Hydria (water jar): Warrior's Farewell

An elderly, bearded man in a white garment bids farewell to a helmeted warrior with white shield, probably his son. They communicate across the two-horse chariot — complete with charioteer — that will take the warrior to battle in a fashion more fitting for a hero of the Iliad than a sixth-century BCE Athenian. Without name inscriptions, it remains unclear whether this is a specific mythological scene or a generic one. Regardless, the image casts the common experience of a warrior’s departure in an exemplary, heroic light. Vessels with this subject matter were suitable tomb offerings and exported to other parts of the Mediterranean.