Ilioupersis painter

This drinking cup (skyphos) shows a variation of a children’s game that was popular in the Greek world. The two-player game, ephedrismos, involved placing a target rock (dioros) in the ground, and then taking turns aiming other rocks at it until it was hit. Whoever failed to hit the rock would carry the winner on their back and try to reach down and touch the dioros. To further complicate the game, the winner would sometimes blindfold the loser with their hands. On this skyphos, a woman is shown carrying Eros on her back and searching for the dioros, which may be among the circles stacked at the base of the vessel. In this particular case, the image may indicate preparations for marriage, as the woman proves her strength and fertility by successfully carrying the god of love. On the other side, a woman is seated with a bird perched on her hand while a young man holding a scraper (strigil) stands nearby.