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Two fragments of a terracotta skyphos (deep drinking cup)

Attributed to the Palermo Painter
ca. 420–400 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 161
The punishment of Marsyas

Incomplete though it is, this beautiful work illustrates the South Italian predilection for large vases and the ample surface they provide for decoration. The goddess Athena invented the double flutes but rejected them because her face was disfigured when she played them. The satyr Marsyas mastered the instrument and in time challenged the god Apollo to a contest. Marsyas lost and was flayed for his presumption. On one side of the skyphos, Artemis and Leto, sister and mother of Apollo, face the satyr who leans on a pillar inscribed with his name and holds a large knife. The other side preserves much of Athena, with her martial attributes, seated pensively on a rock.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Two fragments of a terracotta skyphos (deep drinking cup)
  • Artist: Attributed to the Palermo Painter
  • Period: Classical
  • Date: ca. 420–400 BCE
  • Culture: Greek, South Italian, Lucanian
  • Medium: Terracotta; red-figure
  • Dimensions: H. 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm)
    diameter 16 in. (40.6 cm)
  • Classification: Vases
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1912
  • Object Number: 12.235.4
  • Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art

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Fragment of a terracotta skyphos (deep drinking cup), Palermo Painter, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Lucanian
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ca. 430–400 BCE
Terracotta kylix (drinking cup), Hieron as potter, Terracotta, Greek, Attic
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ca. 480 BCE
Terracotta askos in the form of a boar, Terracotta, Greek, South Italian, Campanian
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Terracotta oinochoe (jug), Terracotta, Greek, Attic
Terracotta oinochoe (jug)
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