion known as the κρώβυλος,^[2000] which, as we know from Thucydides, went out about 480 B.C. Women, on the other hand, have theirs knotted up and confined under a cap. On later R.F. vases and on those of Apulia their hair is usually gathered up in the opisthosphendone, or in a broad coif or fillets, and arranged in bunches of curls in front and behind. On late R.F. vases a radiated diadem, painted white, is often seen. Men are seldom represented with long hair after 480 B.C., but they usually wear a wreath or plain fillet. Head-coverings are rarely worn by ordinary persons, with the exception of the traveller’s and huntsman’s petasos; but Oriental personages usually wear a high cap of some kind (see above, under Barbarians). Jewellery—such as necklaces, earrings, armlets, or anklets—is comparatively rare on B.F. vases, but becomes more and more common, until it reaches profusion on those of Apulia. Bracelets and anklets are often in the form of serpents. Various forms of sandals or shoes are seen on later vases, but on the black-figured the only kind of footgear is the high boot or endromis, with a curved tag in front.

The extent to which physiognomical expressions are rendered on vases varies at different periods^[2001]; but it is not true, as has sometimes been thought, that the artists altogether ignored such expressions in their figures; it was only in the earlier phases that this was the case, and even during the fifth century the advance was timid and slow, much more so than in sculpture. As a rule, in the same vase all the faces are alike, and no physiognomical distinction can be drawn between gods and heroes, or even between men and women, except (on the Attic vases) in the treatment of the eye. On the B.F. vases the ordinary type of face has a long nose, with a tendency to turn up, a pointed chin, deep rounded jaw, and large eyes, while the limbs are sinewy, angular, and tapering. Beards of some length are invariable for grown or elderly men; otherwise distinctions of age are hardly observed until the R.F. period. And as in sculpture of the archaic period all figures have the same conventional smile, so on the B.F. vases gods, heroes, and mortals alike all pursue the actions in which they are engaged with the same unvarying expression. The contrast of violent action and calm unmoved physiognomy is often quaint, and almost grotesque.

Indications of expression or sentiment are, in fact, rather implicit than explicit. They are given in a sort of shorthand fashion, just as Polygnotos in his great paintings, by some subtle touch—by a change of attitude or the action of a hand—indicated the emotion he wished to convey. In the different treatment of the male and female eye there is, no doubt, an attempt to give to the man a more lively expression by means of the round pupil, while the oval form of the woman’s eye gives her a softer and less intense look. The neglect of this principle on Ionian vases, where the male eye is oval, seems to be a reflection of the effeminate tendencies of the Ionian races.^[2002] At an early date we may observe a special treatment of the eye to represent it as closed, in the case of a blind or dying person. Thus the Phineus of the Würzburg cup has merely an angular mark in place of an eye, representing the fall of the upper eyelid over the lower, or the eye is represented as a vacant space without pupil.^[2003] The mouth is sometimes open to express pain or anger, as in the Nessos of the Proto-Attic vase,^[2004] or the quarrelling heroes on a vase in the Louvre (F 340). It is also used to express the agony of a dying or injured person, as on a vase with the outraged Polyphemos,^[2005] with which we may compare the dying warrior of the Aegina pediment. But all these are rather exceptions than the rule on B.F. vases.

After the time of Polygnotos the influence of painting makes itself felt, and we may recall that he perfected the advances of Kimon in this respect. Not only did the vase-painters learn from him how to dispose figures en face or in three-quarter view, but they also learned how to mark different expressions. It has also been observed that the influence of tragedy must have been strong at this time. The krater from Orvieto in the Louvre (Vol. I. p. 442) is a good instance of the progress made in the fifth century in this direction. On one side of the vase (see Fig. 103, ibid.) we have a dying Niobid and a youth with face to the front and eyes closing; on the other, in the Argonautic scene, a warrior holding his knees, with lower lip fallen, giving him a melancholy expression, and Herakles with a face of sadness, marked by wrinkles. Other figures show exactly in what direction they are looking (compare Kimon’s figures “looking down or upwards”).^[2006] In the later developments of the Apulian vases, with their scenes drawn from tragic themes and represented in such dramatic fashion, there is plenty of ability to represent emotion, and in several cases it is accurately expressed, as in some of the scenes from the sack of Troy. But in other cases, as on the Assteas vase in Madrid (Fig. 107), much of the old quaintness and grotesqueness is apparent.

