Pompē, Peplos, Poikilia: Picturing the Panathenaia on an Athenian Amphora

Abstract

An Athenian black-figure amphora from the Etruscan site of Orvieto juxtaposes a scene of Zeus, Athena, and Herakles battling Giants with three kitharōidoi in procession. Attributed to the Painter of Berlin 1686, the amphora shares much with the painter’s name vase, also featuring musicians but in a sacrificial procession to Athena. The Gigantomachy composition, meanwhile, echoes a group of vases by different painters dedicated on the Athenian Akropolis. I propose that the Orvieto amphora was inspired by the Greater Panathenaia, combining the Gigantomachy as a central myth of the festival with kitharōidoi from its grand pompē. Foregrounding the multilayered concept of poikilia, I further suggest the painter evoked the Panathenaia’s multisensory experience through the amphora’s materiality and aesthetics. Together, the amphora’s paired scenes encourage contemplation of harmony (harmonia) and divine order (kosmos).