The Sculptural Program of the Siphnian Treasury at Delphi

Author(s): Livingston Vance Watrous

Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 86, No. 2 (Apr., 1982), pp. 159-172
Published by: Archaeological Institute of America
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The Sculptural Program of the Siphnian Treasury

at Delphi*
LIVINGSTON VANCE WATROUS

(Pls. 17-21)
Abstract

scenes and Attic and East Greek art.' As a result, the

sculpture
onatthe
The pediment and frieze of the Siphnian
Treasury

Treasury is regarded today as a

Delphi are regarded today as decorative product

works of
ofthe
the
Ionian school which owes little to local
Attic-Ionic school of sculpture. An examination
ofItthe
influence.
has also been assumed that, since the
scenes on the Treasury shows that, while the style and

building was commissioned by the Siphnians, the

certain details do have parallels in Athens and Ionia, the

sculptural
subjects must therefore be Siphnian in insubject matter, iconography, and composition
are innospiration.2
And finally, it is generally thought that no
vative in ways which appear deliberately to
reject Attic
practice. A new reconstruction and interpretation
the or overall organization links the excommon of
theme
south frieze of the Treasury are presented,tant
andpediment
it is sugand the frieze on the Treasury.
gested that the scenes on the Treasury were
To programdate there has been no examination of the icomatically planned by the Delphic priesthood to convey a
nography
ofcerthe Treasury reliefs to determine to what
moralizing admonition against mortal hubris,
with
extent
it
differs
tain specific allusions to the tyrant Peisistratos of Athensfrom Attic tradition, although several

and his allies.

unique features, including the fact that it comprises

It has been recognized that Delphi, and the Siphnian

one of the earliest continuous narrative Greek friezes,
Treasury friezes in particular, played an important role
have been noticed in the sculpture.3 It is argued here
in the initial development of the continuous narrative
that
while the style and, to a lesser extent, the iconogfrieze. If the above interpretation of the reliefs is correct,

raphy of the Treasury scenes are Attic-Ionic in origin,

it may explain to some extent why and how this development took place.
much of the subject matter and iconography is com-

pletely new in a way which appears to be deliberately

Studies of the pediment and frieze on the Siphnian
opposed to Attic practice. Moreover, if the scenes are
Treasury at Delphi have concentrated on the similariregarded as Delphic, rather than Siphnian in inspiraties in style and iconography between the Delphi
tion, it can be seen that the East pediment4 and frieze
tion can be established between the commissioned sculpture and
* B.S. Ridgway made many helpful suggestions after this pathe dedicating city, as is the case with the Athenian Treasury.
per was delivered as a lecture at Bryn Mawr College in 1979. A
Moreover, this assumption ignores the possibility that a sancsubsequent draft benefitted from the advice of Mary B. Moore,

Gloria F. Pinney and John Boardman. Illustrations 1 and 2,tuary as politically active and as powerful as Delphi in the
archaic period might exert control for its own ends over the
drawings by Marion Cox, are reproduced from J. Boardman,
monumental representations erected within its temenos. After
Greek Sculpture (London 1978) by permission of the author.
510 B.C. it was in Delphi's interest to approve the scenes on the
Conversations with my graduate student, Daniel Heenan, proAthenian Treasury. The political situation ca. 530 B.C. was
vided a stimulus for many of the issues explored in this study.
different, for the temple of Apollo at Delphi lay in ruins, and
Harriet Blitzer edited and typed the manuscript. A short version
of this paper was delivered at the annual meeting of the AIA in
there is evidence (discussed below) that the sanctuary may have
New Orleans in 1980.

felt threatened by the policies of Peisistratos. Thus, it is possible

' Ch. Picard and P. de la Coste-Messeli're, FdD 4.2 (1928);

that Delphi had a reason to justify its claim as the pre-eminent
prophetic center of Greece, a claim expressed through a sculpde la Coste-Messeli're, Au Musie de Delphes (Paris 1936) 237448; B.S. Ridgway, "The West Frieze of the Siphnian Treatural program displayed along what was probably the main way
into the sanctuary (cf. E. Hansen, "Les abords du trisor de
sury," BCH 86 (1962) 24-35; Ridgway, "Notes on the Development of the Greek Frieze," Hesperia 35 (1966) 188-204; M.B.
Siphnos A Delphes," BCH 86 [1960] 425, fig. 68).

The idea of Delphic control over monuments commissioned

Moore, "The Gigantomachy of the Siphnian Treasury: Reconwithin the sanctuary would seem more plausible if there were a
struction of the Three Lacunae," Etudes Delphiques (Paris 1977)
305-35.
parallel for this practice at the site. In a forthcoming article, I
2 This would appear to be a logical assumption, given plan
the to describe how the metope scenes on the Sikyonian Treasury may show similar Delphic planning.
series of patriotic monuments (e.g., the Athenian Treasury)
3De la Coste-Messeli're (supra n. 1) 174-76; 444-48, diserected at Delphi. Yet, a comparison with the Athenian Treasury
cussed below in the text.
may be misleading. The sculptural style of the Siphnian Treasury is not thought to be Siphnian, so that no immediate correla-4 The subject of the west pediment, which has had various

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160 LIVINGSTON VANCE WATROUS [AJA 86

express a single, coherent idea:

is, a moralizing
samethat
repeated
lesson of the Delp
admonition against mortal Treasury
hubris, with
certain
scenes
may spebe regarde
oracle's creed.
cific allusions to the tyrant the
Peisistratos
of Athens, and
his allies.

Moreover, both the sculptural

Support for this hypothesis

the Delphic
Treasury
sury that
and the
oracles o

scenes constitute a Delphic seem

program
derives
from
a
to bear
signs
of political
m
common concern evident inchose
the sculptural
scenes
and
sides in the
affairs
of the G
in the oracular responses ofsion
the it
sanctuary.
It hasits
been
had to defend
position
noted that the oracle at Delphi
often
delivered
mortion.
At such
times,a the
Delphic
alizing lesson in its responses,
extolled
the
blesin which
some cases
even
fabricated,
t
sings of a humble life, and which
warned
against
mortal
ar- in the
were
kept
available
rogance.5 This attitude of the
oracle was
explicor justify
its made
policy.9
As will be
it to pilgrims around 510 B.C.
by the
inscription
Treasury
scenes
appear of
to expre
sentiments
as thyself"
the written
the two well known admonitions
"know
andoracles
"nothing in excess" on the entranceway of the AlkNORTH FRIEZE
maionid temple of Apollo. The lesson-that gods and

men inhabit separate worlds,

and
that political
any mortal
The most
explicitly
scene, I believe, is
who overstepped the boundary
between
those
two
gigantomachy
on the north
frieze of
the Treasury

1). It
is depicted assacrilege
a pitched battle
between the g
worlds, through arrogance
(F'/PLE),
(&o''-

who are identified by attributes and the rightwar

JELa) or blindness (arr/), would be punished by the
gods-was undoubtedly derived
epic
literature.6
rectionfrom
(except for
Hera)
of their advance, and th
In Homer and the poets of ants,
the who
archaic
age,asethical
ad- who mov
are depicted
Greek hoplites
vice, such as the lesson above,
was
often
the left
(except
for communicatKantharos). A popular subjec
ed in the form of a mythological
example
which
archaic Greek art
and literature,
this battle repre
served as a paradigm of good
or
bad of
conduct.7
When
ed the
victory
order, in a moral
and political s
the mythological episodes depicted
onofthe
Treasury
over the hubris
the giants
who had tried to o
occurred in epic literature, throw
they
clearly
expressed
the
gods.10 The
similarity of the
the scene on
sculptural fragments attributed to it with littlehis
success
(Picard
hands the
works of great poets ... in these are contained
and de la Coste-Messeli're [supra n. 1] 151-52,
180-81),
remany
admonitions,
and many tales, praises, and encomia of anmains vague, and will not be discussed.
cient famous men, which he is required to learn by heart, in
IThe most famous example concerns the Sikyonian
order thattyrant
he may imitate or emulate them." (Translation, M.
Kleisthenes who, when he consulted Delphi on overthrowing
Hadas, Old Wine,the
New Bottles [New York 1962] 26-27).
traditional worship of the hero Adrastos at Sikyon,Studies
was of
told
bysculpture have tended to treat their subject
Greek
the oracle that Adrastos was king of Sikyon, and that
he was independent
only
as essentially
of literary tradition and its convena stone-thrower (Hdt. 5.67). For the oracle's praise
ofAshumility
tions.
a result, the possibility that literary conventions govern-

in human affairs, see Hdt. 1.31 and 6.86; H.W.

Parke
andmay also apply to artistic narration has been
ing the
use of myths

D.E.W. Wormell, The Delphic Oracle 1 (Oxford neglected.

1956) 378-92.
6 The oracular responses were translated by 8the
Delphic
E.g., Hdt.
1.66, for the Arkadians against the Spartans; Hdt.
priesthood into epic verse. These verses, which
make
use
of the Peisistratids in Athens; Hdt. 7.139,
5.63;
6.123.2,
against

Homeric vocabulary, phrases, and mythological episodes

figpro-Persian,and
before
the Battle of Salamis.
ures, demonstrate that the priesthood was thoroughly
9 Thus familiar
Herodotos was able to quote the oracles verbatim in
with epic literature, cf. Parke and Wormell 2 (supra
n. 5)
xxixtheir verse
form,
e.g., 1.19, 47, 55, 65; cf. Parke and Wormell 2
xxxi, 257-59.
(supra n. 5) vii-viii.

The ethical sense of epic literature is best explained in W.W.

