Funeral Games in Greek Art Author(s): Lynn E. Roller Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 85, No. 2 (Apr.

, 1981), pp. 107-119 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/505030 Accessed: 20/01/2009 08:43
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Funeral

Games

in

Greek

Art

LYNN E. ROLLER
(Pls. 19-20) Abstract The funeral games held for Patroklos and for Pelias were represented in Greek art for the first time in the early sixth century B.C. They rapidly became popular subjects and appear on a number of monuments from the second quarter of the sixth century. The popularity of these two sets of games can be traced in part to well known literary accounts which describe them, but since the visual representations of the games differ quite noticeably from the written versions and also from each other, it is unlikely that the literary treatments formed the only source for the artistic representations. Many of the depictions of these contests can be connected with the northeastern Peloponnesos, perhaps because the subject was first represented in Greek art there, although the variations in the individual scenes are great enough to preclude the assumption that these depictions were based on a single prototype. Another reason for the interest in the funeral games of Greek myth may have been the foundation of three Panhellenic athletic festivals, the Pythian, Isthmian and Nemean Games, during this same period. Because each of these festivals was believed to have originated as an athletic contest in the heroic past, their establishment
* A preliminaryversion of this paper was given at the Eightieth General Meeting of the ArchaeologicalInstitute of America in December 1978. I would like to thank Darrell A. Amyx for his comments and criticism of the manuscript. In addition to the standard abbreviationsgiven in A]A 82 (I978) 3-10, the following works have been cited in shortened form: Akropolisvasen-B. Graef, Die antiken Vasen von der Akropolis zu Athen (Berlin 1925). Davison-J. Davison, "Attic Geometric Workshops," YCS I6
(1961).

may have drawn attention to the epic tradition of Greek athletics and to the outstanding performances of the heroes who participated in the funerary contests of Greek legend. The athletic contests held to honor the deceased heroes of Greek legend left their imprint on the Greek world in a variety of ways. Probably the most impressive account of the custom is the vivid description in the twenty-third book of the Iliad of the games celebrated by Achilles for his friend Patroklos.l The funeral games held for the Thessalian hero Pelias, in which members of the Argonautic expedition took part, were described by Homer and Stesichoros in narratives which evidently received wide circulation.2 References to games held to honor other Greek heroes are found throughout ancient literature.3 In addition, many of the smaller athletic festivals were said to have been derived from funeral games for a local hero,4 and the four major Panhellenic contests were believed to have originated as funeral games.5 The
"Leichenspielund Totenkult," RomMitt 39 (I924) 307-309. 4Athletic festivals were believed to have been founded in honor of Adrastos (Isthm. 4.26), Aiakos (Z 01. 7.I56c; Z 01. I3.I55; 2 Nem. 5.78), Aias son of Oileus (2 01. 9.I66a), Alkathoos (2 Nem. 5.84b), Amphitryon (2 01. 9.I48d; 2 Nem. 4.32), Areithoos (Z Apollonios Rhodios I.I64), Herakles (2 01. 9.I34d-e, I37a; 2 01. 7.I53d; 2 01. 9.I48d; Z Isthm. I.Iic), lolaos (Z 01. 9.148e; 2 01. 7.153e; 2 Nem. 4.32; 2 Isthm. i.IIC; Z Isthm. I.79b), Minyas (2 Isthm. I.79c; 2 Isthm. I.IIC), Protesilaos(Isthm. 1.58; 2 Isthm. 1.83), Theseus
20; 22; ii2 Ioo8, I7; ii2 I009, 4; ii2 1028, (IG ii2 956, 5-7; ii2 oo006, ii2 I029, 13; ii2 030, 19), Thoas (2 01. 4.29d, 2 Pyth.

Johansen, Iliad-K. Friis Johansen, The Iliad in Early Greek Art (Copenhagen I967). Necrocorinthia-H. Payne, Necrocorinthia (Oxford 193I). Simon, GV-E. Simon, Die griechischen Vasen (Munich 1976). 1 Iliad 23.257-897. 2 Athenaios 4.172e, quoting Simonides. 3 References are found to funeral games held for Abderos (Philostratos,Imagines 2.25), Achilles (Odyssey 24.85-92), Aigialeos (on a Hellenistic inscription, C. Blinkenberg, Die lindische Tempelchronik [Bonn 1915] lines 103-104), Amarynkeus (Iliad 23.629-42), Anchises (Hyginus, Fabulae 273), Azan (Pausanias 8.4.5), Eurygyes (Hesychios, s.v. ep' Eyrygye agon), Kyzikos (Apollonios Rhodios I.io60), Laios (Apollodoros 3.15.7), Oidipous (Iliad 23.677-80), Paris (Hyginus, Fabulae 273), and Polydektes (Hyginus, Fabulae 273). See L. Malten,

4.45oa), and Tlepolemos (01. 7.80). 5 The Olympic games were associated with funerary contests for Pelops (Pindar, ol. 1.90-96; Dionysios of Halikarnassos 5.17.4; Hyginus, Fabulae 273; Clement, Protreptikos2.29) and for Oinomaos (FrGriechHist2 B, 257 F I); the Pythian Games were connected with contests in honor of the Python (Peplos, a Hellenistic work quoted by a scholiast on Aristeides, Panathenaia I89; Varro, de Lingua Latina 7.I7; Clement, Protrep. 2.29); the Isthmian Games were supposedly founded to honor the child Melikertes (Pindar, Frag. 6.5[i]; Pausanias 2.1.3; Hyginus, Fabulae 273; Clement, Protrep. 2.29; Hypotheses to Isthmian Odes); and the Nemean Games were said to have been held for the child Opheltes-Archemoros(Bacchylides 9 [8].I2; Aeschylos, Nemea [Nauck TGF 49]; Euripides, Hypsipyle [ed. G.W. Bond] lines 97-Io3; Statius, Thebais 5.731-53,

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[AJA 85

variety and longevity of the literary references to this tradition might lead to the assumption that the subject would be as richly treated in the visual arts, but this does not seem to have been the case. Only two sets of funerary contests, those of Patroklos and those held for Pelias, were illustrated in Greek art, and these were popular for a comparatively short period of time. It might seem that the factors contributing to the interest in representing this pair of funerary contests could be easily defined. The choice of these two sets of funeral games surely results from the fact that these were the two contests most richly treated in Greek literature, for most of the other references consist only of brief notices. Illustrations of these two sets of games appear in the early sixth century B.C., evidently without clear pictorial antecedents. At first this might seem another reason for assuming that the literaryversions were a major inspiration for Greek artists, since it would appear that the theme became popular at a time when the literary tradition either became better known, as in the case of the games for Patroklos, or received its first detailed written expression, in the early sixth century B.C. narrative of Stesichoros on the games for Pelias. An examination of the monuments illustrating these two sets of games shows, however, that the differences between the visual and written versions are great enough in both cases that depictions of them cannot simply be explained as illustrations of a particularwork of literature.Similarly, substantialvariations can be noted among the separate pictorial versions of each contest, which suggests that the known representationsof the theme cannot be traced back to a hypothetical original on a lost monument. Rather, the sixth century B.C. artists seem to have been working with a theme
6.1-24; Apollodoros 3.6.4; Hyginus, Fabulae 273; Clement, Protrep. 2.29; Hypotheses to Nemean Odes). ABV 39, I6. Simon, GV pl. 50. 7ABV 76, i. Simon, GV pl. 53, 55. 8 Johansen, lliad 88. 9 Although it might be supposed that the horses and chariots filled the entire circular frieze, so that the spectators on both sides of the stands were watching the same event, this seems unlikely for a number of reasons. First, this dinos is very similar in style, shape and date to another black-figured dinos which also depicts athletic events at a funerary competition, the games for Pelias, and although this piece is also fragmentary,at least two contests, the javelin throw and the wrestling match, are certainly depicted on it (infra ns. 24 and 25). Furthermore,

