The document summarizes the decoration and scenes depicted on the Francois Vase located in Florence, Italy. Dating to around 570 BCE, the vase depicts myths from Greek mythology painted in black figure technique across seven friezes. Major scenes include the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, the hunt for the Calydonian boar, Achilles' pursuit of Troilus, and the battle between the Lapiths and Centaurs. The vase provides important artistic and mythological details from the archaic period of ancient Greece.

1. The Francois
Vase
Kleitias painter

2. The Basics
Location: Museo Archeologico,
Florence
Date: c.570 B.C.E. (archaic period)
Painter: Kleitias
Potter: Ergotimos
Shape: volute krater
Size: 66cm
Technique: black figure
Function: mixing bowl for wine and
water.

3. Dimensions
Diameter of mouth: 57cm
Widest
circumference:
181cm
Height: 66cm

4. Decoration Technique
 Shape and decoration revolutionary
for time
 Painted decoration inspired by
Corinthian miniaturist style in vogue
during orientalising period
 Division into seven friezes or bands
 270 human and animal figurines
and 121 of them inscribed with
names
 Boustrophe: the writing goes in
either direction,
 Other features of orientalising period
evident
 mythological animals such as
griffins and sphinxes as well as
exotic vegetable motifs like the
lotus and palmette

5. Subject
 Troy – Iliad
 Majority of scenes celebrate deeds
of Achilles and his father Peleus
 Wedding of Peleus and Thetis
 Hunting of Calydonian boar
 Pursuit of Troilus
 Funeral games of Patroclus and on
the back of the handle Ajax is
depicted carrying body of deceased
Achilles
 Theseus dancing victory dance –
the Geranos. Involved in battle of
Lapiths and Centaurs
 Goddes Artemis depicted on the
back of the handle as the ‘Pontia
Theron’ or the Mistress of Animals
Ajax carries Achilles

6. Conventions of Black Figure
 silhouettes filled in with slip
 added colour, including white
for female flesh,
 some drapery,
 a couple of horses and the
dog (now almost entirely
worn away) on the back of
the Kalydonian boar;
 purple on some drapery;
 red on some men's faces.
 incision for hair, internal details
of anatomy and ornate patterns
Artemis on some clothing.

7. Figures
 small-scale, silhouette figures.
 pose often has profile head (but with
frontal eye); frontal torso and profile legs
and feet
 incision of anatomical detail is delicate
and precise, showing an accurate
knowledge of major muscle groups.
 attempts to suggest texture with smooth
human hair and the spiky bristles of the
boar.
 attempts to show movement: one foot in
front of the other; raised and
outstretched legs suggest running; joined
hands for dancers.
 emotion suggested by gestures such as
raised hands.
 movement and gesture lively and active in
most scenes; restrained and dignified in
the wedding procession.

8. Analysing the
bands

9. Side A: The Neck
1. The hunt for the Kalydonian Boar
2. Achilles’ chariot race

10. First Band – The hunt for the Kalydonian
Boar The Myth
The leader of the hunt was Meleager
Artemis sent the boar after Meleager’s
father offended her by not including her
in his yearly sacrifices to the Gods
Many heroes joined Meleager; Castor,
Polydeuces, Jason, Peleus, Theseus and
his friend Peirithous the Lapith, and the
Atalanta Meleager woman Atalanta
and Peleus
The Vase
In the picture the hunters advance on the
boar. Atalanta, her skin painted white
holds a dart. Beside her is her future
husband, Melanion. Beyond him is a dog
preparing to leap

11. The hunt for the Kalydonian Boar
The Myth
Atalanta’s father had not wanted a female child and left
her on a mountainside. Under the protection of
Artemis she grew to be deadly hunter. The other
hunters had objected to a female on the hunt but
Meleager had fallen in love with her and insisted
The Vase
In the top picture the boar is wounded by three arrows
and has killed Ankaios and a dog
Hunters and another dog attack from behind, driving
the boar on to the spears of Peleus and Meleager, who is
shown without a beard to indicate his youth
A white dog, now mostly worn off, has leapt on to the
boar's back - only the faint outline and the gaps in the
boar's bristles show where it was
Four more pairs of hunters pursue the boar, assisted by
two Scythian archers, one sporting an ornately decorated
tunic.