Jaeger, Paideia (Oxford 1939) 34-54; W.C. Greene, Moira:

Fate, Good and Evil in Greek Thought (New York 1963) 16-22.
7 Jaeger (supra n. 6); M. Willcock, "Mythological Paradeigms

in the Iliad," CQ 14 (1964) 141-54; J. Finley, Jr., Pindar and

Aeschylus (Harvard 1966) 3-22, drawn to my attention by J.
Peradotto. It is through mythological paradigms (intended as
episodes which set a precedent, or standard of behavior) that
characters in epic seek to persuade one another, e.g., Od. 1.38-52
followed by 1.296; 3.195-200 and 306-16. The function of paradigms in literature is explained in Plato, Protagoras 325 e: "And
when a boy has learned his letters ... they (his teachers) put into

One of the clearest instances of this practice concerns the

oracle supposedly given to the emissaries of Kroisos sent to Delphi after his fall (Hdt. 1.90). Asked about its former prophecies

concerning Kroisos, the oracle explained that his fall was the

result of his ancestor Gyges' crime, and pointed out that Apollo

had prolonged his rule and saved his life. Parke and Wormell
(supra n. 5) 132-40, treat the response as a fabrication ex post

facto. Here, the response functions as an apologia for the

sanctuary.

10 The story is mentioned in Homer, cf. Od. 7.58-60; 10.120.

Pindar (Pythian 8.8-10; 14-18) is explicit about the sense of the

gigantomachy, when he addresses the goddess Hesychia, the

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162 LIVINGSTON VANCE WATROUS [AJA 86

black-figure vases to literary

descriptions
of
the to
battle
right
of him, and
faces
the
leaves little doubt that the
paintings
represent
asvase
all the
other gods
on thethe
fri

same moral struggle which

is described
in literature.
effect
of Hera's pose,
however,
The first gigantomachies back
with on
an Athena
acknowledged
and to politrelega
ical overtone, however, are
currently
thought
to the
occur
ally
to the right
side of
fri
no earlier than ca. 447-438
B.C.,
in the
The
names
ofeast
the metopes
giants are
of the Parthenon, and in the
the traditional
painting on
the interior
opponents
of t
of the shield of the statue of Athena Parthenos.I"
tomachies, and in their place
The sculpture of the north
frieze of the Treasury
(six out of seven) are unknown
has been attributed to an Ionian or Attic master, on
literature.17 To the right of A
the basis of its style and certain iconographic similariTAE whose name implies 'lp
ties to gigantomachies in Attic vase painting.12 The
ing giant in front of Ares (n

departures from established iconography are also

violence. Three other giants h
striking, however. Kybele, the Moirai (or Demeter

PEKTAL, AAEPTAL, and

and Kore), and the ram-helmeted figure (ill. 1, nos. 5,

names, which characterize th
2 and 3, and 23) are unparalleled in other Attic arbarbarians, are painted on th

chaic gigantomachies. Furthermore, the unusual

script, in
contrast
to the
Atticplacement of Apollo, Artemis
and
Dionysos
(ill.
1,

andleft
the portion
Attic letter
for
nos. 7, 6, and 4) togetherture
on the
of the
scription;20
they
may
therefo
frieze (the first seen as one entered the sanctuary) may
Thus, while
the sculptor
was
be due to their local importance
at Delphi.13
Athena

gigantomachies,
he chose
(ill. 1, no. 14), notably, has
been removed from
her in
certain
traditional
Attic
position, traditional in Attic vase painting, within deta
the

with unusual
features
which
central group which includes
Zeus and
Herakles.14
purposes.
On the Delphic frieze Athena
is separated from the

central figure of Zeus by

giants,
Hera
(no.
Five two
of the giants'
Corinthian helmets
bear
strange 13)
and her fallen opponent.devices:
On aAttic
vases
Hera
is
more
kantharos (as the crestholder), goat horns,
often shown to the left of
Zeus,15
but
she
ischeekto the
cow
horns, a triton,
and ahere
horsehead
(on the
daughter of Justice:
But when a man breeds in his heart
Pitiless wrath, then does your spirit fiercely
Rise up to face the enemies' power, and to throw down
Insolence to the depths. Porphyrion (king of the giants)
Even he knew not your strength when he provoked you

Beyond all measure...

But violence brings to ruin

the programmatic planning in the Parthenon sculpture may have

had an archaic precedent, in the Siphnian Treasury, which could

also have been an iconographic source for the Parthenon

sculpture.

12 Discussions on style are cited in n. 1 supra. Iconographic

similarities: e.g., Hephaistos on the frieze and on the kantharos

Akropolis 2134 b-c (ABV 347; Vian 1951, pl. 25); the Zeus

group on the frieze and on a dinos by Lydos, Akropolis 607, 1

(Vian 1951, pl. 24, and recently, M.B. Moore, "Lydos and the
Cilician Typhon of the hundred hands
Gigantomachy," AJA 83 [1979] 99, ill. 1).
Could not escape his fate, nor could
13 Vian 1952, 106-12.
Even the great king of the giants,
14 E.g., hydria by the Leagros Group, Vatican 422 (ABV 45,
But by thunderbolt
38); amphora by the Vatican Painter (name vase, ABV 311), and
They were laid low, and by Apollo's shafts.
the Lydos dinos (supra n. 12).
Translation, G. Conway, The Odes of Pindar (London 1972). 's E.g., Lydos dinos (supra n. 12), and the Panathenaic ampho(Composed in the 440s for an athlete from Aigina, then underra in the manner of the Lysippides Painter, London B 207 (ABV
Athenian rule, this ode has also been seen as having political
260, 29; Vian 1951, pl. 26).
content, by M. Bowra, Pindar [Oxford 19641] 157, who interprets 16 Moore (supra n. 1) 333-34.
the insolence of Porphyrion as a reference to Athens.)
1' Vian 1952, 227-28.
The basic work on the gigantomachy theme is by F. Vian, La 18 The name is unique. Perhaps intended as YIIEPTA(TO)E?
guerre des giants. Le mythe avant l'dpoque hellnistique (ParisIts sense is clear: it is one of a group of giants' names, akin to
1952, henceforth Vian 1952) and Ripertoire des gigantomachiesY'Y7'p LoV, which signifies "the greatest," cf. Vian 1952, 227.
figuree dans l'art grec et romaines (Paris 1951, henceforth Vian 19 Vian 1952, 228 and n. 5.
1951).
20 Phokian script, L. Jeffery, The Local Scripts of Archaic
11 Vian 1952, 26, 127 and 145-57. According to Vian, the east
Greece (Oxford 1961) 102; Attic inscription, M. Guarducci, "Lo
metopes of the Parthenon have no political significance as they
Scudo iscritto nel fregio del Tesoro dei Sifni a Delfi," Studi in
were based on earlier, Peisistratid models. I would suggest that
onore di Luisa Banti (Rome 1965) 167-76.
The boastful hard-heart soon or late.

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1982] THE SCULPTURAL PROGRAM OF THE SIPHNIAN TREASURY AT DELPHI 163

piece). These figures, drawn perhaps from contempofined in a separate study.23 Certain shield devices on
are so distinctive, or are abbreviated in such a
rary coin devices, from blazons and from localvases
mytho-

logy, may have served to identify these giants

with
way
(e.g., the winged forepart of a boar, the forepart
specific Greek states.21
of a horse, the wheel and the hindquarter of a horse)
The practice of identifying the nationality or
status
that
their origin may reasonably be sought in contemof a figure by its helmet or ethnic headdressporary
was ancoin types.24 Shields in Attic vase painting beestablished tradition in Near Eastern and Anatolian
gin to bear a wide variety of recognizable signs in the

art.22 Whether a similar practice using devices

from century, at the time of the introduction of
mid-sixth
coins or emblems as attributes existed in Greek
art
Athenian
coinage. Of the eleven Wappenmiinzen deshould be discussed at this point, since itvices,
is preat least ten are known in Attic vase painting of
supposed by the above interpretation of the the
giants'
second half of the sixth century.25 Athena in Attic

helmets.

vase painting toward the end of the sixth century

There is a certain amount of evidence that coin

de- her normal helmet with a stilted crest for an
trades
vices or emblems could have had a direct influence
Attic on
helmet with a low crest, a change attributed to
the alinfluence of Athena-head coins where the field
the iconography of sculpture and vase painting,

though the extent of this influence remains to

be degives
no space for a high crest.26 In the years following
21 At least four helmets of the giants are lost (blockhave
E), dambeen criticized by E. Robinson, NC 1924, 329-34 and L.
aged (block B), or without their crest attachments (Block
B, F),
Lacroix,
"Les Blazons des villes grecques," Etudes d'archdologie

so that the total of five symbols may be incomplete.

Classique 1 (1955-1956) 98-103.

The helmet devices were first discussed by F. Lechat, Shield

in "La blazons attested in literature do not follow strict rules
frise du tr6sor des Cnidiens," REA 11 (1909) 1-12, whoofdecided
heraldry, cf. Lacroix 96. It is clear then that these devices in
that they were simply decorations. Corinthian helmets,vase
however,
painting may vary according to workshop tradition, scene
are not decorated in actual practice. Subsequent study
has
fo-Thus, previous interpretations of these devices on sinand
date.

cused on the giant KANOAPO. and his kantharos-topped

helgle vases
alone are bound to remain inconclusive. Many of the
met. T. Homolle, BCH 18 (1894) 191, first identified
him devices,
as
shield
especially those which are abstract patterns (e.g.