which had not yet received a fixed form of pictorial expression and as a result the artists were free to display a great deal of free will in handling their subject. The catalyst for portraying epic funerary contests during this period may have been the traditional connection of such contests with Greek athletic festivals, both major and minor. Belief in this connection seems to have been strengthened by the foundation of several new festivals in the first half of the sixth century B.C., which may have helped draw attention to the funerary games associated with the famous figures of Greek legend. No one of these factors, however-literary work, pictorial treatment, or mythological traditionformed the definitive source for the representation of funeral games in Greek art. Instead, a complex interrelationshipof all of them seems to be present in the depictions of the funeral games of these legendary heroes. The separatecontribution of each of these elements to the artists' renderings of their subject can best be evaluated after the illustrations themselves have been considered. The oldest set of funerary contests of which identifiable representationsexist are the funeral games for Patroklos. They are depicted on two examples of Attic black figure, a fragment of a dinos by Sophilos6 and the Francois krater by Kleitias and Ergotimos.7 The Sophilos fragment is the slightly older of the two, probably dating from about 580 B.C.8 It preserves a scene of a team of four horses in harness racing past a grandstand of spectators. The grandstand is shown as if double, with the spectatorson the left side gesticulating excitedly at the horses, while those on the other side are watching what may have been other events in the games, although the fragment is broken off at that point.9 Inscriptions on the piece make the identification
Sophilos' own label for his work, the Athla or games for Patroklos, implies that more than one event appeared on the piece (Johansen, Iliad 92). Also, if only the chariot race were shown in the circular frieze, the figure of Achilles, which evidently was depicted standing at the right of the grandstand, would be facing the back of the last team of horses and chariot, and since Achilles was almost surely intended as the judge or marshal of the contest, one would expect to find him facing the oncoming and winning team (compare the position of Achilles at the chariot race depicted on the Francois krater, supra n. 7, and of the judges on the Amphiareos krater, infra n. I8). It seems more likely that Achilles was shown facing anr overseeing a different event.

1981]

FUNERAL GAMES IN GREEK ART

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certain, for not only is the name of Achilles (al- which would be out of keeping with the imthough not the figure of the hero) preserved at the promptu nature of the contests on the Trojan right, but the scene is specifically labelled "Patro- plain.1 The free will of Kleitias in arranging his klus: Atla," the games of Patroklos,underneath scene according to his own concept of the games the inscription the painter as Sophilos. and independently from the account in the liad is, identifying The depiction of Patroklos' gameson the Fran- however, quite striking, and has often been comfromabout570B.C.,10 coiskrater, fills the lower mented on.12In the Homeric version the five comon one sideof the neckof the vase,and petitors were Diomedes, Eumelos, Menelaos, Anregister raceis shown.The identificationtilochos and Meriones. Only Diomedes appears on only the chariot of thissceneis alsocertain of thepresence the vase, and even he is not in his proper position because of Achilles who is shownat the headof the race as the winner. Of the other figures shown on the a marshal's at theright krater, Odysseus did take part in the games, alwand.He appears holding of the friezewhichis otherwise filled with five though not in the chariot race, Automedon is not chariots fromleftto righttowards him.The mentioned in connection with the games at all, and racing five chariots are eachdrawnby four horsesand the names Damasippos and Hippothoon do not driven thelonggownof even appear in the Iliad. These last two names wearing by a manshown the professional Aboveeach team of seem to be fictitious forms based on the Greek charioteer. horsesare the namesof the charioteers-Hippo-word "hippos,"not an uncommon method of creatthoon, Damasippos, Diomedes, Automedon and ing names in Archaic Greek art.l3 The subject A tripod is shown the seems to have been suggested by the Iliad, but the behind Olyteus (Odysseus). of while a cauldron and another Achilles, figure painter enjoyed considerable latitude in his depicfill the left of below the two teams tion of an epic theme. tripod space thesewereundoubtedly to repre- These are the only two illustrations of Patroklos' intended horses; sentprizes. games which can be securely identified.14The fuSincethe dinosby Sophilos is the lesswell pre- neral games for Pelias, on the other hand, seem to served of the two representations, its correspond- have been a more popular subject.They are known enceto the Iliadic or lackof it, is uncer- to have been represented on two monuments no account, tain.Noneof the competitors' names is preserved, longer extant, the chest of Kypselos and the throne and so it is not knownwhether the vasepainter of Apollo at Amyklai, and they also appear on a followed theHomeric version of thestory in label- number of existing objects. his The detail which ling figures. only mightfur- The earliest and most comprehensive rendering nisha pointof comparison of the of the games for Pelias seems to have been that on is theappearance on whichthe spectators stands are shownseated; the chest of Kypselos, probably to be dated shortly structure before the second quarter of the sixth century they seemto be a formalarchitectural
10 Development 26. 11 Johansen, Iliad 9I. Development 34-35. Johansen, Iliad 90. The practice of creating names using a form of the word "hippos" may have been inspired in part by the popularity of actual names such as Hippias and Hipparchos. See W. Wrede, "Kriegers Ausfahrt in der archaisch-griechischen Kunst," AthMitt 41 (I916) 355. 14 Beazley, in Development 107 n. 32, identified a scene on a fragment of an Attic black-figured dinos as the chariot race at the games for Patroklos, and in ABV 23, I, he identified the same piece as an illustration of the games for Pelias. The piece, published by R.S. Young, Hesperia 4 (1935) 437, fig. 5, preserves a depiction of the head and forehooves of a horse galloping towards a large tripod, while a bearded man holding a knife stands on the other side of the tripod. There are no inscriptions to identify the piece, but the presence of a hand on the bridle of the horse and of the bearded figure, who may be a priest preparing for a sacrifice, does not seem compatible with
13

12

an illustration of either funerary contest. Beazley (Development 107 n. 32) also considereda pyxis fragment from the Akropolis (Akropolisvasen no. 2073, pl. 92) which depicts the muzzle and forehooves of a horse approachinga tripod, behind which can be seen the figure of a bearded man, as an illustration of the funeral games for Patroklos. Since, however, there are no inscriptions to identify the scene, this suggestion must remain uncertain. F. Studniczka, "Zur Deutung der Viergespannmetope von Selinus," Idl 4I (1926) 189, and Beazley, Development 107 n. 32, interpreted a scene on a hydria in Vienna (ABV Io6) as Diomedes being acclaimed victor in the chariot race at Patroklos' games. The illustration presents a frontal view of a quadriga with Diomedes, armed, standing in it. On either side of him appear two women holding wreaths, Archippe and Eumelia, and two men carrying staffs, Amphilochos and Klipos. It seems unlikely that this could be a scene of Patroklos'funeral games, for there were no women connected with that contest, and the names of the male figures do not correspondto those of any participantsmentioned in the Iliad.