It is also necessary to treat of the methods adopted by the artist for indicating locality or landscape in his pictures, a thing which is often done in the briefest and most cursory manner. The germs of this principle are perhaps to be observed (as noted elsewhere, Vol. I. p. 312) in the floral ground-ornaments of the Corinthian and other early vases. In the more developed vase-paintings a sort of shorthand system is customary, a system which in some degree probably prevailed on the Greek stage, as on that of the Elizabethan drama. Thus a temple or a house is represented by a column, or two columns supporting a pediment, a wood or grove by a single tree, water by two dolphins swimming in the lower part of the design, and so on. A notable exception is in the palace depicted on the François vase, in which Thetis awaits the arrival of the bridegroom Peleus. So much of the building is given in detail that it is even possible to attempt a restoration.^[2007] On the same vase the walls of Troy are depicted, with a double door studded with nails. In the Hydrophoria scenes (p. 173) considerable attention is paid to the architectural details of the well-house, which was probably in the form of a small temple, perhaps circular, surrounded by a colonnade. The water issues from spouts in the form of lions’ heads, and statues are often depicted in different parts of the building. The François vase also gives an illustration of a well-house, with portico supported by columns. The architecture is almost invariably Doric. In outdoor scenes rocks occasionally appear, but only where they are necessary to the subject, as in the ambuscade of Achilles for Troilos. The branches of trees which frequently cover all the vacant spaces of the design on later B.F. vases, especially in Dionysiac scenes, may be mainly intended for decorative effect.

In the R.F. period more and more attention is paid to landscape and architectural detail as the style develops, but there is still a strong tendency to adhere to the shorthand system—a tendency which increases rather than disappears, especially on the white-ground vases. The artist’s object was always to make his figures stand out, as far as possible, clear against the background, and he therefore deliberately avoided anything likely to interfere with the desired effect. Landscape proper, with indications of ground-lines, rocks, and trees, was only introduced when the Polygnotan influence became strong, and the Orvieto krater in the Louvre may be once more cited as a good and early instance of a new development. Scenes in architectural settings are rare, but an exception may be noted in the case of some of the late R.F. vases with scenes in women’s apartments, where careful attention is paid to the details of the door-ways, even to the locks and key-holes.^[2008] For the rest, it usually sufficed to indicate the palaestra by a strigil or oil-flask suspended, or a pair of jumping-weights; musical gatherings by a lyre or a flute in a case; banqueting-rooms by cups and other vases hung up, or by rows of boots. Similarly, women’s apartments are represented by a window, door, or column, or by sashes, hoods, mirrors, wreaths, and wool-baskets scattered about.^[2009]

In the vases of Southern Italy this principle is carried almost to excess. Not only is the old idea of rosettes and flowers scattered about the scene revived, but the whole surface of the design is often covered with miscellaneous objects, such as balls, sashes, and mirrors. On the Apulian vases the use of a double line of white dots to indicate the ground is invariable, and loose stones are scattered about where it is intended to be rocky. Flowers grow about in rich profusion. In the mythological scenes an elaborate architectural background is frequent, and altars, tripods, and columns serve the same end; the heroa or shrines and other forms of tomb in the sepulchral scenes have already been described. In athletic scenes, especially on the reverse of the kraters, a ball, a stylus and tablets, or a pair of jumping-weights are suspended in the air to indicate the palaestra; and on Lucanian vases subjects of a military nature are suggested by a suspended shield only partly visible. The “courting-scenes” on Apulian vases usually have a representation of a window in a corner of the design.

§ 2. Arrangement of Subjects

The next point to be considered is the method of arrangement and composition of the figures in general on Greek vases. As regards the Mycenaean, Geometrical, and other early wares, they may be left out of consideration,—firstly, because their ornamentation is mainly composed of decorative motives or single figures of animals; secondly, because even where compositions of figure subjects are found, as on the great Dipylon vases, the method of arrangement is still tentative and without system. The figures are arranged in haphazard groups and bands, and all the remaining spaces are filled in with ornament.

