The Departure of the Argonauts on the Dinos Painter's Bell Krater in Gela

by John H. Oakley

Hesperia, Volume 76, Issue 2
Page(s): 347-357
Stable URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.2972/hesp.76.2.347
Publication Date: 2007

Period: Classical
Subject: Attic red-figured vase painting

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ABSTRACT:The main scene on an Attic red-figure bell krater in Gela by the Dinos Painter has been variously interpreted. Some identify the scene as the Argonauts' arrival at Kolchis, others as the departure of Theseus for Crete. Most recently, Alan Shapiro has interpreted it as Theseus's departure from Crete. A new analysis of all the elements of the picture suggests instead that it shows the Argonauts' departure from Kolchis. If this interpretation is correct, the vase constitutes the first known depiction of this scene as well as the first representation in ancient art of Apsyrtos and his stepmother, Idyia.