Dionysos, but the conclusive identification of the figure

next
to
balls,
rosettes)
and which occur randomly on scenes, are probably
Kybele as Dionysos (V. Lenzen, "The Figure of Dionysos
on the
decorative.
N. Yalouris, "Astral Representations in the Archaic
Siphnian Frieze," CPCA 3 [1946-1957] 1-16) precludesand
this
exClassical
Periods and their Connection to Literary Sources,"
planation. E. Mastrokostas, "Zu den Namensbeischriften
des
AJA 84
(1980) 314-17, interprets white dots on shields as depictSiphnier-Frieses," AthMitt 68-71 (1953-1956) 81-82, suggested
ing the stars which were described as circles of fire by the philothat Kantharos wears such a helmet because, as Dionysos'
opposopher
Archelaos (student of Anaxagoras). Unfortunately this
nent (and victim), he will supply Dionysos with his characteristic
interpretation does not attempt to explain the occurrence of this
attribute. But the frieze will not bear out this theory. design
Kantharos
in the context of the paintings nor the fact that there
flees from Kybele's lions, and Dionysos' opponent is actually
the
seems to
be no pattern to their occurrence. A chronological study
giant who wears a helmet with cow's horns. The Moirai
(or
of these
devices, by workshop and scene, remains to be carried

out. helmet,
Demeter and Kore) face the giant with a goat-horned
and Athena the giant with a triton on the helmet. These
24 pairs
These devices first appear on coins, and thereafter on circuhave no obvious relationship.
lar shields in vase painting, e.g. boar, winged forepart: Samian
22 In Egyptian and Assyrian relief sculpture, warriors of
differ-525-500 B.C. (J.P. Barron, The Silver Coins of Samos
drachm,
ent nationalities and rank were commonly distinguished
by the
[London
1966] pl. 1); Euphronios kylix, ca. 510 (K. Schefold,

type of helmet which they wore; see, e.g., the various contingents
Gotter- und Heldensagen der Griechen in der spiitarchaischen
in the sea battle depicted on the mortuary temple of Ramesses
III
Kunst [Munich
1978] pl. 147); horse's forepart: Athenian di-

at Medinet Habu (N. Sandars, The Sea Peoples [London

1978] 560-530 B.C. (C. Kraay, Archaic and Classical Greek
drachm,
124-27, and figs. 83-84, 89-99), and in the relief of a mountain
Coins [London 1976; hereafter cited as Kraayj pl. 9); Amasis
battle, dated 705-681 B.C., from the palace of Sennacherib
(H. ca. 550-525 (Seltman [supra n. 23] 24, fig. 13; Chase
Amphora,
Groenewegen-Frankfort, Arrest and Movement [New York
1978]
[supra
n. 23] 53, CXLI, 1); wheel: didrachm, Tanagra/Boiotia,

176, fig. 37). In Achaemenid art, court status and nationality

480-460are
B.C. (Kraay pl. 19, no. 347); volute krater by the Niobid
specifically identified by headdress and costume, e.g., the
tribute
Painter,
ca. 460-450 B.C. (after the Athenian defeat of several
procession reliefs on Darios' palace at Persepolis (M. Root,
The
Boiotian
towns in 457; D. von Bothmer, Amazons in Greek Art
King and Kingship in Achaemenid Art [Leiden 1979] ch.
VI). 1957] pl. 74,3); horse's hindquarters, Athenian didrachm,
[Oxford
23 Cf. M. Greger, Schildformen und Schildschmuck
bei den
560-545
B.C. (Kraay pl. 9, no. 163); Panathenaic amphora (Chase
Griechen (Erlangen 1905); G. Chase, The Shield Devices
of n.
the
[supra
23] 53, CXLII, 1; Seltman [supra n. 23] 37, fig. 30 and n.
Greeks in Art and Literature (Cambridge, Mass. 1902) 4).classified
most shield devices under the heading of religion, without25further
On Athenian coinage, cf. Kraay 58. Seltman's interpretation
interpretation. Since then C. Seltman, Athens, Its History
(supra n.and
23) 19-38, of the Wappenmiinzen devices as heraldic
Coinage Before the Persian Invasion (Cambridge 1924),
has
may be largely
incorrect, but the correlation between numismatic

claimed that vase painters made a wide use of coin and

shield
and ceramic
devices which he pointed out remains a striking fact.
devices in their work, notably the imitation of Athenian
26 M.WapRobertson, "The Diogenes Painter's Masterpiece," AntK
penmiinzen in black-figure vases. Seltman's overreaching
claims
13 (1970)
13-14. I am indebted to G.F. Pinney for this reference.

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164 LIVINGSTON VANCE WATROUS [AJA 86

the Persian wars, the helmeted
head
Athena
on
Given this use of
devices, didof
they have
a political
Athenian coins was given
a victor's
wreath,
meaning,
as suggested above forolive
the north frieze
of the
Siphnian Treasury? Certainly in the fifth century, afwhich was copied on Attic vases."27
But were these devices in ter
Greek
sculpture
and and
vase
the Persian wars,
some Attic gigantomachy

painting used as attributes amazonomachy

to identify
figures?
scenes were used
in this fashion,Korres
al-

has argued that the ram luding

appears
the
helmets
of
to the Persians on
by means
of a specific
setting, or
figures in archaic and classical
Greek
asthethe
ethnic dress.34
Boardman hasart
noted that
greatestemblem of a war leader (e.g.,popularity
on the
statues
of
"Leoniof Herakles
in Athenian art,
ca. 560-510
B.C., corresponds
closely to the period of[=
Peisistratid
das" in Sparta, and Athena
'ApXr7ylf'rL
Athena
"Giustiniani"]).28 Pheidias'
Athena
Parthenos
had a
rule in
Athens. The iconography
of his depictions can
sphinx as a crest-holder in
on
helmet,
has
many her
cases be connected
with specificwhich
events in the

been interpreted as a reference

to
her
On
tyrant's career,
which
makes itwisdom.29
plausible that Peisifourth century South Italian
coins
local
Athena
stratos had
identified the
himself with
the hero
Hera-

Skyletria can be identified

by
the
Skylla
on her
kles.35 Thus,
we might
expect
that scenes in which
helmet.30 In battle scenes on
archaic
Attic
vases,
exotic
Herakles
fights a foe could
contain an
allusion to the
helmets with horns or feathers
are used
consistently to
political opponents
of Peisistratos.36
identify their wearers; their
opponents
wear
undecoAnother
possible instance has
been suggested
by
rated helmets.31 Likewise,Lippold.
in gigantomachies,
the giHe has remarked upon the extraordinary
ants may be distinguishednumber
from
their
by
of emblems
of Chalkisantagonists
(the enemy of Eretria

garish helmets which are

decked
out
with
animal
and Athens)
which appear
on the shield
of Geryon
in
horns, ears or feathers, orhisby
their
on
battle with
Heraklesname
as depicted onwritten
Attic vases."37
their helmet.32 And, onThe
Ionian
sarcophagi,
Greek
device used most
frequently on Geryon's shield
is
hoplites confront warriorsthewith
similar
helmets,
eagle (the obverse
of the Chalkidian
tetrobol after who
may be identified as barbarians.33
therefore
ca. 530 B.C.), withIt
another
version being theappears
eagle
that devices on helmets inandarchaic
and
classical
art
snake (a variant of
the earlier
tetrobol).38 A more
were at times used as attributes
tothehelp
identify
the
explicit vase shows
characteristic
Chalkidian chi
figures.

(T), (which appears on Chalkidian coins), arranged

27 E.g., on the lekythoi by the Bowdoin Painter, cf. Seltman

(supra n. 23) 91: J.D. Beazley, Attische Vasenmaler (Tuibingen

in the manner of Lydos, the giant Enkelados is identified by his

name which is spelled on the crest of his helmet.

1925) 140, 40, 41; A. Murray, White Athenian Vases in the

British Museum (London 1896) pl. 14.

28 G. Korres, Ta meta Kephalhn Krian Kranj (Athens 1970)

100-109, no. 36; 58-59, nos. 41-129.
29 L. Farnell, Cults of the Greek States 1 (Oxford 1896) 362.

30 Cf. B. Head, Historia Nummorum (Oxford 1911) 86-87;

RE s.v. lavXerpla (Kock); Strabo 6.261. Skylla replaces the

33 E.g., sarcophagus from Klazomenai, BCH 19 (1895) 85, fig.

6; sarcophagus from Ephesos, D. Hogarth, Ephesos 1 (London
1908) pl. 17, no. 2.
34 Gigantomachies (based on the painting inside the shield of
Athena Parthenos): e.g. neck amphora by the Suessula Painter,
Louvre S 1677; calyx krater, near the Pronomos Painter, Naples
2883 (J. Henle, Greek Myths [Bloomington, Indiana 1973] 48-

olive wreath on Athena's helmet on coins of Thurion after 412,

when the Athenians were defeated at Syracuse; cf. S. Noe, The
Thurian Di-Staters (New York 1935) 7-11, who interprets Skyl-

56, pls. 29, 30) which use the slope of the Athenian Akropolis as
the setting. For Amazonomachies, cf. von Bothmer (supra n. 24)

coinage signals the triumph of anti-Athenian forces in Thurion.

35 In his pioneering article "Herakles, Peisistratos and Sons,"

RA 1972, 57-72, J. Boardman convincingly connects the iconography of Herakles' Introduction to Olympos with Peisistratos'

la as a motif of native mythology whose appearance on the

31 E.g., amphora, Louvre E 733 (von Bothmer [supra n. 24] pl.

29, 1); dinos, Louvre E 875, ABV 104, 123 (BCH 83 [1959] 437,

fig. 3); lekythos in New York 07.286.43, ABV 454, near foot, no.

2 (von Bothmer [supra n. 24] pl. 50, 1); amphora in Orvieto,

Faina 64, ARV2 3, 5 (Schefold [supra n. 24] pls. 138-9).
32 E.g., amphora in Berlin F 1865 (Vian 1951, pl. 29, no. 151).
Attic amphora from Caere, Louvre E 732 (Vian 1951, pl. 22, no.
22). This type of helmet is thought to reflect Eastern influence,
cf. E. Kukahn, Der griechische Helme (Marburg 1936) 50. Herodotos (7.76) describes a non-Greek group from Anatolia, the
Pisidians, who wore bronze helmets with crests decorated with

ox ears and horns. Cf. C. Blinkenberg, Lindos 2 (Berlin 1931)

no. 2618, pl. 127.
On a cup (Copenhagen 13966, Paralipomena, 48; illustrated
in Schefold [supra n. 24] pl. 64), dated to the mid-sixth century,

143-216.