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[AJA 85

second quarter of the sixth century B.C. The Pontic amphora shows seven two-horse racing chariots, but no prizes or judges, and there are no inscriptions to identify the contestants.The race shown on the Tyrrhenian amphora consists of three twohorse chariots galloping towards a cauldron set up on a column, to the right of which appears a stand with seated spectators. There are meaningless inscriptions interspersedamong the figures. A somewhat more violent race is shown here, for one horse has stumbled to the ground and one charioteer has fallen under the wheels of a competitor. In the latter two cases the identification of the race as that from Pelias' games is based on the juxtaposition of the chariot scene with a scene of the departure of Amphiareos, a combination which also appeared on the Amphiareos krater and on the chest of Kypselos.21 Several other contests at Pelias' games were also illustrated.The boxing match can be recognized on a bronze shield band from Olympia from the second quarter of the sixth century B.C. (pl. 19, fig. 3) :22two nude men face each other across a large tripod, their left arms outstretched as if to begin the bout. The names of both figures were inscribed, although only that of the left-hand figure is well enough preserved to be read. His name is Mopsos, one of the boxers who was shown on the chest of Kypselos. The foot race appears on a small fragbeneath one of the handles ment of Attic black figure from the Athenian space (pl. 19, fig. 2). The scene of the chariot race shows six four-horse Akropolis from the second quarter of the sixth cenchariots galloping to the left towards three tripods tury B.C.,23which shows two nude male figures set up as prizes and three seated judges. The char- moving towards the left. An inscription at the right ioteers are identified by inscriptions as Euphamos of the fragment identifies one of the runners as (the leader), Kastor, Admatos, Alastor, Amphia- Phal[areus], a man who was named as a competireos and Hippasos, and the judges are named tor in the depiction of the foot race on the chest of Pheres, Argeos and Akastos. The chariot race also Kypselos. Fragments of a large Attic black-figured appears on a Pontic amphora in Munich19and on dinos of about 575 B.C., also found near the Akroa Tyrrhenian amphora in Florence,20both from the polis, illustrate the javelin throw24 (pl. 20, fig. 4).
15 For the date of the chest, see Necrocorinthia 351, and M. Gj0desen, "Greek Bronzes, a Review Article," AJA 67 (1963) 346. 16 Pausanias 5.17.9-I117 Pausanias 3.I9.I6. For the date of the throne, see PECS,

B.C.15It was seen in Olympia by Pausanias, who left a fairly complete description of the events depicted on it.'1 The first event shown was a chariot race, with the charioteers Piso, Asterion, Polydeukes, Admetos and Euphemos, the victor. Admetos and Mopsos were shown boxing, Jason and Peleus appeared as wrestlers, and Eurybotas was depicted throwing the diskos. The final contest described was a foot race, with Melanion, Neotheus, Phalareus, Argeios and Iphiklos competing. Iphiklos was depicted being crowned victor by Akastos. Herakles, a judge at the contest, and his wife were shown seated, and the daughters of Pelias, among them Alkestis, were also depicted, presumably as spectators.Pausanias also mentioned a depiction of the funeral games for Pelias on the throne of Apollo at Amyklai, probably dating from shortly after the middle of the sixth century B.C.17In this case, however, no details of the scene are given. A number of monuments which illustrate the funeral games for Pelias have been preserved, although on none of them is the subject treated in as great detail as it was on the chest of Kypselos. The chariot race can be recognized on three vases. The finest illustration is that on a Corinthian krater, the Amphiareos krater, dated about 575 B.C.18The chariot race is depicted on one of the main sides of the vase (pl. 19, fig. I), while the wrestling match from the games appears in the

20E. Pfuhl, Malerei und Zeichnung der Griechen 3 (Munich

1923) fig. 206. FR 3, fig. 3. 21 F. in FR Io. 22

Hauser, 3, E. Kunze, Archaische Schildbiinder(OlForsch 2, Berlin

s.v. Amyklai (P. Cartledge). A recent effort at reconstructing this monument was made by R. Martin, "Bathyclesde Magnesie et le 'tr6ne' d'Apollon a Amyklae," RA 1976, 205-18, who dates the throne to the end of the sixth century B.C. zu Minchen (Munich
1910) fig. 5. 18FR pl. 121. Necrocorinthia 329, no. I47I. 19 J. Sieveking and R. Hackl, Die konigliche Vasensammlung
1912)

23 Illustrated in Akropolisvasen,pl. 93, no. 2209. The scene was identified as a depiction of the foot race at the games for Pelias by J.D. Beazley, "Some Inscriptionson Vases: V," AJA
54 (1950)
24

1950) 178.

3I0.

pl. 33, no. 838. FR 3 (Munich

Akropolisvasen pl. 27, no. 59oa-e. For the date of the piece, see M.Z. Pease, "Pottery from the North Slope of the Acropolis,"Hesperia 4 (I935) 228.

1981]

FUNERAL GAMES IN GREEK ART

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At the left of the piece is a tripod-cauldronset out as a prize, identified by an inscription as "lebes." The arm of a man in the act of throwing the javelin can be seen above it. To the right of the lebes are two nude men, each standing and holding a pair of javelins as if waiting for his turn at the match. The right-hand figure of this pair is identified as Iphitos; the left is unidentified. Immediately to the right of Iphitos is the figure of Melanion, who stands and holds a javelin in each hand with the throwing thongs visible. At the right of the fragment can be seen the heads and shoulders of an aulos player, Philombon, another competitor, Kapa[neus], and a judge, Periphr[as]. The match can be identified as one of the contests at Pelias' games because of the names of the Argonautic heroes known to have participated in the contest. The wrestling match was the event which attracted the most attention from ancient artists. In addition to the depiction on the chest of Kypselos, it appears on the Amphiareos krater mentioned above, where two nude men, identified as Peleus and Hippalkmos, are seen facing each other and leaning forward, interlocking arms in a wrestling grip. A more detailed rendering of the wrestling match is found on two additional fragments of the black-figureddinos from the Akropolis which illustrates the javelin match (pl. 20, fig. 5).25 Here the two contestants are Peleus and Atalante; their names are not given on the vase, but the scene is clearly that of a man and a woman wrestling. They appear at the left of the scene, both facing left, and Peleus has his left arm around Atalante's shoulder. He is nude, while she wears a short chiton. To the right of the pair can be seen a judge, Damas, wearing a long robe and holding a spear, and to his right a pair of judges, both balancing spears on their right shoulders; the left of the pair is named Kelaas. Below them are the figures of two seated women. At the right of the fragments are three more spectators,a man, Asterion, holding
25 One fragment, which joins with Akropolis 59oc, was published by 0. Broneer, "Excavationson the North Slope of the Acropolis," Hesperia 2 (I933) 340, fig. I2. A new fragment which joins with these two pieces was published by C. Roebuck, "Pottery from the North Slope of the Acropolis," Hesperia 9 (1940) 146, fig. i. 26H. Payne, PerachoraI (Oxford 1940), pl. 50, nos. 1I-I2. 27 CVA Deutschland II, Schloss Fasanerie I, pl. Io. 28 Simon, GV pi. 39. 29 ABV 9I, 3.