The first attempt at an organised method of decoration is seen in the vases of Corinth and Ionia, and is exemplified principally in the arrangement of the friezes of animals. Roughly speaking, there are two main tendencies, one characteristic of each line of development—the procession and the heraldic group. Both are essentially Oriental (i.e. Assyrian) in origin, the prototype of the latter being the familiar motive of the two animals and the sacred tree, which is so frequently found on Mycenaean gems, and is best exemplified in the famous Lion Gate of Mycenae.^[2010] Yet this typically Mycenaean and Oriental motive was not the one adopted by its natural inheritors, the Ionians, and it is in Dorian Corinth that we find its reflection on the painted vases. On one Corinthian vase^[2011] it actually occurs in the form of a conventional palmette and lotos-pattern (representing the tree), on either side of which two lions are confronted in true Mycenaean fashion. Later, it becomes a common device on the necks of vases, the ornament taking the form of a decorative combination of palmettes (see below, p. 226). Even when on Corinthian vases a whole frieze of animals is found, there is always a central “heraldic” group of two, towards which the whole seems to lead up, or else the frieze is broken up into several isolated heraldic groups.^[2012] But on the Ionic vases, as on those of Rhodes and Naukratis, we have over and over again regular processions of animals all facing the same way, or, as at Daphnae, solemn dances of women, similarly placed and joining hand-in-hand (see Plate XXV.).

In the developed B.F. vases the same principles are observed to some extent, especially where friezes of animals are introduced; but there is much greater freedom of treatment within the limits of the field available. Generally speaking, however, all designs on B.F. vases may be regarded as following one of the three methods of architectural composition—the frieze, the pediment, or the metope. The frieze style, which is seen on the shoulders of hydriae, the exteriors of kylikes, and sometimes on the bodies of amphorae, oinochoae, or lekythi, implies a series of figures, all turned in the same direction, but without any central point for the action, as in processions of warriors, dances of Satyrs and Maenads, and so on. In the pediment style of composition the essential feature is a centre-point, in which the interest of the subject is concentrated, as in such scenes as the Birth of Athena^[2013] or Theseus killing the Minotaur.^[2014] The central group is then flanked by figures immediately interested in the action (Eileithyia and Hephaistos, or Ariadne, in the instances quoted; Athena and Iolaos at the labours of Herakles); and the ends of the pediment, so to speak, are occupied by groups of bystanders, often nameless and uncharacterised, who are in fact only included to fill up the space required.

The metope style, which only admits of three, or at most four, figures, was found convenient for all the vases with subjects on panels, where space was restricted, and also on the kylikes of the “minor artist” class, on which a limited use of figures was preferred, and on those of later date where the space was mainly taken up by the large eyes. But in all these cases—friezes, pediments, or metopes—one thing was held to be essential: the correspondence of the two halves of the design (except in friezes), producing perfect symmetry in the composition.

Lastly, there are a limited number of cases where a single figure was found sufficient, as in the interior of kylikes, on the circular pinakes,^[2015] and sometimes on the vases where the large eyes take up most of the space.^[2016]

Subordinate designs, bordering the main design of an amphora above or below, or decorating the cover, are usually in the form of animals or chariot-races, in the frieze style of composition. Similar friezes are sometimes also found (in the old B.F. method) on R.F. vases, and even on the kraters of Southern Italy.

The earlier R.F. vases preserve the principles of the preceding period; and, in regard to the kylikes, the system of decoration has been discussed in detail elsewhere (Vol. I. p. 427). In all of them we see particular attention paid to arrangement, and the variations in the principles of composition form one of our guides in determining the development of the style. In the amphorae and hydriae of the transition from the severe to the strong period the number of figures employed in one scene was diminished, while they became larger in their proportions and were treated with more care; the usual number on the Nolan amphora is one or two each side. On the smaller vases, such as the oinochoë, the number of the figures never exceeds three. Sometimes the hydriae have an elongated composition on the shoulder, containing a frieze of several figures^[2017]; but usually the design runs into both shoulder and body. Designs in framed panels are rare, except on the earlier amphorae and hydriae, and on the column-handled kraters. The latter are unique in preserving the older methods of decoration right through the R.F. period down to the fourth-century specimens from Southern Italy.