Return to Athens (Hdt. 1.60), Herakles' club and club-bearer

with the club-bearers provided for Peisistratos as bodyguards
(Hdt. 1.59), certain fountain house scenes with the Enneakrounos built by Peisistratos (Paus. 1.14.1), and Herakles playing the
kithara with the Homeric recitals in Athens introduced by Hipparchos (Plato, Hipparchos 228 B, C).
36 E.g., Herakles' fight with the Triton has been given a political interpretation, cf. Boardman (supra n. 35) 59-60, 71-72.
37 G. Lippold, "Vasen und Miinzen," JdI 67 (1952) 78-92.
38 Lippold (supra n. 37) 79, no. 9, gives five examples with the
eagle (on the tetrobol, Kraay pl. 15, no. 264). Eagle with snake:
Attic neck amphora, by Exekias, London B 194 (Lippold, pl. 4);
Chalkidian tetrobol, Kraay pl. 15, 265.

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1982] THE SCULPTURAL PROGRAM OF THE SIPHNIAN TREASURY AT DELPHI 165

on Geryon's shield in imitation of the spokes of
(pl.a 17, fig. 1). On sixth century Greek coins, the kanwheel (the reverse type of the Chalkidian tetrobol).39
tharos is distinctive as the badge of the island of Naxos
There may also be certain allusions to Chalkis in the
(pl. 17, fig. 2).44 To the left of Dionysos, a giant has
myth of Geryon.40
on his helmet the horns of a goat (pl. 17, fig. 3), the
The battle of the gods (accompanied by Herakles)
coin type of Paros (pl. 17, fig. 4).45 The giant behind
against the giants enters Attic vase painting ca. 560Kybele's chariot wears a helmet with the horns of a

550 B.C., and becomes a popular subject after midcow (pl. 17, fig. 5), the symbol of Eretria (pl. 17, fig.
century, i.e. after the battle of Pallene, ca. 545, when
6).46 Behind Hera, a giant has a helmet with cheekPeisistratos defeated his Athenian foes before reaspiece in the form of a horse's head (pl. 18, fig. 7).

suming power. In mythology, Pallene was also saidThessaly

to
was famous for its horses (Hdt. 7.197), and
have been the location where the gigantomachy took
a horse is the regular sign on its coinage (pl. 18,
place.41 During the Peisistratid era, the giants in Attic
fig. 8).47
gigantomachies have the tripod as their most popularThe giant AAEPTAL, to the right of Athena,
shield device.42 Other favorite shield devices of thewears
gi- a helmet with a sea creature on its side (pl. 18,
ants include exotic animal protomes (griffin, snake,
fig. 9). Although the face and upper body of the crea-

gorgon), and the snake, which may be explainedture

as are damaged, enough survives to show that it

attributes indicating the foreign, or earthly originprobably

of
had a human head (pl. 18, fig. 10). The
the giants.43 But the tripod is different; it is the emcreature would then be a triton, i.e., a merman, with

blem of Delphi. That Herakles should fight giants

the tail of a dolphin (Paus. 9.21.1). Son of Poseidon

who are shown with a Delphic shield device, at a time

and Amphitrite (Hesiod, Theogony 930 f.), the triton
when Peisistratos' opponents had gone into exile
is one of the many Greek mythological creatures of
(probably to Delphi; see below and n. 60), is not likely
hybrid shape, who are said to have lived in a particu-

to be a coincidence.

lar river, spring or body of water.48 In Greece, Triton

The planner of the north Siphnian frieze appears
is thought to have had his home in Boiotia, in the Koto have used similar identifying devices on the giants'
paic lake, near the river Tpirowv (Paus. 9.33.7),49 or
helmets. The giant who flees to the right of Artemis
in the sea near Tanagra (Paus. 9.20.4). Triton fights

and Apollo is named KA(N)OAPOL, and wears on

anthe side of the gods, next to his mother Amphitrite,

outlandish helmet whose crestholder is a kantharos

on the Pergamene Altar, in the version of the battle
39 Attic b.f. amphora, Paris, Bibl. Natl. 223 (CVA France VII.
pl. 39); Chi and wheel on Chalkidian coins: cf. Kraay 90, 109,
pl. 15, nos. 264-66.
40 Geryon tended his cattle on an island called Erythrai, which
means red (4pvOpds). Erythros is the standard epithet (II. 9.365)
for copper (XAKdgs) from which Chalkis was named. When Herakles arrived at Erythrai, he stopped at the foot of Mt. Abas

(Apollodorus Mythographus 2.5.10); in epic, the Euboians are

called Abantes (II. 2.536); their mythical king was Abas (Strabo
5.5). Chalkis was also connected to the west by its early western

colonies.

perhaps the name of the goat-helmeted giant's companion to the

left.

46 Kraay 91.
47 Thessalian coinage, thought to begin ca. 500 B.C., features
the horse prominently, cf. Kraay 115. The horsehead also may
have served as a type of blazon. At Olympia was found a bronze

cut-out sheet (M 79) of the archaic period, in the shape of a

horsehead, now displayed in the museum there. Dr. Alfred Mall-

witz communicates (in a personal letter) that he believes the

piece could have been part of a shield device.

48 For Triton in art, cf. W. Roscher, Ausfuhrliches Lexikon der

41 Diodorus Siculus 4.15. Cf. Boardman (supra n. 35) 66, 69.

42 Tripod, nine examples, Vian 1951, nos. 111, 119, 125, 148,
150, 151, 299, 303, 309. I know of one instance where the tripod
occurs on the shield of Athena, on the amphora by the Lysippides Painter, London B 208, ABV 260, 29 (Schefold [supra n. 24]
pl. 59).
43 Cf. Chase (supra n. 23) nos. 121, 128, 3; 24 and 225.

griechischen und r6mischen Mythologie (Leipzig 1884-1937)

1150-1207; EAA s.v. Tritone. Herakles' struggle with a triton-

44 Cf. Kraay 45. The KavOapov is also said to be a type of

Naxian boat, cf. Aristophanes Peace 143. Perhaps this is a pun

wrestling the sea creature Triton, a struggle not recorded in our

literary sources. See, most recently, R. Glynn, "Herakles, Nereus
and Triton: A Study of Iconography in Sixth Century Athens,"
AJA 85 (1981) 121-32, who connects the scene with Peisistratid
maritime expansion to Sigeion in the Troad.

like Plut. Themistocles 11, where the Eretrians are compared to

cuttlefish, their coin device.

45 Kraay 45. The goat is L~ dlyptor, and in Apollodoros' version (1.6.2) of the gigantomachy, one of the two giants killed by
the Moirai (reconstructed as the opponents to the left of the goathelmeted giant by Mary B. Moore [supra n. 1] 321-33) is named
"Ayptov, so this may have been the goat-helmeted giant's name

on the frieze. The second giant in Apollodoros was Odwrvav,

like creature,
identified
asthe
Nereus
or century
"AhAovB.C.,
ypwv,
becomes
popularusually
in the second
half of
seventh
particularly on island gems and in Protocorinthian vase painting.
For the myth: Apollodoros, Bibl. 2.5.11. On Attic vase painting

and sculpture after ca. 560 B.C., however, Herakles is shown

49 Cf. L. Preller, Griechische Mythologie 15 (Berlin 1965) 598.

Coins of the Roman period from Tanagra show Triton, cf. F.
Imhoof-Blumer and P. Gardner, A Numismatic Commentary on
Pausanias (Reprint ed., Chicago 1964) 114; pl. 5.X, vii, viii.

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166 LIVINGSTON VANCE WATROUS [AJA 86

recorded by Hyginus, Astronomica
2.23.
The
tritonure who leads the gods
on the north
Siphnian
frieze
helmet on the north frieze
maythethen
to the
may represent
Spartan godallude
Karneios, his attribute
Boiotians. 50
having been derived either from Lakonian cult monuOne other figure, at the far right of the frieze, wears

a helmet bearing the head of a ram on the cheekpiece

(pl. 18, fig. 11). This warrior, who fights at the head
of the battle on the side of the gods, has been identified

variously as Briareos, one of the Dioskouroi, a Siph-

nian hero, the Titan Krios and, most recently, as

Okeanos.51 Since, like the giants, he wears hoplite armor and a Corinthian helmet, it is tempting to interpret the device on his helmet as one might the devices
of the giants. Contemporary coinage, however, provides no clues.
As this warrior is in the company of the gods, he is
most likely to be either a god or a hero. In the sixth
century, the ram's head is the attribute of two divinities, the Spartan god Karneios and his Dorian succes-

sor Apollo Karneios.52 The Greek word Karneios

means ram-like, and both gods have been associated
with archaic Lakonian cult monuments showing the

ments or, more likely, the contemporary helmets.

But why would figures identified with Paros, Ere-

tria, Naxos, Boiotia, Thessaly and the god Karneios

be represented on the north frieze?

We know that by ca. 530 B.C. several Peloponnesian states had come together into a league led by the
Spartans, who exhibited a consistent willingness to
overthrow tyrants.57 At the same time, the tyrant Pei-

sistratos of Athens had allied himself with certain

neighboring states which, we can be fairly certain,

were unfriendly to the Peloponnesian league. When
Peisistratos re-entered Attica about 545 B.C., he had
support from Eretria, horsemen from Thessaly, mon-

ey from Thebes and her Boiotian allies and troops

from Argos and Naxos.58

Once in power, Peisistratos strengthened his position. He saw his rivals, the Alkmaionidai, go into exile, and he set up Lygdamis as tyrant in Naxos. Lyg-

head or horns of a ram."5 On coins of the fifth century,

damis is thought to have gained control over the

Apollo Karneios is frequently shown with the horns

of a ram (pl. 18, fig. 12).54 Like the aggressive ram
which leads its flock, this god was regarded as a war
leader by the Dorians.55 In imitation of these deities,

neighboring islands, including Paros, converting them

warriors (probably Dorians) adopted a ram's head

cheekpiece for their helmets as early as the third quarter of the sixth century.56 Thus, the ram-helmeted fig50 Since Boiotian coinage did not begin until after 525, the
planner of the frieze may have turned to local mythology for his
image.

into dependencies.59 Peisistratos aided the sanctuary

of Apollo on Delos, probably about 540-530 B.C., at
a time when the temple of Apollo at Delphi was lying
in ruins (having burned down in 548 B.C.), and the
sanctuary was attempting to raise funds for its reconstruction.60 Attic cults were centralized in Athens unund anderen griechischen Miinzen," SNR 21 (1917) 5-9, pl. 1.