a spear, an unnamed woman, and another man, ], who also holds a spear. A[The wrestling match between Peleus and Atalante seems to have been a theme which captivated Greek imagination, for the couple appears frequently in Greek art through the early fourth century B.C. The pair is represented wrestling on a bronze plaque from Perachora, about 550 B.C.,26 where they are alone; on the shoulder of an Attic black-figuredhydria in Adolfseck, about 540 B.C.,27 where the two are depicted clasping hands over a large cauldron and are each flanked by a pair of judges; on a Chalkidian hydria in Munich, about 540-530 B.C.,28where the pair meet over a boar's head and are surrounded by several judges and spectators; on an Attic black-figured hydria in Manchester,of about 540 B.C.,29where the pair are shown stooping and interlocking arms, while two judges appear behind each; on a black-figured hydria in Bonn, about 540-530 B.C.,30 where each wrestler is seconded by a single figure of a judge; on a black-figured amphora in Munich, from the third quarter of the sixth century B.C.,31on which Peleus and Atalante appearto interlock arms above the supine figure of a nude man and are flanked by two judges and another wrestler; on a black-figured amphora in Munich, third quarter of the sixth century B.C.,32 on which the two athletes meet over a pithos, while a judge and two other athletes appear at the left and two judges at the right; on a black-figured amphora in Berlin from the last quarter of the sixth century B.C.,33 on which the pair is shown alone, each flanked by a large tripod; on a black-figured skyphos in London, last quarter of the sixth century B.C.,34 on which the pair appears alone; on a similar skyphos in Wiirzburg, of the last quarter of the sixth century B.C.;35 on a black-figured lekythos in Syracuse, from about 500 B.C.;36and on a red-figured cup by Oltos in Bologna, of about 500 B.C., on which the pair is shown alone.37
30 AA 1935, 449, no. 25.

E. Gerhard,Auserlesene Vasen (Berlin I847) pl. 177. Munich J 886, no illustration known. 33 Monatshefte fir Kunstwissenschaft11 (I9I8) pl. 12, fig.
32

31

I5. 34/HS 75 (i955)

1932) pl. Iio,

35E. Langlotz, Griechische Vasen in Wirzburg (Munich

36 ABL 228, no. 48. 37 ARV2 65, II3.
no. 395.

94, figs. 2-3.

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LYNN E. ROLLER

[AJA 85

The couple is also depicted on several objects from the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., although not always wrestling. A terracotta plaque, one of the group known as the Melian reliefs and probably to be dated around the middle of the fifth century B.C., representsthe pair facing each other and interlocking bodies in a wrestling grip.38On four nearly identical cups by the Aberdeen Painter of about 450-440B.C., the two can be seen in a more relaxed setting in the palaistra.39Peleus is shown standing at the left and chatting with Atalante, who is seated at the right. On a red-figured krater in Spina, about 440-430B.C., the pair appears once again in an athletic setting.40Atalante is standing and facing front, while a nude youth stoops and turns towards her, as if to grasp her in a wrestling hold. Here the pair is shown in a context which suggests a sports meet, for at their right can be seen a youth, Amykos, binding his hands for a boxing contest, while on the other side of the vase a young man whose name is given as Polydeukes bends over to be crowned by one of three judges, and another figure, a mature bearded man whose name is not given, is shown placing a fillet of victory on a tripod. The scene may have been intended to depict various contests at an athletic meet, although if this meet was supposed to be the funeral games of Pelias, it is a rather confused version of the story. The artist has mislabelled Atalante's opponent Hippomenes, and has combined the familiar theme of the wrestling match of Peleus and Atalante with
38 P. Jacobsthal, Die melischen Reliefs (Berlin 1931) no. 80, pl. 41. The date of the piece is suggested by J. Walter Graham, "The Ransom of Hector on a New Melian Relief," AJA 62 (I958) 3I3-I9.

the boxing match of Polydeukes and Amykos, another episode in the Argonautic cycle but not one connected with the funeral games.41 The latest treatment of the theme in Greek art is found on a cup in Paris from the beginning of the fourth century B.C.42Here all pretension to athletic competition is lost, for the pair is merely shown relaxing in the palaistra.43 The two do appear in a wrestling on an Etruscan mirror of about the pose, however, same period.44 When this catalogue of illustrations of the funeral games of Pelias is reviewed, what seems at first like a rather formidable list of monuments can actually be shown to have a number of similarities with the depictions of the funeral games for Patroklos. This subject also entered the artists' repertory shortly before the second quarter of the sixth century B.C. and was popular for a comparatively short period of time, in this case until about 540 B.C. Only the wrestling match of Peleus and Atalante appears in illustrations after this period, and the portrayalof this subject changes in ways which suggest that later depictions of it were no longer thought of in connection with the funeral games. In earlier representations the pair is shown surrounded by judges and spectators,which would fit with the image of funerary contests in which many people took part.45After the third quarter of the sixth century B.C., however, the pair was either shown alone or with figures not connected with the funeral games. The costume of Atalante also sug44J.D. Beazley, "The World of the Etruscan Mirror," IHS
69 (1949) 4, pl. 4b. Another possible example of Peleus and Atalante wrestling can be seen on a Phoenician gem found in Cyprus: L. Cesnola,

39 ARV2

919,

2-5.

ARV2 1039, 9. J.D. Beazley, "Some Inscriptions on Vases: VIII," AIA 64 (I960) 221-25. 41 Beazley (supra n. 40) identified the mature bearded man as Herakles. If this is correct, it would form another point of variance with the traditional version of the story, for Herakles was depicted on the chest of Kypselos as a judge, not a competitor. In ARV2 1039, 9, Beazley suggested that the wrestling match of Peleus and Atalante had been conflated with the boxing match of Amykos and Polydeukes.
40

Cyprus, Its Ancient Cities, Tombs, and Temples (New York

42 ARV2

1512,

23.

43 Atalante appears in a similar pose, but without Peleus, on a red-figured krater from Al Mina; see J.D. Beazley, "Excavations at Al Mina, Sueidia III. The Red-Figured Vases," JHS 59 (1939) 28-29, fig. 79. On this piece also she seems to have lost her character as female athlete, for she is shown sitting in the palaistra admiring herself in a mirror held by a small Eros figure, apparently oblivious to the nude young men around her.

pl. 37, no. 9. The gem shows two figures, one wearing I878) only a short skirt, the other in a short chiton, who face each other in a wrestling pose. Each figure is flanked by an upright asp, while on the ground between them is a boar's head. R. Hampe, in his review of K. Schefold, Friihgriechische Sagenbilder (Munich I964), which appeared in GGA 220 (1968) 14-32, stated that a seventh century B.C. terracotta plaque showing a man wrestling with a woman should represent Peleus and Atalante. Schefold's original interpretation (p. 42) of Peleus and Thetis is more likely to be the correct one, however, for the female figure is taller than the male and has large, staring eyes, attributes which seem to point to a goddess rather than a human figure. 45 The bronze plaque from Perachora, which stands near the head of the series, shows only the figures of Peleus and Atalante, but this is presumably because of the restricted field of the plaque.

