Roosters, Columns, and Athena on Early Panathenaic Prize Amphoras: Symbols of a New Athenian Identity

by Maggie L. Popkin

Hesperia, Volume 81, Issue 2
Page(s): 207-235
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.81.2.0207
Year: 2012
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ABSTRACT:

This article examines the addition of columns surmounted by roosters to the iconography of Panathenaic prize amphoras around 540 B.C. The author argues that the roosters were a visual equivalent of Athena as defender of cities and also a link to the aristocratic ideals of paideia and arete; together with the columns, the birds squarely claimed the favor and military prowess of Athena for the city of Athens. It is suggested that the impetus for this iconographic innovation was an attempt by Athens to promote itself as the emerging leader of the broader Greek world.