51 Briareos: Picard and de la Coste-Messeliere (supra n. 1) 91

Imhoof-Blumer lists 22 city-states which use Apollo Karneios on

their coinage during the Classical or Hellenistic period, including
Metapontion, Katane, Knossos, Arkadia (Crete), Tenos, Kyzikos,
Mytilene, and Kyrene.

16) 334-35, n. 111. On the basis of his helmet, Korres identifies

the figure as the Titan Krios (Hesiod, Theogony 134). If Korres
is correct, on analogy with Kantharos, the figure's painted name

55 Cf. Farnell 4 (supra n. 29; Oxford 1907) 131-35, 259-63.

At Argos, Apollo Karneios was called 'Hyrop, Leader, because
Karnos led the army (i.e., the Dorians when they entered the
Peloponnesos), cf. Paus. 3.13.4.

and 96; Dioskouroi or a Siphnian hero: Vian 1952, 111-12;

Krios: Korres (supra n. 28) 84-87; Okeanos: Moore (supra n.

would have been KPIOL.

56 Three helmets are known from Olympia, and one from Lo52 Cf. Korres (supra n. 28) 1-12.
kroi in South Italy, cf. E. Kunze, OlBer 8 (Berlin 1967) 160-66,
53 Apollo Karneios appropriated the epithet of the earlier
godB 2798, B 4446, B 4914 and Naples Museum 5737; Korres
nos.
Karneios, cf. M. Nilsson, Geschichte der griechischen Religion
1 n. 28) 50-53.
(supra
(Munich 1955) 531-33. Kdpvrlol is thought to be derived from
57 Cf. L. Jeffery, Archaic Greece (London 1976) 120-23, on
Kapvor, a ram. In Sparta, the god KadpveLos was worshipped
thein
Peloponnesian league in the sixth century. The Spartans are
the house of Kpodsv (=Ram), according to Paus. 3.133.
said to have overthrown a Sikyonian tyrant ca. 556 B.C.; they
Cult monuments: from Phlomochori, a seventh centuryattempted
pyto evict Polykrates of Samos in 525, and were more
ramidal herm with the head of a ram: C. Le Roy, "Lakonia
II,"
successful
with Lygdamis of Naxos shortly thereafter, and with
BCH 89 (1965) 371-76; a ram-headed herm from Passava (near
Hippias in Athens in 510.
58 Hdt. 1.61.
Gytheion), near where Apollo Karneios was worshipped (Paus.
3.24.5): B. Schr6der, "Archaische Skulpturen aus Lakonien und
59 In the later sixth century Naxos controlled the neighboring

der Maina," AthMitt 29 (1904) 21-24; and from Sparta aislands,

late
cf. Jeffery (supra n. 57) 181-83; A. Andrewes, The
Greek
Tyrants
(New York 1963) 123. Paros was also a depensixth century inscription, recording a dedication to KdpvwEo[Il],

with the horns of a ram carved above the inscription: A. Wooddency of Naxos after 517 (Hdt. 5.31.2).
ward, "Laconia. I.-Excavations, 1909," BSA 15 (1908-1909)
60 There is no record of Peisistratos having contributed to the
Delphic sanctuary; in fact, Philochoros records a rumor that the
54 Cf. F. Imhoof-Blumer, "Apollon Karneios auf kyrenaischen
temple had been burnt by the Peisistratidai (F. Jacoby, FGH I

81-85.

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1982] THE SCULPTURAL PROGRAM OF THE SIPHNIAN TREASURY AT DELPHI 167

der his control.61 He also collected written oracles

oncarried by Herakles.66 As is conventional
tripod
the Akropolis,62 and some of them were certainly
not
pedimental scenes, Zeus, the central figure, faces
Delphic, for we know that one of the members
of Peivictor
Apollo who will retain the tripod, the sign of
sistratos' court, Onomakritos (a collector andoracular
reciter power. This scene is based on a story

of oracles), was in the habit of inventing hisHerakles

own.63 had come to Delphi for a prophecy (or p
This local oracular activity under Peisistratosfication),
appears and had been refused by the oracle, wh
to be an attempt to consolidate religious authority in
upon he had violently carried off the tripod in orde
Athens at the expense of Delphi.64 We may suppose,
establish an oracular shrine of his own. Thus ensu
as a result, that the Delphic oracle was not kindly disthe struggle over the tripod. Apollo was said to
posed to the Athenian tyrant.65

retrieved the tripod through the interventio

The conflict to which the gigantomachyZeus.67
on the

north frieze alludes may now be clear. On one side of

The scene of the struggle for the tripod first
the conflict the arrogant giants are identified with the
pears in vase painting after 560 B.C.,68 but only
allies of Peisistratos, Eretria, Thessaly, Naxos, Paros
(probably a Naxian dependency) and Boiotia. comes
On the popular after the erection of the Treasury p
other side the gods are led into battle by the ment,
Spartan which inspired a long series of Attic
paintings.69
divinity Karneios.
If Boardman's connection of Herakles and Peisistratos is accepted, then perhaps the pediment of the

EAST PEDIMENT

Siphnian Treasury may be interpreted as a reference

tothe
the contemporary
rivalry between Peisistratos (HePeisistratos himself may be alluded to on
promrakles)
and Delphi
(Apollo), and to the tyrant's atinent east pediment of the Treasury. In the
center
of

the scene (pl. 19, fig. 13), Zeus physicallytempt

intervenes
to usurp the god's authority by setting up a riin the struggle for the Delphic tripod, grasping
the
val oracular
establishment at Athens. In the pediarm of Apollo (who is assisted by Artemis)
and
ment,
thethe
outcome of the rivalry is made explicit by
395 no. 70 = Schol. Pindar, Pythian 7.9). While there is no 63

Hdt. 7.6.

reason to take Philochoros' statement literally, it does probably 64 Earlier in the century the tyrant Kleisthenes had established
point to an antagonism between the sanctuary and the tyrant.

Pythian games at Sikyon to rival those at Delphi: cf. Parke

Before the discovery of an inscription (R. Meiggs and D. (supra n. 60) 138-40.
Lewis, Greek Historical Inscriptions [Oxford 1969] 9-12) which 65 Cf. similar conclusions in Parke (supra n. 60) 135-36, and
gives [K]AfLO0&v[ev] as an Athenian archon in 525/4, it had been G. Forrest, "The First Sacred War," BCH 80 (1956) 37.
assumed that the Alkmaionidai had been in continuous exile

66 The scene was first correctly identified by B.S. Ridgway in

until the expulsion of Hippias. This new archon list suggests

"The East Pediment of the Siphnian Treasury: A Reinterpreta-

that after Peisistratos' death in 528 there was a temporary tion,"

am- AJA 69 (1965) 1-5.
nesty of uncertain duration. There is reason to believe that the
67 E.g., Plut. De E apud Delphos 6.387D; Paus. 3.21.8; ApolAlkmaionidai were in Delphi both before 528 and 510. Alkmaion
lodoros 2.6.2. A complete list is given and discussed by J. Dewas influential at Delphi in the mid-century before the exile
of
fradas,
in Les Thames de la propagande delphique (Paris 1972)
the Alkmaionidai (Hdt. 1.64), and according to Attic fourth cen126-59, who points out that the story is most probably Delphic

tury sources (Isokrates 15.232; Demosthenes 21.144; Ath.inPol.

origin.
19.2), they had the contract for the temple's reconstruction before
68 See, e.g., Attic pyxis in Boston 61.1256 (ABV 66, 11), the
Leipsydrion in 513, and completed the temple after the expulsion
earliest known example, ca. 560-550 B.C., and the black figure

of Hippias, cf. H.W. Parke, A History of the Delphic Oracle

neck-amphora, Vatican 16597. Cf. D. von Bothmer, "The Strug-

(Oxford 1939) 164-66. An Alkmaionid presence at Delphi would

gle for the Tripod," in Festschrift fiir Frank Brommer (Mainz
explain the curious absence of any pro-Peisistratid oracles from
1977) 52, nos. 1, 2; Boardman (supra n. 62) 229 n. 4.
Delphi, and Peisistratos' coldness toward the sanctuary.
A dedication of a sculptural group of Herakles, Apollo, Arte61 Sanctuaries of Demeter Eleusinia in the Agora, of Artemis
mis and Athena at Sikyon during the reign of the early sixth
Brauronia on the Akropolis, and of Dionysos Eleuthereus south
century tyrant Kleisthenes has been interpreted as a reference to
of the Akropolis were established after the mid-sixth century
the First Sacred War (ca. 595-586 B.C.) in which Krisa conB.C.: cf. Travlos 198, 124 and 537. The wide extent to which
tended with Delphi (aided by Sikyon) for control of the sancthe Greeks used cult and mythology for political purposes tuary,
was cf. H. Parke and J. Boardman, "The Struggle for the
first described by M. Nilsson, Cults, Myths, Oracles, Politics
in and the First Sacred War," JHS 77 (1957) 276-82.
Tripod
Ancient Greece (Lund 1951). For Peisistratos' use of "ReligionsAfter the Athenian evacuation of Boiotia in 446, Thebes ispolitik," see most recently F. Kolb, "Bau-, Religions-, und Kulsued a stater with the Theban Herakles carrying off the Delphic
turpolitik der Peisistratiden," JdI 92 (1977) 113-33. Shrine
of which Kraay (111) has interpreted as a reference to the
tripod,
Apollo Pythios: Thucydides 6.54.
newly won independence of Boiotia and the freeing of the Del-

62 Hdt. 5.90. Cf. J. Boardman, "Herakles, Delphi, and Kleiphic sanctuary from Athenian control.

sthenes," RA 1978, 234.