12. Second Band – Achilles’ chariot race
The chariot race is held by Achilles for his dead friend Patroclus who
had died at the hands of the Trojan hero, Hector. Achilles had taken
his revenge and cornering Hector slew him. All the charioteers race in
the same direction. The prizes for the winner, a tripod (a bowl sitting
on three legs) and a dinos (handleless bowl used for mixing water and
wine), are used to fill in the void under the horses’ feet.

13. Under the handles of the vase, on
both sides, is this scene of the dead
Achilles being carried by Ajax.
The myth tells of how, when
Achilles was killed by Paris’ arrow,
Ajax rescued his armour and
carried his body back to camp,
while Odysseus warded off
attackers.
Compositional stability: the horizontal and vertical
straight lines of Ajax contrasts with the diagonal lines
formed by Achilles’ body. Also the eyes contrast.

14. Side A – The body of the Vase
3. The wedding of Thetis and Peleus
4. Achilles pusues Troilus
5. Oriental animal frieze

15. Third Band – The wedding of Thetis and
Peleus The Myth
Marriage of mortal Peleus and immortal sea-
goddess Thetis. The most significant myth
depicted. Thetis wooed by both Zeus and
Poseidon until found out her son would be
greater than his father. Married her to the
hero Peleus. Son was Achilles. Incidents
that occurred at the wedding led the Trojan
War
The Vase
Peleus is standing in front of his home while
Thetis sits in the open doorway, waiting to
welcome their guests.
Attended by all of the major gods with Zeus
and Hera in the first chariot
A comic Dionysus runs ahead of them,
carrying a jar of wine.

16. Fourth Band – Achilles pursues Troilus
The Myth
This event called the Cypria, was the earliest in Trojan
War. Prophesied that Troy would never be taken if
Troilus, the son of Priam, reached his twentieth year.
Achilles waited beside the fountain house. Troilus
saw and fled on horseback to the safety of Apollo.
Achilles killed him on the altar of Apollo, something
that god never forgave him for
The Vase
Apollo, stands to the left of the fountain-house, his
stance and gesture suggesting danger and urgency
A youth places his hydria beneath one of the water
Youth
Apollo spouts.
On the other side a girl waits for her hydria to fill, but
she has caught sight of the impending tragedy behind
her and throws up her arms in horror

17. Achilles pursuit of Troilus
Between the girl and the action stand
three gods: Thetis, mother of Achilles,
Hermes, and Athene,
The central image shows Achilles in
pursuit of Achilles
Troilus
Achilles To the right, Antenor brings the bad
news to King Priam, shown sitting
Polyxena
outside the walls of Troy with only a
staff to support him in his old age and
sorrow.
Two warriors, Troilos's brothers Hektor
and Polites, emerge from the gates on
their way to rescue their brother or
Antenor Priam Hektor and avenge his death.
Polites

18. Fifth Band
 Orientalising – inspired
animal frieze
 A lion fells a bull
 A lion fells a stag
 A pair of griffins sitting
either side of a Lotus and
palmette motif

19. Side B – The Neck
1. Dance of the Athenian Youths
2. The Centauromarchy

20. The First Frieze: The Geranos
The Myth:
Whilst travelling, Aegeus, King of Athens, spent a
night at Troezen, in the house of the king. That
night he slept with Princess Aithra, and in the
morning, as he left, he hid his sandals and sword
under a heavy rock.

