K46.1 EROS, POMPE & DIONYSUS
| Museum Collection | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
|---|---|
| Catalogue No. | New York 25.190 |
| Beazley Archive No. | 503 |
| Ware | Attic Red Figure |
| Shape | Oinochoe |
| Painter | The Pompe Painter |
| Date | ca. 370 - 360 B.C. |
| Period | Late Classical |
DESCRIPTION
Pompe, the goddess of religious processions, clothes herself in preparation for a festival held in honour of the god Dionysus. She stands nude drawing a robe (coloured by the painter with pink highlights) across her body. Her hair is bound up in a wreath (of laurel?) and she wears a necklace, earrings and bracelets. On her left the winged godling Eros (Love) crouches tying a sandal beside a basket. Dionysus is seated on the right with a pinecone-tipped staff (thyrsos) held in his hand. He is depicted as a youth with long, wavy hair, bare chest, and robe hung loosely about his thighs. Pompe and Dionysus gaze lovingly at each other.
The scene is probably metaphorical, in the sense "Dionysus loves religious processions", rather than a literal romance of myth.
IMAGE DETAIL
Detail of the goddess Pompe.