69 Von Bothmer (supra n. 68) 52-63.

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168 LIVINGSTON VANCE WATROUS [AJA 86

the intervention of Zeus, tified

whose
will
Apollo
propheas the
Judgment
of Paris,
on the basis of i
sies. The scene provides a visual
the
sion into justification
three equal units-afor
chariot
group of
oracular authority of Delphi,
as
do
certain
literary
na, a chariot group of Aphrodite, and a similar

passages."

Support for this interpretation comes from the numerous Attic vase paintings which have this scene as

of Hera postulated on the missing block-a

presence of exotic palm fronds on block Q

which the foreigner Paris would sit.75 The Jud

their subject. With few exceptions, the Athenian

of Paris is a popular subject in sixth centur

vases, including a typical example by the Andokides

Painter (pl. 19, fig. 14), give a decidedly different emphasis to the struggle.7" Gone is the interfering Zeus,

painting, and it is frequently depicted on one s

the vessel as a thematic counterpart to the scene
other side. The opposite scene is often underst

and Athena is now present at the side of a trium-

an outcome of Paris' judgment, notably some

War episode, and the final return of Helen to

phant-looking Herakles who dominates the scene.72

In some cases, Zeus is literally replaced by Athena,
who is interposed between Apollo and Herakles.73 Or
Athena may actually join in the tug-of-war, helping
Herakles to pull the tripod away from Apollo.74 The
Attic vases cannot be reconciled with the preserved
(Delphic) literary tradition of the encounter, and may
record an Athenian version of the story.

laos after the war.76 Certainly Paris was held

esteem in the Iliad. In addition to being regard
responsible for the war, he was accused of being

lator of guest friendship and a womanizer.

24.28-30, the poet refers specifically to his judg

". .. because of the delusion of Paris

who insulted the goddesses when they came to h

his courtyard

and favored her who supplied the lust that led to

disaster."78

WEST FRIEZE

The disaster
of the
war was the result of the blindness
The west and south friezes amplify the
themes
of

the east pediment and the north frieze (tI7r)

by illustrating
of Paris. Like hubris, ate is a concept closely
other epic deeds which were offensive to
the gods
connected
in theand
archaic period with divine retribuincurred their retribution.
tion. Ate is the blindness of men which causes them to
The scene on the west frieze has usually
been idenact recklessly,
provoking god-sent disaster.79 The
70 This same idea is expressed in the sixth century Homeric
Hymn to Hermes 533-38, by Apollo:
Mightiest one and cherished by Zeus, it is not the

divine will

for you or any other immortal to know the divination

you are asking about. The mind of Zeus knows this.

For my part,
I pledged and agreed and then swore a mighty oath
that except for me, none of the eternal gods
would know the inscrutable will of Zeus.

Translation, A. Athanassakis, The Homeric Hymns (Baltimore

1976). For the Delphic manipulation of literature, cf. Defradas
(supra n. 67).
71 It is important to remember that the version of a mythological story preserved to us may not have been necessarily the only

current one. Pausanias records many local variants (usually in

some way favorable to that area) of a given story, cf., e.g., infra

n. 100. These variations may be in many cases the outcome of

rivalries between cities.

72 In von Bothmer's list (supra n. 68) 52-60, of 156 scenes on

vases which chronologically follow the erection of the Delphi
pediment, only five (nos. 11-15) depict Zeus.
73 E.g., r.f. pelike, Villa Giulia 50755 (ARV2 204, 111) by the
Berlin Painter; r.f. amphora, Vatican 16513 (AR V2 296, 1) by
the Troilos Painter; von Bothmer (supra n. 68) nos. 20, 21.
74 E.g., neck-amphora in Basel, by the Antimenes Painter
(ARV2 269, 41).
75 Picard and de la Coste-Messelibre (supra n. 1) 140-43; de la

Coste-Messeliere (supra n. 1) 398-412; B.S. Ridgway, "The

West Frieze of the Siphnian Treasury," BCH 86 (1962) 24-35,

where the identification of the palm leaves is questioned. The
identification of the scene remains insecure, cf. Ridgway, The
Archaic Style in Greek Sculpture (Princeton 1977) 269-70 and n.
25, where she suggests that Aphrodite might be holding her
chariot reins (instead of her necklace). In a more recent inspection of the frieze, Ridgway noted the red trace of the reins twist-

ed around the chariot pole, which eliminates this possibility. I.

Raab, Zu den Darstellungen des Parisurteils in der griechischen
Kunst (Frankfort 1972) 193-95, also does not consider the identification of the west frieze secure.

76 E.g., Trojan war: departure of warriors, tripod kothon,

Louvre F 151; E. Pottier, Catalogue des vases antiques de terre
cuite (Paris 1896-1906) 773; battle over a fallen warrior, amphora in Taranto, Mus. Naz. 65, A. Rumpf, Chalkidische Vasen
(Berlin 1927) 26, no. 108; battle scene, Chigi vase, Villa Giulia
22679, H. Payne, Protokorinthische Vasenmalerei (Berlin 1933)
14, pls. 27-29; Return of Helen to Menelaos, neck-amphora,

London B 237 (CVA III He. pl. 58, 1). See C. Clairmont, Das

Parisurteil in der antiken Kunst (Zurich 1951) 97-100 for a full

list.

77 II. 3.87, 99-100; 13.620-27; 3.38-57.

78 Translation R. Lattimore, The Iliad of Homer (Chicago
1951).
79 Another famous example of ate occurs in book 1 of the Iliad
when Agamemnon decides in anger to take Briseis from Achilles.
Achilles withdraws from the war, and the Greeks begin to lose.

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1982] THE SCULPTURAL PROGRAM OF THE SIPHNIAN TREASURY AT DELPHI 169

scene of the Judgment of Paris on the west matically.83

frieze,
In Homer, however, Paris' abductio
then, may be understood as an illustration of Helen
ate.s0 did not take place in a sanctuary, nor was

accomplished by force, but rather by mutual con

SOUTH FRIEZE

as several passages imply.84 It is only in the fifth

The south frieze is usually reconstructed
as an
ab-the abduction is reinterpreted by the
tury,
when

duction and long procession.81 Five fragments

are the subject is depicted on vases
matists, that
preserved: K (pl. 20, fig. 16), a horseman rape."8
and a second
horse; L (pl. 21, fig. 18), a chariot team, and
a horse- of the frieze have proceeded on
Past reconstructions
man leading another horse; M (pl. 21, fig.the
17),
a charassumption
that blocks K and L belong together,

iot team before an altar; N (pl. 21, fig.

a man
and19),
that K,
L and M are part of the same processtepping into a chariot while carrying asion.86
woman,
and
This positioning
can be disproved by looking at
0, the head and upper torso of a woman who
looks
toin K (pl. 20, fig. 16) and L (pl. 21,
the horses'
hoofs
the right, with the tresses of a second woman
prefig. 18). In K,
all the hoofs touch the ground. This can
served to the left (ill. 2). Fragment K, which
forms
be seen
clearlythe
on the lead horse, whose four hoofs are
right corner of the frieze, is the only block
whoseThe
posipreserved.
horses' hoofs in K are in the same potion is certain. While no identification of the
sitionscene
as thoseon
in M, where the horses have one front

the south frieze has been universally accepted,

and one rear hoofthe
flat on the ground, and the tip of one
most common suggestion is the Dioskouroi's
abducfront and
one rear hoof touching the ground-they
tion of the Leukippidai.82
are stationary."7 In L (pl. 21, fig. 18), each horse has
But there are difficulties with this identification.
It two hoofs high off the ground-the
two hoofs on and
requires the restoration of a second abduction
in the
group is trotting.
The difference between K and L is
frieze, resulting in a single long procession
consisting
also apparent
in the horsemen. In L, the rider's leg is
of two abductions and at least four mounted
bent andgroups.
hugs the horse, so that the calf muscles are

Such a unified procession, however, istense.

unparalleled
In K, the horseman sits upright on his horse, his
elsewhere on the building. By comparison,
the west
leg hanging
loosely at the horse's side. Such a procesand east friezes are clearly divided into parts,
andthe
the
sion in which
middle horses are trotting, while the
north is broken into groups of combatants.
More
re- remain stationary, is distinctly
lead and
rear horses
cently, Paris' abduction of Helen has been
suggested
implausible.
as the subject of the frieze, which would have
the order
ad- of the blocks, starting from the
The proper
vantage of linking the south, east and west
friezes
theright,
is likely
to be K, M, N, O and L (ill. 2).88 In
Agamemnon later (19.137) admits his responsibility for the turn
of the war, saying, "But since I was blinded by ate and Zeus took
away my understanding, I am willing to make my peace and give

abundant compensation." Translation by E.R. Dodds, The

Greeks and the Irrational (Berkeley 1951) 3, with a discussion of

ate on pp. 2-8.

80 As the judgment in the Iliad is regarded, cf. J. Bremer,

Hamartia (Amsterdam 1969) 104. So Helen says, in 6.355-58,
that her dishonor and the blind act of Paris were their destiny,

sent by Zeus so that they would set an example in song for

future generations.

