Text of Pausanius:
"There is Polypoetes, the son of Peirithous, his head bound with a fillet; by his side is Acamas, the son of Theseus, wearing on his head a helmet with a crest on it. [10.26.3] There is also Odysseus...and Odysseus has put on his corselet. Ajax, the son of Oileus, holding a shield, stands by an altar, taking an oath about the outrage on Cassandra. Cassandra is sitting on the ground, and holds the image of Athena, for she had knocked over the wooden image from its stand when Ajax was dragging her away from sanctuary. In the painting are also the sons of Atreus, wearing helmets like the others; Menelaus carries a shield, on which is wrought a serpent as a memorial of the prodigy that appeared on the victims at Aulis. [10.26.4] Under those who are administering the oath to Ajax, and in a line with the horse by Nestor, is Neoptolemus, who has killed Elasus, whoever Elasus may be. Elasus is represented as a man only just alive. Astynous, who is also mentioned by Lescheos, has fallen to his knees, and Neoptolemus is striking him with a sword. ..... [10.26.5] In the picture is an altar, to which a small boy clings in terror. On the altar lies a bronze corselet. .... [10.26.7] Beyond the altar he has painted Laodice standing, whom I do not find among the Trojan captive women enumerated by any poet, so I think that the only probable conclusion is that she was set free by the Greeks. ....[10.26.9] Next to Laodice is a stone stand with a bronze washing-basin upon it. Medusa is sitting on the ground, holding the stand in both hands. If we are to believe the ode of the poet of Himera, Medusa should be reckoned as one of the daughters of Priam. Beside Medusa is a shaved old woman or eunuch, holding on the knees a naked child. It is represented as holding its hand before its eyes in terror."
This portion of the composition is divided into two distinct registers: on the top is a row of Greeks surrounding the sitting figure of Cassandra; on the bottom are Neoplolemus still killing Tojans and some frightened witnesses. The two seprate scenes have some unusual elements, and their juxtaposition creates parallel dramas.
Polypoetes and Acamas are the the sons of the friends Perithous and Theseus who together first abducted Helen when she was a young girl. Acamas is depicted on the Kleophrades Painter's hydra rescuing Aithra (Theseus' mother) with his brother Demophon, and also on the calyx-krater by Myson in the British Museum (E 458). Acamas and Demophon are more commonly seen together than Polypoetes, but Polygnotos has already depicted Demophon with Aithra in a previous part of the painting.
The figure of Polypoetes is from a kantharos in the British Museum (E155) (Art and Myth fig.132), which also has an example of the helmets and armor that the Greek warriors wear. There are many other vases depicting the arms and shields to which Pausanius refers: a depiction of Menelaos in helmet with shield, and a warrior on a neck amphora by the Shuvalov painter in Mississippi.
The occuance of the prodigy that is symbolized by a snake on Menelaos' shield is described at Iliad 2.303-30. The snake shield is carried by Aineias on the Sack of Troy vase by the Kleophrades Painter and by an unnamed Greek on the cup the by the Brygos Painter.
"The violation of Cassandra in the Sanctuary of Athena, which outraged the other Achaeans, was a popular subject for both Archaic and Classical Greek art, and essentially the same scene is the shown throughout." (Carpenter, Art and Myth p. 209) However, the Oath ofAjax about the rape of Cassandra is not a common theme from vase painting. Polygnotos' painting is set slightly later in time: the act is done. The presence of Odysseus and the sons of Atreus has a sobering effect, and brings a sense of conscience to the scene. Cassandra remains as she is depicted in the more canonical versions of the theme: on the ground holding the cult statue of Athena. (I have restored her clothes, which she might have had time to put on.) Cassandra holds up her hand in supplication on the Kleophrades Painter's vase. I have taken the drawing of the statue of Athena from the same vase, as well as from a volute crater by the Niobid Painter in Bologna. (Athenian Red Figure Vases: the Classical Period, fig.1) Altars are depicted not infrequently on vases.
According to the prophet Helenus (depicted the section of the painting with Helen), if Neoptolemus fought with the Greeks, they would win the war. Neoptolemus is represented with the child Astynax and Priam on the cup by the Brygos Painter, from which I've taken inspiration for his figure. In Polygnotos' painting instead of those pathetic characters, he is killing some unimportant Trojans. The Brygos Painter depicts the Trojan men as unarmed; I have taken the figure of Elasus from this source.
Pausanius comments on Laodice (the most beautiful of Priam's daughters): "Homer in the Iliad speaks of the hospitality given to Menelaus and Odysseus by Antenor, and how Laodice was wife to Helicaon, Antenor's son. (Iliad 3.121 and 3.203.) [10.26.8] Lescheos says that Helicaon, wounded in the night battle, was recognized by Odysseus and carried alive out of the fighting. So the tie binding Menelaus and Odysseus to the house of Antenor makes it unlikely that Agamemnon and Menelaus committed any spiteful act against the wife of Helicaon. The account of Laodice given by the Chalcidian poet Euphorion is entirely unlikely."
According to Peter Levi (translator or the Penguin edition of Pausanius), this comment probably refers to Laodice's answered prayer to be swallowed up by the earth when Troy fell. Laodice may be present in this scene because of her consortion with Demophon and Acamas. Otherwise, her placement in this scene seems unusual because she is not present in other canonical depictions of the Sack of Troy. Her figure is from a pelike by the Painter of Tarquinia (Athenian Red Figure Vases, fig. 199).
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