The influence of Polygnotos and his contemporaries brought about, as we have seen, a great change in the arrangement of the compositions, by the introduction of landscape and perspective, and the depicting of figures at different levels. This new development was subsequently exemplified in the large vases of Kertch and Apulia, but in the late fine period at Athens small vases with single friezes or simple subjects were the rule. In the pyxides and other vases with frieze subjects the figures are often crowded together and of dwarfish proportions (Plate XLII. fig. 3). A return to the old system of several friezes is seen where the figures are arranged in two or more rows divided by bands of ornaments, as in the Meidias hydria, or the early Apulian and some of the Lucanian vases.^[2018]

The earlier vases of Southern Italy, especially those of Lucania, preserve in some measure the spirit of the best R.F. vases, in the arrangement of the figures, and at all times the composition is one of the best features of these vases; but in the later examples the purely decorative element obtrudes itself; single figures of little more than ornamental character abound, and the old preference for mere ornament asserts itself, the patterns encroaching all over the scenes.

§ 3. Ornamental Patterns

Although by far subordinate to the subjects in point of artistic or archaeological interest, the ornamental patterns which are employed on the vases are by no means without their value in both respects.^[2019] They are, indeed, intimately interwoven with the subjects themselves, which they frame in, relieve, or embellish. Numerous vases are decorated with ornaments only, even in the advanced stages of the art; and this is, of course, an extremely common occurrence in the earlier fabrics, such as the Geometrical and Rhodian. Others, again, are only ornamented in the simplest fashion, with plain bands of red left to show through the black varnish round the body or foot. That the artist took a pride even in this form of ornamentation is shown by the fact that some potters, such as Nikosthenes and the “minor artists,” have left their names on vases only decorated with simple patterns.

From the very beginning of Greek vase-painting there may be observed an endeavour to dispose the ornamental patterns in accordance with some system; and even though in some cases, as in the Cypriote Geometrical vases, there is an offence against the canons of art, yet at all periods the prevailing effect is one of symmetry and taste. It may be thought that in some respects there is a poverty in the variety of ornaments employed—as compared, for instance, with mediaeval art; but it should be remembered that—as their architecture shows—the Greek principle was to achieve the highest results within a limited sphere. Their system was conventional, but its conventions are forgotten in the artistic effect that it produces.

It is on the earliest vases that the greatest variety and richness of ornament occurs; as the art is developed the ornamentation becomes more and more subsidiary, until on the vases of the finest R.F. period it has almost disappeared. But in the later phases it again comes to the fore, tending more and more to obscure and finally to supersede the subjects. To set forth as briefly as possible the growth and development of Greek ornament, both as a whole and in the case of individual motives, will be the object of the succeeding summary. It will be found advisable to treat the subject in a twofold aspect,—firstly, dealing with individual forms and their development; and, secondly, in their relation to the decoration of the vases and their subjects, as exemplified in the different periods and fabrics.

Various theories have been propounded as to the origin of the ornaments found on Greek vases. Some have seen in the patterns architectural adaptations, suggested by the ornamentation of the different members of a temple, such as the maeander, egg-and-tongue pattern, or the astragalus, just as the disposition of the subject is often a reminiscence of the frieze or metopes. But this is no real explanation. In the first place, the patterns are found on vases at a period when they were hardly as yet used in architecture; and, secondly, their use on vases and in architecture must undoubtedly be traced to a common source. Others, again, have regarded them as conventional symbols, the kymation or wave-pattern representing water, a flower or rosette the ground on which the figures stand, and so on. Or, again, it has been thought that they were originally derived from textile patterns, being produced mechanically by the ways in which the threads ran in the loom, whence they were applied with deliberate artistic intention to the surface of a vase.

It is, in fact, impossible to put forward any one theory which will account for the whole system of decorative ornament. As has been pointed out in our introductory chapter, many of these patterns are not only spontaneous, but universal in their origin among primitive peoples; every nation has begun with its circles, triangles, spirals, or chevrons. We are also, in regard to the Greeks, met with the remarkable fact that in its earliest form their painted pottery presents a very elaborate and highly developed system of ornamentation—purely geometrical, it is true, yet none the less of an advanced character. It is a composite system, formed partly from Mycenaean and pre-Mycenaean local elements, and partly from the decorative ideas introduced by the Dorians from Central Europe; subsequently the range of Greek vase-ornament was yet further enlarged by the introduction of vegetable patterns, the palmette, the lotos-flower, and the rosette, which are due to the growth of Oriental influences, both from Egypt and from Assyria.