Amphora (jar) with Herakles and Kyknos
Culture: Greek or Italic
Date: ca. 550-525 BC
Dimensions:
height: 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm)
width with handles: 8 7/8 in. (22.6 cm)
depth: 8 3/8 in. (21.3 cm)
foot diameter: 4 11/16 in. (11.9 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, Gift of Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.
Object number: 86.134.32
Provenance: sold by Galerie Günter Puhze, Freiburg, to Gilbert M. Denman, Jr. (1921-2004), San Antonio, 1984; Gilbert M. Denman, Jr., by gift to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 1986
Published References
H.A. Shapiro, "Two Black-figure Neck-amphorae in the J. Paul Getty Museum: Problems of Workshop and Iconography," Greek Vases in the J. Paul Getty Museum 4 (1989) 22-23, fig. 12 (side A).
H.A. Shapiro, C.A. Picon, and G.D. Scott, III, eds., Greek Vases in the San Antonio Museum of Art (San Antonio, 1995), pp. 85-6, no. 39.
LIMC (Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae), "Kyknos I", no. 137
F. Zardini, The Myth of Herakles and Kyknos: A Study in Greek Vase-Painting and Literature (Verona: Edizioni Fiorini, 2009), 574-75, no. 139.
M. Denoyelle and M. Iozzo, La céramique grecque d'Italie méridionale et de Sicile. Productions coloniales et apparentées du VIIIe au IIIe siècle av. J.-C. (Paris: Picard, 2009), p. 74, fig. 87.
Label Text
Side A: Herakles and Kyknos
Side B: Four-horse chariot
In one of his adventures, Herakles fought and killed Kyknos, who had been robbing travelers of animals they were taking to sacrifice to Apollo at Delphi. Here Herakles is about to deliver the final blow; at right is Kyknos’ father, the god Ares. This story was
recounted in two 6th-century B.C. poems, one by Stesichoros, the other called the Shield of Herakles.
(Jessica Powers 2008)
Side B: Four-horse chariot
In one of his adventures, Herakles fought and killed Kyknos, who had been robbing travelers of animals they were taking to sacrifice to Apollo at Delphi. Here Herakles is about to deliver the final blow; at right is Kyknos’ father, the god Ares. This story was
recounted in two 6th-century B.C. poems, one by Stesichoros, the other called the Shield of Herakles.
(Jessica Powers 2008)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
