Phintias and Euthymides
Jenifer Neils, Case Western Reserve University

2. Mythological Scenes Part 1

While these two hydriai are devoted to scenes of daily life, at the beginning of his career Phintias expressed an interest in mythology. His earliest extant vase, a kylix in Munich signed by the potter Deiniades and dated to ca. 520 B.C. (Munich 2590)[4] has a running satyr with a drinking horn in the tondo (Illustration 6). If we compare him to the satyr with two kantharoi in the tondo of one of his latest cups (Malibu 80.AE.31;Illustration 7) [5], we can see how far the artist has progressed in representing a figure in motion; note for instance the frontal chest of the early satyr and the attempted profile chest of the later one.

Illustration 6

Illustration 7

The earlier satyr is posed much like running figures in the tondos of black-figure cups, and does not yet take advantage of the new technique which allows for overlapping of forms.

On the exterior of the Munich cup, Phintias has depicted two exploits of the hero Herakles: his attack on the sleeping giant Alkyoneus (Illustration 8), and his struggle with Apollo for the tripod(Illustration 9).

Illustration 8

Illustration 9

Both compositions are carefully balanced with Herakles and Hermes on A and Herakles and Apollo on B mirror images of each other. Beazley called this cup "from the painter's nonage" and one can see clear signs of the influence of earlier artists such as Psiax and the Andokides Painter.

Illustration 10

For instance, the closed eye of Alkyoneus has lashes painted above and below just like the eye of Herakles' lionskin on the Andokides Painter's amphora in Boston (Boston 99.538; No. 115;Illustration 10) .