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FUNERAL GAMES IN GREEK ART

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gests an alteration in the story. In the illustrations of the second and early third quarters of the sixth century B.C. she wears a short chiton, a reference to her epic associationsas a huntress, while in later depictions she is shown wearing only a loin cloth and a cap (on the krater in Spina she also wears a brassiere) or, in the latest example on the cup in Paris, is totally nude. This seems to suggest a setting in a palaistra rather than at an epic funerary contest. The prolonged interest in this one event from the funeral games for Pelias may result from the fact that the ancients were intrigued by this version of the battle of the sexes, rather than its continuing associationwith the funeral games. In addition to the correlation of chronology, the representations of the funeral games for Pelias share another point with those of Patroklos' games, particularlyKleitias' rendering, for in this case also the subject was probably suggested by a literary account,46 but the visual treatments of the theme seem to vary from the written ones. For the games of Pelias, however, the details of the literary account are much less certain. While there may have been a Homeric version of the Athla, the most widely known description of these games was that of Stesichoros, whose poem, "The Games for Pelias," was probablycomposed about 580 B.C.47Only short fragments of the work survive, however, and the only details of it which are certain are that the Dioskouroi seem to have been competitors in the chariot race, Amphiareos won the jump, and Meleager was the victor in the javelin contest.48 Even with this scanty information, it can be seen that the visual treatments of the theme are not totally in accord with what is known of Stesichoros' account. In each of the two depictions of the chariot race which were treated in detail-those on the chest of Kypselos and on the Amphiareos kraterone of the Dioskouroi is among the competitors (it is Polydeukes on the chest and Kastor on the krater), but Meleager's name is not included on the Akropolis dinos illustrating the javelin contest. Even more conspicuous is the fact that the visual portrayalsof the separateevents at the games differ quite noticeably from one another. On both the
46 Roscher, Lexikon
32 (I902-1909)
I850-52,

chest of Kypselos and the Amphiareos krater Euphemos is shown as the victor in the chariot race, but except for Admetos and one of the Dioskouroi the names of the other charioteers do not correspond at all. The krater depicts six competitors, as opposed to the five on the chest, and the sixth, named Hippasos, seems to be an artificial "hippos" name used to fill out the chariot frieze, as was the case in the chariot scene on the Francois krater.49 Melanion and Iphitos (possibly a substitute for Iphiklos) were among the foot racers depicted on the chest of Kypselos, but they are shown on the Akropolis dinos as competitors at the javelin contest. The point of greatest divergence is the wrestling match. It is not known whom Stesichoros named as his wrestlers, but no fewer than three pairs of wrestlers were illustrated-Peleus and Jason (on the chest of Kypselos), Peleus and Hippalkimos (on the Amphiareos krater), and Peleus and Atalante (on numerous black- and red-figured vases).50 There is also no uniformity among the various judges portrayed.The chest depicted Herakles as a judge, while a variety of other names of judges appears on the different extant portrayals: Akastos, Argeios and Pheres on the Amphiareos krater, Periphras at the javelin contest, and Damas and Kelaas at the wrestling contest of Peleus and Atalante on the Akropolis dinos. In short, no single consistent tradition can be detected in the visual renderings of the subject. These affinities in the representationsof the two sets of epic funeral games are based in part on the fact that illustrations of them from the first half of the sixth century B.C. can be interpreted with assurancebecause of the inscriptions which appear on the pieces. The depictions themselves, however, are general athletic scenes; only the addition of names connects them with the funeral games of epic saga. It is possible that the games of Patroklos and Pelias had been portrayed in Greek art before this time and, since earlier scenes of athletic competition are not distinctively identified, are not easily recognizable as funerary contests of epic. Interest in depicting athletic competition was certainly far older than the representationsof the
49 Hauser (supra n. 21) 7. See also supra n. 13. 50 Written accounts of later periods consistently name Peleus

s.v. Pelias

(P. Weizsacker).
48

47 C.M. Bowra, Greek Lyric Poetry (Oxford 1936) 98-IoI.

The extant fragments have been collected by D.L. Page, Poetae Melici Graeci (Oxford 1962) fragments 178-80.

and Atalante as the wrestlers, but there is no consensus as to who the victor was. Apollodoros, 3.9.2, named Atalante, while Peleus was the winner according to Hyginus, Fabulae 273.

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LYNN E. ROLLER

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epic funeral games discussed earlier in this article. After the reintroduction of the human figure into pictorial art in the first half of the eighth century B.C., athletic contests of various sorts became one of the more frequently represented themes. Scenes of a chariot race can be recognized on a number of Late Geometric vases,51often with the charioteer shown in the long robe which marked him as a professional.52The boxing contest was portrayed less often, but the scheme of showing two boxers stretching out their arms over a tripod appears on a few objects from this period.53 Depictions of other athletic events are less common, but an illustration of two wrestlers, one of whom turns his back to t-heother, appears on an Attic Late Geometric krater;54a foot race can be recognized on the same vase.55Two wrestlers are also depicted, in this case facing each other, in a lively scene on an Argive pithos of the late eighth century B.C.56 These Late Geometric athletic scenes are contemporary with the earliest written versions of the Homeric poems and their descriptions of funeral games, and therefore it might be supposed that the depictions of athletics in the art of the period were also based on the funerary competitions which were so vividly recorded in the epics. This is a point which has been asserted several times, most notably by T.B.L. Webster.57 Webster based his statements in large part on the presence of warriors with a Dipylon, i.e. figure-eight, shield, which he felt identified a given scene as heroic, since, as he maintained, such a shield was no longer being used
51 Examples of a single horse or a team of two horses drawing a chariot with a single charioteercan be found in Davison, figs. I8, 34, 39, 48, 49, 51, 54, 55, 57, 59, 60, 69, 77, 93-99, ioi, I02, III, Ii5, Ii9. Chariot races are also depicted with teams of three (Davison, fig. 35, 36, and 126) and four horses (Davison, fig. 38). 52 S. Brunnsaker, "The Pithecusan Shipwreck," OpusRom 4
(I962) I94.

in the eighth century B.C. He also believed that the frequent occurrence of athletic subjects suggested that the practice of holding funeral games was common, and since that was not likely to have been the case in real life, these athletic scenes must represent the funeral games of Greek epic. These arguments prove on closer examination not to be very substantial.That the Dipylon shield probably did not represent a heroic attribute but may actually have been a weapon in use in the Late Geometric period has been well discussed elsewhere.58The question of whether or not the Late Geometric depictions of athletic competition represent the funeral games of epic is a more complex problem, for the anonymity of the art in this period makes it hard to demonstrate conclusively exactly what these illustrations were intended to represent. It is quite possible, however, that the Late Geometric scenes of athletics are illustrations drawn from actual events. The activities of contemporary society form the dominant theme of the art of the eighth century B.C., especially among the numerous funerary scenes, many of which contain individual touches, such as the prothesisof women and the presence of children among the mourners,59 which are not mentioned in epic descriptions of funerary activities. Chariot races are depicted in another register of several funerary vases,60 and it seems likely that if the main theme of the decoration illustrates a subject drawn from real life, the secondary theme of athletic competition does also. Webster's assumption that all depictions of athpretation as a foot race is more likely. 56 P. Courbin, Ceramique geometrique
i966) pl. 102, no. C 209.

