Cleveland Museum of Art

Black-Figure Kantharos (Drinking Cup): Lizards Flanking Tree (A); Ducks (B)

Date

c. 500 BCE

Medium

ceramic

Culture

Greek, Boiotian

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Known as a kantharos and often associated with the wine god Dionysos and the hero Herakles, this type of two-handled drinking cup was particularly popular in Boiotia, a region of central Greece northwest of Athens. Also typical of Boiotia is simple black-figure silhouette decoration, without incision. Here and elsewhere, though, Boiotian vase-painters used red paint for additional detail; note the alternating tree leaves, lizard eyes and spots (on the right), and duck eyes. Kantharos, the Greek word for this type of cup, also refers to a dung beetle.

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