Greek Mythology >> Galleries >> Greek Vase Paintings 3 >> K18.4

K18.4 HEBE

DETAILS
Museum Collection	British Museum, London
Catalogue No.	London 1971,1101.1
Beazley Archive No.	350099
Ware	Attic Black Figure
Shape	Dinos
Painter	Signed by Sophilos
Date	ca. 580 - 570 B.C.
Period	Archaic

DESCRIPTION

Detail of the goddess Hebe from a painting depicting the procession of gods attending the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

Hebe, the goddess of youth, wears a dress embroidered with rows of sphinxes, beasts and geometric patterns. Her wavy hair is bound with ribbons and braided in oiled locks. As the cupbearer of the gods, she is grouped with Dionysus and other gods of the feast.

Hebe is the most prominent goddess depicted in the procession, standing alone with arms bare where the others are each paired with another deity and cloaked. This perhaps signifies her role in the scene as the divine patron of maiden brides. The wedding itself--of a hero and a goddess--may also presage her subsequent marriage to Heracles.