de l'Argolide

(Paris

57 T.B.L. Webster, "Homer and Attic Geometric Vases," BSA 50 (1955) 38-50, and From Mycenae to Homer (London I958) I70-74. Similar arguments have also been advanced by H. Marwitz, "Das Bahrtuch," Antike und Abendland Io (1961) I7-I8,

53Examples can be found on a Boiotian stamnos (BCH 25 [I901] I43, fig. I), on a Boiotian kantharos (R. Hampe, Friihe griechische Sagenbilder [Athens I936] fig. 25, no. V 24), and on an Argive sherd (C. Waldstein, The Argive Heraeum 2 [Boston and New York I902-I905] pl. 57, no. 11). Several illustrations of two figures boxing without a central tripod are also known, see Hampe, Sagenbilder pl. 20, no. V 6; pl. 23, no. V 35; pl. 29, no. V 9. 54 R. Hampe, Ein riihattischerGrabfund (Mainz I960) fig. 39. 55Hampe (supra n. 54) fig. 38. R. T6lle, GriechischeReigentinze (Waldsassen 1964) I8, believed that this scene represented a row of dancers, but the depiction is similar enough to the sixth century B.C. fragment from the Akropolis that an inter-

and K. Schefold, Griechische Kunst als religioses Phanomen

(Hamburg I959) 25. 58 G. Ahlberg, Fighting on Land and Sea in Greek Geometric Art (Stockholm 1971) 59-66. N. Coldstream, Geometric Greece
(London
59

1977)

352.

fig. 35, 41.

The prothesis of women is depicted on the following vases: Davison, fig. I, 2; G. Ahlberg, Prothesis and Ekphora in Greek Geometric Art (Lund 1971) fig. 2I, 23, 34. The presence of children can be noted on the following vases: Davison, fig. 2, IO, 25, 26, III, I39. See also J. Boardman, "Attic Geometric Vase Scenes, Old and New," IHS 86 (I966) I-5, and Ahlberg, Prothesis and Ekphora 285-91. 60Davison, fig. I8, 35, 36, 39, I15. Ahlberg (supra n. 59)

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FUNERAL GAMES IN GREEK ART

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letics must be illustrations of funeral contests is also questionable, for it is clear that athletic competition of various sorts was an established part of Greek life in this period,61and many of the Late Geometric illustrations of athletics, particularly the scenes of boxing and wrestling, appear in a selfcontained section of the vase with no indication of the circumstances under which the sports might have been practiced. A depiction of an athletic event might therefore mean nothing more than a general interest in sports. Even the depictions of athletic competition on funerary vases might not have been intended to portray a single set of funerary contests, for they could also have served to connect the deceased with a skill which was always highly valued by the Greeks, just as themes such as ships and fighting appear on funerary vases because they seem to allude to the deceased's activity as a sailor or a warrior.62 It is also difficult to accept the claim that athletic events depicted in the art of the seventh century B.C. were intended to illustrate the funerary contests of epic. The athletic motifs which had been introduced in the Late Geometric period continued to be popular, and chariot races,63boxing64 and wrestling matches65were illustrated on a variety of monuments. The athletic scenes are, however, most frequently shown in isolated contexts which do not give any indication that the portrayal of a specific set of games was intended. The suggestion
61 A funerary contest of the late eighth century B.C. was mentioned by Hesiod, Works and Days 654-59. Athletic contests of this period not connected with a funeral include the Olympic Games, founded in 776 B.C., and games to honor Apollo in Delos, Homeric Hymn to Apollo 146-50. The latter reference is from the first half of the seventh century B.C., but the festival is described as an event already well-established at that time. In addition, on Late Geometric vases there are a number of representations of the apobates race, a contest closely associated in later times with the worship of Athena at the Panathenaic festival, see Davison, fig. 115; AA 1963, 2II, fig.
I; AJA 73 (1969) pl. 128; Kerameikos 5, pl. 79; MonPiot 49 (1957) 22 fig. 7; CVA France I8, Louvre II, pl. I6, no. I8; AJA 68 (I964) pls. 57-59. On the apobates contest, see H.A. Thompson, "The Panathenaic Festival," AA 1961, 224-31.

that some of these scenes must represent contests of heroic saga66is weakened by the number of similar depictions of athletic competition, all equally undistinctive.67Moreover, a number of objects exist, starting in the first half of the seventh century B.C., which do clearly illustrate epic themes, as is indicated by the use of attributes, inscriptions and other specific details of narration.68 Athletic themes retain their anonymity, however, until the first half of the sixth century B.C.69The lack of representations portraying Peleus and Atalante wrestling is particularly noticeable. This scene of a man competing with a woman, the most popular of the funerary contests, is one which could be recognized without inscriptions naming the contestants, but it does not appear in Greek art until the second quarter of the sixth century B.C. Thus the funeral games of Greek legend seem not to have been a theme with a long tradition of artistic representation behind it, but rather one which was introduced into Greek art early in the sixth century B.C. Moreover, a number of factors can be noted which might have created an interest in the funeral games of Greek epic at this time, and which might have caused the interest in such games to be concentratedon representationsof the contests held for Patroklos and Pelias. The circumstancewhich would seem to offer the most obvious explanation for the interest in these athletic contests is the existence of well-known litBoiotian terracotta group in Heidelberg (R. Hampe and H. Gropengiesser,Aus der Sammlung der Universitdts Heidelberg [Berlin and Heidelberg 1967] 28, pl. 8) and on a bronze matrix in Kerkyra (Necrocorinthiapl. 45, no. 3). 65 A wrestling match is depicted on a Protoattic amphora (BSA 35 [I934-1935] pl. 56b) and can also be recognized on a Protocorinthianaryballos (AA 1934, 205, fig. 3). 66 T.J. Dunbabin, The Greeks and their Eastern Neighbours (London 1948) 8I, and Beazley, Development 107, n. 32, interpreted a scene of a chariot race on a Protocorinthianaryballos (illustrated by Friis Johansen, supra n. 63, pl. 34, i) as the race at the games for Patroklos. 67 There are several representations of chariot and horse races very much like that on the aryballos identified by Dunbabin and Beazley (supra n. 66) as the funeral games of Patroklos; see Friis Johansen (supra n. 63) pl. 31, If; pl. 32, Ie; pl. 35, 2. In each the athletic event forms the only scene involving human figures on the vase, and on each piece there are no details which might indicate what kind of contest was being depicted. See also Johansen, lliad 90, n. 151. 68 Johansen, Iliad 25. K. Fittschen, Untersuchungen zum Beginn der Sagendarstellungen(Berlin 1969) 129-98. 69 Fittschen (supra n. 68) 28.

62 Ahlberg, Fighting (supra n. 58) 67. J. Carter, "The Beginning of Narrative Art in the Greek Geometric Period," BSA
67 (1972) (1934-1935)

63 Chariot races in Protoattic art are illustrated in BSA 35

pls. 38, 41, 47,
50.