81 Picard and de la Coste-Messelibre (supra n. 1) 126-29; G.

Daux and P. de la Coste-Messelibre, "La frise du tr6sor de

Siphnos," BCH 51 (1927) 45-50; de la Coste-Messeliere (supra

n. 1) 360-80.
82 T. Homolle, BCH 20 (1896) 586; Picard and de la CosteMesseliere (supra n. 1) 128-29.
83 Cf. C. Clairmont, JHS 79 (1959) 211-12.
84 11. 3.173-75, 441-46; 24.25-30.
85 I.e., Aeschylus, Agamemnon 60, 534-36, and 701-704.
86 Daux and de la Coste-Messelibre (supra n. 81) 46-47.
87 Compare the horses in block M to the stationary chariot
team on a cup by Oltos in London: ARV2 58, 51; von Bothmer
(supra n. 24) pl. 68, 4. The similarity between the two sets of

horses extends to their pose, the zigzag outline of their tails, and
the skin folds on either side of their front legs. Perhaps Oltos had
the west Siphnian frieze in mind.

88 The position and spacing of the blocks on the south frieze

are dictated to some extent by the two leftmost blocks of the
Lesbian moulding which ran above the frieze, and the traces of
the lateral edge of the Lesbian blocks on the top of the frieze
blocks O, M and L; cf. Daux and de la Coste-Messeliere (supra
n. 81) 46-50. Once L is moved to the left side of the frieze, it
must stand within 0.14 m. of its restored position so that its trace

will align with the known position of the Lesbian moulding

above. Block O, with its trace of the Lesbian moulding, almost

certainly goes to the left of N which has no trace. Separating the

two would require six crowning blocks, which is impossible,

according to the publication.

Blocks O and N could be restored to the left of K, with M in
the center of the frieze, but this is unlikely because it would place

the fleeing women in O in the middle of the abductors' party,

running toward the figure in M. The women in O, running from
the abductors, are more probably to be placed in the center, thus
naturally dividing the two hostile groups on the frieze. So, too,

the focus of the scene, the actual abduction depicted on N, be-

longs in the center of the frieze.

The spacing between blocks K and M is dictated by the

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170 LIVINGSTON VANCE WATROUS [AJA 86

block N, the woman beingto
abducted
is looking back
this identification.
In scenes
(which makes no sense in the
traditional
reconstructtiope
can usually
be identified

ed position, at the far left of

frieze)
her companbythe
her
dress,at
consisting
of a lea

ion in 0, and at the approaching

in L. This
is
bow orriders
even hoplite
armor.94
I
evident from the outline of
the
break where
her head
her
rescuers
are shown,
they

joined the wall of the relief

(pl. 21,
fig.
andnot
the
mounted
or
on 19),
foot,95
a mou
Fleeing
women,
position of her left arm andL.
the
sleeveunarmed
of her chiton.
In as o
vase painting, this is the normal
forof
the
abducted
cur inpose
scenes
Antiope's
abdu
female (pl. 21, fig. 20). It isare
probable
the abductor
found that
in scenes
of the Rape
The account
reconstructed scene
on the
southfrontalfrieze best
also looks back, which would
for
his

ity. His companion on block

has of
one
foot
the
matches M
the details
Theseus'
Rape ofin
Helen.96
chariot, holds the paintedTheseus
reins
in
his left
hand,
and
and his
companion
Peirithoos
swore an oath
may look backward at thetoabduction,
does
the Peisteal for themselvesas
Helen
and Persephone,
the
rithoos on the London vase.89
the which
frieze
is didaughtersThus,
of Zeus, a decision
led to their
imvided into two groups (likeprisonment
the east
frieze):
abducin Hades.
They wentthe
to Sparta,
where

tors, and an approaching rescue

party,
fleethey stole Helen
from thewith
sanctuarythe
of Artemis
Oring women in between. The
then
be reconthia,scene
in which a may
festival was
being celebrated.97
A resstructed as follows, from cue
left
right:
[chariot],90
L,
partyto
pursued
them as far
as Tegea, but was then
[horseman], O, N, M and K
(ill. 2).After
Happily
comoutdistanced.98
their arrival the
in Attica,
Theseus

position of this reconstruction

be
paralleled
in
and Peirithoos,can
in order
to steal
Persephone, jourvase painting, in scenes of
Rape
oftrapped
Helen,
neyedTheseus'
down to Hades, where
they were
on

and in the Rape of Antiope.91

An
example A
of
the
latter
the throne
of forgetfulness.99
party
of Lakedaimoscene is illustrated here (pl.
15) to
nians20,
led by fig.
Helen's brothers,
the show
Dioskouroi, how
came
the south frieze may have tobeen
organized.
Attica, where,
although not finding Theseus (for he
The Rape of Antiope waswas
excluded
Costeimprisoned in by
Hades),de
theyla
recovered
Helen,
Messelibre as a possible subject
the
south
frieze
bewho had of
become
pregnant
by Theseus.100
In Plu-

cause in vase paintings Theseus

and
Peirithoos
are
tarch's biography,
Theseus
(31), the rape of Helen
is
shown armed.92 To be sure,
Antiosaidin
to bethe
one of abduction
the worst crimes ofof
which
Theseus
pe on the Eretria pediment,
Theseus
unarmed
and
was accused.
This storyis
of Theseus'
abduction of
Helpartially nude.93 There are,
however,
other
objections
en first
occurs in Peloponnesian
art'01
in the late sevnecessity of restoring the hindquarters of the horse with rider on 95 E.g., the Eretria pediment, and a psykter by Myson, deK, and the righthand portion of the altar on M. There must bescribed by von Bothmer (supra n. 24) 129, no. 10.
sufficient space between M and N for the charioteer of M and 96 The story was known by the epic poets, Alkman, Stesichoros,
the horse team of N. Between blocks O and L there must be
Pindar and others. Homer's knowledge of Theseus' rape of Helroom for the companion of the woman on 0, and for the horseen has been inferred by Ghali-Kahil (supra n. 91) 305-306, from
whose tail appears at the right edge of L.
the scholiasts' comments on II. 3.143-44. Alkman and Pindar =
89 Cf. Peirithoos in the abduction of Antiope on the amphora in Paus. 1.41.5; Stesichoros = Paus. 2.22.7.

Naples by the Leagros Group and the Antiope Painter (ABV 97 Paus. 2.22.7.

367, 93; von Bothmer [supra n. 24] pl. 68, 1).

98 Plut. Theseus 31.

90 The riderless horse on block L could, however, like the 99 This is the end of Theseus which Homer knows, cf. Od.
similar horse on K, suggest that some of its party are on foot.11.361. The story of Herakles' subsequent rescue of Theseus is
Perhaps the gap to the left of block L included a rider and thought to be an Athenian invention, written some time after ca.
unmounted rescuers.
550 B.C., cf. H. Lloyd-Jones, "Herakles at Eleusis," Maia 19
91 Cf. L. Ghali-Kahil, Les enlvements et le retour d'Hle'ne(1967) 206-29; J. Boardman, "Herakles, Peisistratos and Eleu(Paris 1955) 1, 310-11; 2, pls. 102, 1 and 103, 1 by the Leagrossis," JHS 95 (1975) 9-10.
Group (ABV 363, 44; 361, 12); 102, 2 (ARV 162, 11) and 104, 1oo Kypria frag. 11, H. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric
3 (ARV 164); von Bothmer (supra n. 24) 124-30, pl. 67, 3 Hymns and Homerica (Loeb edition, Cambridge, Mass. 1922)
(b.f. hydria, New York 12.198.3) 68, 1 (ABV 367, 93), 68, 4501. During the Peloponnesian war when the Spartans invaded

(AR V2 58, 51).

Attica, they left Dekeleia unharmed on the pretext that the De92 De la Coste-Messeliere (supra n. 1) 376.
keleians had helped the Dioskouroi to find Helen when they had
93 Illustrated, e.g., in R. Lullies and M. Hirmer, Greek Sculp-come to Attica (Hdt. 9.73). Paus. 2.22.6 says that according to
ture (New York 1960) pls. 66-68.
the Argives, Helen bore Iphigenia by Theseus.
94 Antiope, with jacket: Eretria pediment; bow and trousers: 101 Protocorinthian aryballos: Louvre CA 617, Kahil (supra n.
Oltos cups (AR V2 58, 51; 62, 77, the latter here pl. 20, fig. 15;91) pl. 100; Kypselos chest: Paus. 5.19.2-3; Amyklai throne:

hoplite armor: Attic b.f. amphora (AB V 37, 93), von Bothmer (su-Paus. 3.18.15; two sixth century shieldbands from Olympia: E.
pra n. 24) pl. 68, 1.
Kunze, "Archaische Schildbander," OlForsch 2 (Berlin 1950)

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1982] THE SCULPTURAL PROGRAM OF THE SIPHNIAN TREASURY AT DELPHI 171

enth century and is known in the sixth century.

Thus
into
two worlds, of immortal gods and of men,
it is most likely Peloponnesian in origin.102 The
epi-and surely comes from Homer, where the
new,

sion
is consistently used as a narrative device. B
sode, never very popular in Attic vase painting,103
first

appeared there in the late sixth century as an abducis not just a literary convention. It reflects the ep
tion in a chariot (pl. 21, fig. 20), perhaps under sion
the inof gods and men who by virtue of their dif
fluence of the Siphnian Treasury frieze.
natures belong to separate stations in life.'0

The details of the story can be recognized on

the
Coste-Messeliere
suggested that the scene migh
south frieze of the Siphnian Treasury. Perhaps,resent
then, a typical assembly of the gods with no p
we may identify the riders on block L as the Dioskoular episode intended, or perhaps Thetis' supplic

of Zeus
in Book I of the Iliad.'07 While Hom
roi and the Spartan pursuers, the women on block
O
as the companions of Helen, the figures on block
N as no specific assembly of the gods durin
scribed
Theseus and Helen, the charioteer on block M battle
as Pei- over Sarpedon, Zeus and Hera watche

rithoos, and the horseman on block K as the lead

fig- from Olympos (16.431-61), and Zeus o
battle
ure of the Athenian raiding party. The altar onApollo
block (16.666-75) to recover the body of Sarpe
M places the abduction in the sanctuary of Artemis
Perhaps we may assume that during the battle
Orthia, and serves to emphasize the impiety of
the
Sarpedon
the gods are understood to be gather

deed. On block L the lead horse wears a wreath.

