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Leagros Group

Oil Flask (Lekythos)

Description

Maker

Attributed to Leagros Group (550-525 BCE)

Culture

Greek

Title

Oil Flask (Lekythos)

Year

ca. 500 BCE

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

clay

Geography

Place Made: Attica

Dimensions

Height: 30.9 cm (12 3/16 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Jesse H. Metcalf

Object Number

22.216

Type

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries
Sep 22, 2010

Label copy

The myth of Europa states that while the maiden was walking among her father’s herds with some attendants, she noticed a pure white bull. After calming him, she sat on his back. The bull, actually the lustful Zeus in disguise, ran off with Europa and swam to the island of Crete, where he revealed his true form. This oil flask (lekythos) details the abduction, with Europa seated on Zeus’s back, and one of her attendants behind. The messenger god Hermes stands facing the bull, wearing his characteristic winged boots and holding his winged staff (kerykeion).

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This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Attributed to Leagros Group (550-525 BCE)
Oil Flask (Lekythos), ca. 500 BCE
Terracotta, black-figure
Height: 30.9 cm (12 3/16 inches)
Gift of Mrs. Jesse H. Metcalf 22.216

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