38. Coldstream (supra n. 58) I35.

For examples of scenes of

Protocorinthianchariot races, see K. Friis Johansen, Les vases

sicyoniens (Copenhagen 1923) pl. 32, ie; 34, I. (4 Boxing contests are represented on a Protocorinthianaryballos from Ithaka (BSA 35 [1934-I9351 Io8 fig. 14), on a

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[AJA 85

erary accounts which describe them. This does not provide a totally satisfactory explanation for the occurrence of representations of the games for Patroklos, however. The written account of the Iliad had been known over a century before the theme appeared in pictorial art. The popularity of Patroklos' games in Attic art cannot be connected with the oral recitations of the poem introduced at the Panathenaic festival by the Peisistratids,for the theme appears, and then disappears, nearly half a century before such oral presentations became common.70 Moreover, as has been shown above, it is possible that the treatment of the theme on the Sophilos dinos and certain that that on the Francois krater showed little or no correspondencewith the written account in the Iliad. The literary version of the games for Pelias is a more likely antecedent for the pictorial treatment of that theme, for the earliest portrayalsof the subject are very close in time to the composition of Stesichoros' poem. The impetus given by the prominence of this work may account for the fact that a much larger number of illustrationsof Pelias' games are known than is the case for Patroklos' games.71The illustrations of Pelias' games vary enough among themselves, however, to make it doubtful that the poem was the immediate source for these scenes. In this case a direct comparison with the literary version is impossible, but the differences between what is known from literary sources and what is present on the extant monuments, as well as the differences which these monuments exhibit among themselves, make it unlikely that Greek artists were very familiar with the narrative of Stesichoros.72 Another factor which should be considered is the possibility that one outstanding pictorial monument created in the early sixth century B.C. may have established a precedent for the visual treatment of the theme. Despite the variety of monuments from a number of proveniences which illustrate the games for Patroklos and Pelias, the
comparisonof Stesichoros'poem Geryoneis (much more of which is preserved than is the case for the "Games for Pelias") with representations of this subject in Archaic Greek art that after the composition of the poem the details of the visual treatments of this theme corresponded closely to Stesichoros' narrative. M. Robertson, "Geryoneis: Stesichorosand the Vase Painters,"CQ 63 (1969) 207-21, espe70 Johansen,Iliad 223-25. 71 Weizsacker (supra n. 46) I857-6I. 72 M. Robertsonnoted in his

interest in depicting these contests seems to have been centered originally in the northeastern Peloponnesos. Two of the earliest portrayalsof the funeral games for Pelias, those on the chest of Kypselos and on the Amphiareos krater, were on Corinthian pieces. The shield band from Olympia illustrating the boxing contests from these games is Argive.73 In addition, two other objects which portray the chariot race at Pelias' games, the Pontic amphora and the Tyrrhenian amphora, combine this scene with one of the departure of Amphiareos, a pairing which was also used on the Kypselos chest and the Amphiareos krater, thus suggesting that these objects, or something which may have formed a prototype for them, had been the source for the depictions on the two amphoras. It is possible, therefore, that the known monuments illustrating epic funeral games, particularly those of Pelias, relied less on literary sources than on an influential prototype in Argive-Corinthian art. In this context it has often been suggested that the four objects mentioned above which portrayed both the departureof Amphiareos and the funeral games for Pelias could all be derived from a single visual source, such as a monumental wall painting, one which may have introduced the general subject of funeral games into Corinthian art.74The juxtaposition of the two subjects on these four examples is probably not fortuitous, for they are not closely related thematically, and the portrayal of the departure of Amphiareos on the Corinthian krater seems to correspond in most details to Pausanias' description of the same subject on the chest of Kypselos.75The different depictions of the chariot race at Pelias' games are, however, a good deal less close than those of the departure of Amphiareos. The Kypselos chest and the Amphiareos krater have several points of variation, particularly in the names and number of the competitors and of the judges, as has been discussed above. The treatments of the subject on the Pontic and Tyrcially 213. In contrast, illustrations of the funeral games for Pelias show such variation that it is still unknown which events Stesichorosincluded in his poem and who his contestants were.
73 Kunze (supra n. 22) 225. 74Hauser (supra n. 21) 1-12. W. von Massow, "Die Kypseloslade," AthMitt 41 (I916) 33-44. Necrocorinthia I39. 75 Hauser (supra n. 21) 2.

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rhenian amphorasseem even further removed from the two Corinthian pieces. The number of competitors is different in each case, the two amphoras show the two-horse instead of the four-horse chariots depicted on the krater,76and the presence on the Tyrrhenian amphora of a grandstand with spectatorsis a detail which appears on none of the other examples. The wrestling match depicted on the chest also has a different set of competitors from those shown on the krater, which makes it unlikely that the version portrayed on the one is dependent on the same source as the other.77 In addition, the boxing match which was illustrated on the chest of Kypselos probably did not rely on the same pictorial antecedent as that of the Argive bronze, for the competitors were separated,not by a tripod, as is the case on the bronze plaque, but by an aulos player.78Thus the separate illustrations of these games show enough variation to preclude the assumption that they are derived from a single visual prototype. It is possible that the portrayal of a set of funeral games on a particularly noteworthy monument from this region, whether the chest of Kypselos or something no longer known, may have caused the subject to become an acceptablepart of the artistic repertory,but the surviving representationsdo not seem to be based on any one model. A few of the Attic pieces depicting the games for Pelias and Patroklos may also have some affinities with the Corinthian versions of epic athletics. The Attic black-figured dinos from the Akropolis, which illustrates a variety of contests from Pelias' games, shows extensive Corinthian influence in the details of the drawing,79and the dinos by Sophilos
76 Several authors who have discussed the correlationof these four objects, including WeizsHcker(supra n. 46) I86I, Hauser (supra n. 21) 10, and von Massow (supra n. 74) 38, felt that the depiction of two-horse chariots meant that the chest and the two amphoras were closer to epic sources on the funeral games, presumablybecause the competitors at Patroklos' funerary chariot race drove two-horse chariots. The use of the fourhorse chariot was also known, however, in the eighth century B.C., as is demonstrated by its appearancein Late Geometric

depicting the funeral games for Patroklos exhibits Corinthian features in the animal friezes on the piece.80 The relationship of the narrative subject matter of these two pieces to that on the Corinthian monuments is, however, less close. The painter of the Akropolis dinos chose the javelin throw, a contest not known on any of the Peloponnesian pieces, and used a different version of the wrestling match; Sophilos depicted a different set of games entirely. In this case also it seems that the prominence of a Corinthian model may have suggested the theme of epic funerary contests,81but the Attic artists seem to have handled the subject in an independent fashion, rather than basing their depictions on a single Corinthian prototype. Another possible source of interest in the funeral games of epic may be found in the correspondence of the date of the pieces illustrating these games with contemporary events. The first depictions of the subject appear shortly before the second quarter of the sixth century B.C., close in time to the founding of three major athletic festivals, the Pythian Games in 586 B.C.,82the Isthmian Games in 58i B.C.,83and the Nemean Games in 573 B.C.84 Each of these athletic festivals, however, was thought of not as a new competition, but as a refoundation or a reorganization of a festival with a mythological precedent. The Pythian Games were believed to commemorate Apollo's victory in his struggle with the dragon, the Isthmian Games were supposed to have been founded by the Corinthian king Sisyphos to honor the dead child Melikertes, and the origin of the Nemean Games was traced to athletic contests celebrated by the Seven Against Thebes for the infant Opheltes, son of the
for Pelias' death and Jason would therefore not have been a welcome guest at Pelias' funeral games. The chest and the krater are so nearly contemporary,however, that it would be difficult to maintain that one illustrates a tradition earlier or later than the other. Moreover, the legend that Medea was involved in Pelias' death does not seem to have become prominent until the latter half of the sixth century B.C.; see Ch. Dugas,
"Le premier crime de Med&e," REA 46 (1944) I-II. 78 Pausanias 5.17.10. 79 Pease (supra n. 24) 228. 80 Development 17-19. 81 Johansen, Iliad 92. 82RE 42 (I901) 2548, s.v. Delphoi (H. Pomtow); I27-58. 83 RE 92 (1916) 2248, s.v. Isthmia (K. Schneider). 84RE I62 (1935) 2324, s.v. Nemea (K. Hanell).

