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Campanian Neck-Amphora

Creator

Greek Painter

The Caivano Painter decorated vases in the red-figure technique. He worked in the Campanian style in Capua, one of the Greek colonies in South Italy. As with most Greek vase-painters, the real name of the Caivano Painter is unknown; he is named after the town where some of his work has been found. The Caivano Painter frequently represented unusual mythological and theatrical subjects. Warriors wea

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Date: about 340 B.C.
Medium: Terracotta
Culture: Greek (South Italian)
Department: Vessels
Institution: Getty Museum

The front of this red-figure amphora shows an episode from the story of The Seven Against Thebes, when a group of heroes banded together and attacked the Greek city to reinstate the rightful king. Holding a burning torch, the hero Kapaneus climbs a ladder, while two defenders and the usurping ruler look down from the wall. Kapaneus was killed for claiming that he did not need the gods' help, and at the top left of this scene, Zeus’s thunderbolt falls towards the boastful warrior. On the right, Nike, goddess of Victory, flies above a chariot team. The main scene on the other side of the vase shows maenads and satyrs, the companions of Dionysos, the god of wine. This amphora, with its twisted handles, elongated body and tall neck, is a typical shape produced by potters in Campania, around the Bay of Naples. Dramatic themes often provided the subject of mythological scenes on South Italian vases, and the story of the Seven against Thebes was related in a play by Aeschylus. Yet there is nothing on this vase that allows us to argue that the depiction of Kapaneus’s demise was inspired by a performance on stage, unless the wooden-looking bricks of the city wall derive from theatrical scenery.

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