Day 44 - Odysseus hiding under sheep
April 12, 2018
This gallery (155) contains literally dozens of 6th century B.C.E. ceramics, and after a certain point, I find it hard to pay close attention to them any more. I do recognize a number of motifs: Theseus killing the Minotaur (who looks more human than I'd expected); the judgment of Paris (though I can't tell from their depictions which goddess is which); fighting warriors; Dionysus, etc. I'm intrigued by the presence of "eye-vases" in which the principal scene is framed on either side by a large round eye. Apparently, these eyes were meant to ward off evil; they call to mind the beads painted to resemble eyes on my Turkish keychain, which presumably serve the same function 2500 years later. (I wonder: Does the much older Eye of Horus have the same significance? But I look it up and see that the Eye of Horus is a symbol of royal power, protection, and health. Similar, but not really the same.)
The gallery has a number of bronze pieces as well, including body armor that covered the upper torso and reproduces the musculature of the male anatomy. I learn from a caption that military service was important not so much because Athens' existence was threatened at the time as because such service was a responsibility of all citizens and thus, a marker of citizen status. It makes you wonder whether America would be less divided if all youths had to perform some kind of compulsory national service.
It's perhaps taking the easy way out to write about something other than a vase, but today's object satisfies with its familiarity. It's a bronze plaque, also from the 6th century B.C.E., that's maybe 4 inches tall and 4 inches long and depicts a man clinging to the underside of a ram. The ram's horns curve around on either side of its muzzle; its fleece is indicated by cross-hatching. The man is visible in profile; he grasps the ram's cheek with his left hand, and his foot sticks out from under the animal's body. I know without a doubt that the plaque represents Odysseus escaping from the giant Polyphemus by hiding under one of Polyphemus's sheep.
What I have no idea about, though, is how the plaque was used. There's a neat circular hole in the middle of the ram's body, suggesting that the plaque was suspended from something,. But what? Was it a wall decoration? Used as a personal ornament? Was it especially commissioned, or were lots of these objects made? In any event, its owner was certainly familiar with his Homer (I have to assume the owner was a "he"), and that sense of connection is also what draws me to this object. It speaks to the enduring power of great literature.
The gallery has a number of bronze pieces as well, including body armor that covered the upper torso and reproduces the musculature of the male anatomy. I learn from a caption that military service was important not so much because Athens' existence was threatened at the time as because such service was a responsibility of all citizens and thus, a marker of citizen status. It makes you wonder whether America would be less divided if all youths had to perform some kind of compulsory national service.
It's perhaps taking the easy way out to write about something other than a vase, but today's object satisfies with its familiarity. It's a bronze plaque, also from the 6th century B.C.E., that's maybe 4 inches tall and 4 inches long and depicts a man clinging to the underside of a ram. The ram's horns curve around on either side of its muzzle; its fleece is indicated by cross-hatching. The man is visible in profile; he grasps the ram's cheek with his left hand, and his foot sticks out from under the animal's body. I know without a doubt that the plaque represents Odysseus escaping from the giant Polyphemus by hiding under one of Polyphemus's sheep.
What I have no idea about, though, is how the plaque was used. There's a neat circular hole in the middle of the ram's body, suggesting that the plaque was suspended from something,. But what? Was it a wall decoration? Used as a personal ornament? Was it especially commissioned, or were lots of these objects made? In any event, its owner was certainly familiar with his Homer (I have to assume the owner was a "he"), and that sense of connection is also what draws me to this object. It speaks to the enduring power of great literature.
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