Odyssey 13.8I). The choice by a sixth century B.C. artist of a two-horse or four-horse chariot was more likely determined by personal preference and the space available on his monument. 77Hauser, (supra n. 21) p. 6, explained this discrepancy through a change in the myth, noting that Jason is absent from the krater, the later of the two monuments, because in a later version of the story Jason and his wife Medea were responsible

art (supra n. 51) and in the Homeric poems (Iliad 11.698-99;

S.G.

Miller, "The Date of the First Pythiad," CSCA 11 (1979)

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king of Nemea.85 The foundation myths of each of these three festivals may have drawn the artists' attention to the great athletic meets of the imagined past and to the famous heroes who had competed in them. It might be objected that if artists had chosen to illustrate episodes of heroic funeral games because of the interest created by contemporary athletic festivals, they would have depicted incidents from the games which were associated with these Panhellenic contests. The motif of the games which were believed to form the origin of the Panhellenic festivals, however, is one which never formed a theme of Greek art. Pelops' chariot race with Oinomaos was depicted on the chest of Kypselos,86 and is also illustrated on two fifth century B.C. redfigured vases87 and on one fourth century B.C. piece,88but there seems not to have been an artistic tradition of any games celebrated in honor of Pelops. No episode of the legend connecting the games held for the Python with Delphi was represented in Greek art, and this myth may well be a later addition to the foundation legend of the Pythian Games which was made prominent in order to correlate the mythological tradition of the games at Delphi with those of other Panhellenic festivals.89While the tradition that the child Melikertes-Palaimonwas brought to shore on a dolphin may have been illustrated in a few examples,90 there do not seem to have been any depictions of the athletic contests held for him.91The legend of the games held for the child Opheltes-Archemoros does appear to have attracted attention from Greek artists after the founding of the Nemean Games, for illustrationsof other episodes from the Opheltes story suggest that the myth became more popular
85 The ancient testimonia on the foundation legends of these festivals are given supra n. 5.
87 ARV2 88 ARV2 89 The

after the first Panhellenic Nemean contest.92Here also, however, no depictions of Opheltes' funeral games are known.93 It would seem, therefore, that while the founding of three new Panhellenic games may have drawn attention to the place of athletics, and particularly of formal athletic competition, in Greek legend, the games of myth associatedwith the Panhellenic festivals were not part of the artistic repertory. Instead, interest in the notable athletic contests in which the heroes of Greek epic were believed to have participated caused the best known contests of Greek legend, the games for Patroklos and for Pelias, to become a popular theme in Greek art. These two sports meets provided excellent models for artists who were attracted to the heroic tradition of athletics, for the games of Patroklos were contests which had probably long been known, and interest in the games for Pelias was given fresh impetus at this time by a new literary version. Interest in these athletic meets may have been particularly strong in the northeastern Peloponnesos because of the foundation in that area of two new Panhellenic contests associated with the tradition of funeral games. In summary, the funeral games held for Patroklos and for Pelias were represented in Greek art for the first time in the early sixth century B.C. They rapidly became popular subjects, and appear on a number of monuments from the second quarter of the sixth century. After that time these subjects were no longer represented,except for a number of illustrations of the wrestling match between Peleus and Atalante, which seems to have continued as a separate theme. The popularity of these two sets of games can be traced in part to wellat Isthmia may have been a base for a cult statue of MelikertesPalaimon, perhaps the fragmentary kouros found there, published by B.S. Ridgway, "A Poros Kouros from Isthmia," Hesperia 44 (1975) 426-30. 91 This story is only one of several foundation myths, although probablythe most widely acceptedone. The games were also supposed to have been founded by Theseus, either to honor Poseidon, or to celebrate his defeat of the robbers Skiron or Sinis. Plutarch, Theseus 25.4-5. 92 E. Simon, "Archemoros,"AA 1979, 31-45, especially 36. 93 This is also only one of a number of myths attached to the Nemean festival, for the games were also connected with the funerary contests for Pronax, Hypothesis c to Nemean Odes, Aelian VH 4.5.3, and in another version were said to have been founded by Herakles to celebrate his victory over the Nemean Lion, Hypothesis a to Nemean Odes.

86 Pausanias 5.17.7.
1032,

1440,

58; 1157, I.

25.

original tradition seems to have been that the Pythian Games honored Apollo's victory over the Python, and only in sources of the second century B.C. and later is it stated that the Pythian Games were funerarycontests for the Python. J. Fontenrose, Python (Berkeley 1959) 456-57. 90 A. Furtwangler,Beschreibungder Vasensammlungim Antiquarium (Berlin I885), identified three Corinthian pinakes, one depicting a boy on a dolphin (no. 779) and two showing a male figure on a sea monster (no. 780, 9I4) as illustrations of Melikertesbeing brought ashore by a dolphin. D. Rupp, "The Lost ClassicalPalaimonion Found?" Hesperia 48 (I979) 64-72, suggested that the architecturalfoundation M14in the sanctuary

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FUNERAL GAMES IN GREEK ART

119

known literary accounts which describe them, but since the visual representationsof them differ quite noticeably from the written versions and also from each other, it is unlikely that the literary treatments formed the only source for the artistic representations. The fact that so many of these representations seem to be connected with the northeastern Peloponnesos points to a special interest in the subject in that region, perhaps because the theme may have been illustrated on one particularly influential work of art, although the variations among the individual scenes are great enough to preclude the assumption that these depictions were based on a single prototype. An additional factor

may have been the foundation of three Panhellenic athletic festivals during this same period, for the foundation myths of these festivals drew attention to the heroic tradition of Greek athletics and to the outstanding performances of the heroes who participated in the funerary contests of Greek legend. The fact that two of these festivals, the Isthmian and Nemean Games, were located in the northeastern Peloponnesos may have reinforced the interest of this region in the tradition of heroic funerary games.
DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS DAVIS, CALIFORNIA 956I6

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FIG. I. Corinthian krater (Amphiareos krater). Formerly in Berlin. Chariot race at the games for Pelias.
(After FR pl. 12I)

FIc. 2. Corinthian krater (Amphiareos krater). Formerly in Berlin. Wrestling match at the games for Pelias. (After FR pl. 121)

FIG. 3. Bronze shield band. Olympia. Boxing contest at the games for Pelias. (After Kunze, Schildbdnder pl. 14)

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ROLLER

0490

II

AA

'I
a

....4r U .,X
I Os

FIc. 4. Akropolis 5goa. Javelin contest at the games for Pelias. (After Graef, Akiropolisvasen pl. 27)

FiG. 5. Akropolis 59oc plus A-P 906. Wrestling match at the games for Pelias. (After Hesperia 9 [I9401 I46, fig. I)