Olympos,
Just
as was their custom.
as Helen's companion on block O wears a diadem,The
the east frieze is the earliest known represen
horse may have been part of the celebration at
ofthe
the Greek gods seated in formal assembly on
sanctuary.
pos, just as described in the Iliad.0os In Homer

gods assemble primarily to decide upon the fat

mankind,109 which may explain why they are

EAST FRIEZE

bled on the frieze. Zeus, who sits on an elab

The subject matter and compositionthrone
of the while
east the other gods are provided

frieze are new in archaic art, probably stools,110

because they
separates the two divine factions, and
were freshly derived from Homer. It is now
generally
toward
the battle scene on the right.
agreed that the frieze depicts two scenes from
the
Il- half of the frieze, three Trojan
On the
right

iad, on the left the assembly of the gods,

andfight
on the
riors
three Greeks over the body of a fallen
lite. In the past this scene had been identified
right the battle over the body of Sarpedon.
battle
over
Patroklos described in Iliad 17, beca
On the left side of the frieze, the goas,
aiviaea
Dy
the pro-Trojan or pro-Greek loyalties which
they dis- of this episode in the poem and
the importance

play in the Iliad, face each other and argue

chaicover
vasethe
painting."'I With Mastrokostas' readi
outcome of the battle in Homeric fashion.104
The
gods on the frieze, it is now apparen
Glaukos' name
are larger in scale than the mortals on thethis
right
of
ishalf
probably
the battle over Sarpedon (1
665).12 of
Sixasof the warriors can be named with
the frieze, for in Homer the gods are spoken

large and mighty.'05 This unique division of the frieze

confidence: from the left, [FIALAA]YK O(, Gla
pls. 63, no. B 1011; 65, no. B 425.
102 Kahil (supra n. 91) 309-12.

Cambridge (CVA, Cambridge 1, pl. 16, 1). But the vase pain
just as likely to be an adaptation of the frieze.

103 Kahil (supra n. 91) pls. 103, 1; 102, 1 and 108E.g.,

2, lists three
1.530-600. The gods came together for v

probable Attic examples from the sixth century:

hydria, British
events-the
marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the birth of A
Mus. B 310 (ABV 361, 12), here pl. 21; hydria, and
Paris,
Nat.
theBibl.
introduction
of Herakles-in black figure vase pa
256 (ABV 363, 44); hydria, Berlin F 2175 (AR V
162, 11).
earlier
than the Delphi frieze, but the first seated assembly
104 11. 7.442-44; 24.22-76; 1.533-83.
gods appears after 530 B.C. on an amphora by Exekias
105 Ifyav 0ebV, 5.434; 7.200; 16.531; 18.292; 19.410;
vieto20.73.
(ABV 144, 9), cf. H. Knell, Die Darstellung der G6tt
106 Thus the immortal gods sit together at ease on
Olympos,in
and
sammlung
der attischen Kunst des VI u. V Jahrhunde
watch men fight and die below. For this ironic Homeric
juxtapoChr. (Diss.
Freiburg 1965) 55-61.
sition of gods and men, cf. H. Frankel, Early Greek
109 11.
Poetry
4.1-10;
and
20.1-23; 24.21-76.

Philosophy (trans. M. Hadas and J. Willis, New

110 York
Cf. II.1975)
1.533-36 where each god sits upon a seat,

53-64, and Jaeger (supra n. 6) 50-54.

while Zeus is provided with a throne, Opdvov.

107 De la Coste-Messeli're (supra n. 1) 339, and

354-59. (supra
His
"I Homolle
n. 82) 586-87; F. Poulsen, Delphi (Lo

identification of the scene as Thetis' supplication1920)

of Zeus
120.is based
on the similarity between the east frieze and the
on an (supra n. 21) 74-76.
112 group
Mastrokostas

Attic hydria dated ca. 520-510 B.C., by the Leagros Group, in

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172 LIVINGSTON VANCE WATROUS [AJA 86

(AENIA, Aineas (retrograde);
Hektor;
the assembled [EKTIOP,
gods appear on the same
frieze beside
medon
(retrograde);Menelaos;
and POT(EN,NOAEMOTYA,
Nestor (retroMENE[AAO.],

grade). Two names are not preserved, those of the fal-

Auto-

the Death of Sarpedon, for it is only in the Homeric

contrast between gods and men that man's proper

place is made explicit.

len warrior and the second Greek. Glaukos, Sarpedon's closest companion (16.490-510), plays a crucial
role in the battle over his body (16.508-62, 593-603),
making it likely that this is the battle depicted on the
frieze. The nameless Greek warrior would then be

Finally, if we look at all the scenes on the Siphnian

Treasury, there does appear to be a principle governing their placement. Entering the sanctuary from the
southeast, one would first see the prominent east pediPatroklos, whose position next to Automedon agreesment; if it is correct to assume that it alludes to the

with Automedon's role as his charioteer (16.219,current rivalry between Delphi and Peisistratos, the
684). As a final argument, in similar vase paintings of
episode would be the historical starting point for the
the battle over Patroklos, the dead Patroklos is shownremaining Treasury scenes. On the east facade of the
naked, whereas here the fallen warrior wears hisTreasury, where a comparison of scenes is possible,

armor.113

the example of hubris on the pediment above, and the

The battle scene on the east frieze is also a first ofillustration of man's mortality on the frieze below
its kind. As already mentioned, representations of epic
may have been intended as an instructive contrast.
battles over a fallen warrior, when they can be identiProceeding up the Sacred Way, the visitor would see

fied, usually depict the important struggle over Patronext the gigantomachy on the north frieze, which may
klos and his glorious armor.14 The east frieze is theallude to the wider conflict between the Peloponnefirst depiction of the battle over Sarpedon, a relatively
sian league and the tyrant's allies. On the west and
minor contest in the Iliad. In composition, however,south sides, the Judgment of Paris and the Rape of
the battle differs little from earlier such scenes. TheHelen elaborated on the central theme by depicting

innovation here seems to be the choice of Sarpedon,other famous mythological examples of mortal folly.
the dead central figure. Unlike Patroklos, Sarpedon Considering this unity of theme and organization, we
was killed in battle through no fault of his own. Even
may wish to consider the possibility that the sculpthough he was a beloved son of Zeus, he was mortal,tural scenes were planned by the local priesthood in
and fated to die at Troy. Thus, in a memorable scene
conjunction with the commissioned sculptors to justify

(16.432-49), Zeus considered whether to save him,

the pre-eminent authority of the oracular sanctuary of
but finally acquiesced to his death, while he wept
Delphic Apollo.
tears of blood. The death of Sarpedon, which even

Zeus had to accept, is thus one of the most dramatic

DEPARTMENT OF ART HISTORY

examples of mortal destiny in the Iliad. If this is why STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT
the episode was chosen, the scene would resemble an
BUFFALO
apologia for man's mortality. Perhaps, for this reason, BUFFALO, NEW YORK 14260
113 Battle over Patroklos: see, e.g., Tyrrhenian neck-amphora in
Early Greek Art (Copenhagen 1967) 191-200; Schefold (supra n.

Karlsruhe B 2423 (ABV 100, 65); Exekias krater in Athens,

24) 223-29.
Agora Mus. AP 1044 (ABV 145, 19), and the Oltos cup in114 Discussed by Johansen (supra n. 113).
Berlin 2264 (ARV 60, 64), K. Friis Johansen, The Iliad in

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WATROUS PLATE I 7

FIG. I. Giant Kantharos, North frieze. (From FIG. 2. Naxian stater, ca. 550 B.C

Kennedy, The Treasury of the Siphnians at Delphi Greek Coins pl. 162.523)
pl. 48)

FIG. 3. Giant's helmet with goat horns, North FIG. 4. Parian stater, ca. 550 B.C. (From Kraay,
frieze. (From Kennedy, Treasury pl. 45) Greek Coins pl. 62.530)

FIG. 5. Giant's helmet with cow horns, North frieze FIG. 6. Eretrian tetradrachm, ca. 525 B.C. (From
Kraay, Greek Coins p1. I2I.368)
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PLATE I 8 WATROUS

FIG. 7. Giant's helmet with horsehead, North FIG. 8. Thessalian drachm, ca. 350 B.C. (From

frieze. (From de la Coste-Messeli re, Delphes pl. Kraay, Greek Coins pl. 146.468)

87)

FIG. 9. Giant Laertas, North frieze. (From FIG. 10. Herakles and Triton. (Courtesy Metropolitan Museum,

Kennedy, Treasury pl. 56) o6.Io21.48, Rogers Fund 1906)

FIG. I I. Ram-helmeted figure (cast), North frieze FIG. I 2. Apollo Karneios, Stater, Metapontion, ca.

420-400 B.C. (From Kraay, Greek Coins p. 82.

233)
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WATROUS PLATE 19

..........

TV

1w

. ....... ...

?NW ... . .... . ... .

FIG. 13. Siphnian Treasury, East pediment. (From de la Coste-Messeli re, Delphes pl. 91)

i-iiii i-iiP?7 is

FIG. 14. Struggle for the Tripod, Andokides Painter. (Courtesy Metropolitan Museum, 63.1 1.6, Pulitzer

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PLATE 20 WATROUS

FIG.15. Oltos cup. Courtesy

Ashmolean Museum 1927

FIG. 16. Block K, South frieze. (From Picard and de la

Coste-Messelibre. FdD 4.2, pl. 5o)

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WATROUS PLATE 2 I

FIG. 17. Block M, South frieze.

(From de la Coste-Messeliere,
Delphes pl. 72)

FIG. 18. Block L, South frieze. (From de la Coste-Messelibre, Delphes

FIG. 19. Block N, South frieze. (From Kennedy, Treasury pl. 46)

(From Ghali-Kahil, Enl.vements

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