21. Aegeus told Aithra that if she bore a son he would
only acknowledge him when he could lift the rock
and claim the sword and sandals.
When Theseus was sixteen, he did just that, before
setting off for Athens to meet his father.
He was desperate to make a good impression, so
along the way he completed some dangerous and
impressive tasks.

22. Theseus arrived in Athens wearing the sword and
sandals. Medea, Aegeus's wife, attempted to poison
Theseus, but as soon as Aegeus recognized the
heirlooms, he proclaimed Theseus his son and heir
and banished Medea.
Theseus killed a few relatives who wearing making life
hard for his father, and killed a wild bull on the
plain of Marathon.
He then began his most famous deed.

23. Athens had to pay a tribute each year of seven young
women and seven young men to King Minos of
Crete, as payment for the death of Minos’ son
Androgeos.
These sacrifices were fed to a monster called the
Minotaur. Theseus volunteered to be one of the
fourteen, and, having arranged a signal to show his
success with his father, set off for Crete.
He was helped by Ariadne, daughter of King Minos,
who gave him a dagger and a ball of wool.

24. Theseus killed the Minotaur and found his way out of the
maze, whereupon he met Ariadne and the other 13
Athenians, and together they fled back to Athens.
Theseus forgot the signal he had arranged with his father,
however, and sailed back to Athens under black sails.
Aegeus was watching for the ship by the coast, and when he
saw the ship approaching, in his grief he threw himself into
the sea. The sea has been called Aegean Sea ever since, and
Theseus became King of Athens.

25. First Band – The Geranos
The Myth
The Geranos, or victory dance occurred
after Theseus had rescued the fourteen
Athenian youths and maidens from the
minotaur.
The Vase
In the victory dance on and the vase,
the youths and maidens can be seen
holding hands and miming their hurried
exit from the labyrinth, to the sound of
Theseus’ lyre
The women wear the peplos, the men
the himation (cloak)

26. The Second Frieze – The
Centauromachy
The Myth
The Centaurs were half-human, half-horse creatures, who ate raw meat and
lived a wild, unbridled life in the caves of Mount Pelion.
A dispute arose between them and King Peirithous who ruled the Kingdom
of the Lapiths. The Centaurs were invited to the wedding of King
Peirithous, but the Centaurs disgraced themselves by getting drunk and
trying to make off the with bride and the women at the wedding.
The King Peirithous, Theseus and the Lapiths pursued them, and in the
ensuing battle, many Centaurs were killed. The Centaurs were then
banished to live in the forests of Thessaly.

27. Hylaios
Kaineus a leader of the Lapiths, has
Next to them another centaur
fallen to the ground under a hail of
and a Lapith duel, branch
blows from the centaur Hylaios, who
against javelin
belabours him with a branch while two
other centaurs bring large rocks to deal
A centaur rears above a
the fatal blow. fallen comrade to hurl a
rock at (possibly)
Kaineus died but the Lapiths won the battle Theseus.

28. Fourth Band – The Return of Hephaistos
The Myth
Hephaistos had been hurled out of
heaven by his mother Hera for intefering
in an argument between her and Zeus.
He then designed a throne that kept Hera
bound and then went into hiding. Zeus
offered the hand of Aphrodite in order to
get Hephaistos to release her. Dionysus
then led the lame God back to Olympus
Hephaistos Accompanied The Vase
Dionysus drunk by satyrs or
leads Depicts the return of Hephaistos to
nymphs
Olympus. Dionysus leads his mule and
they are accompanied by nymphs and
satyrs. The latter most commonly
depicted in a state of sexual arousal

29. The Foot Frieze – The Battle between
Pygmies and Cranes
See p. 23 in White text
Or
p. 8 in Black text

30. Connections:
 Achilles
 Peleus on Lip Side A
 Patroclus on Neck Side A
 Marriage of Thetis and Peleus on Shoulder
 Troilus on Belly Side A
 Ajax on handles

31.  Artemis
 Kalydonian Boar on Lip Side A
 Thetis and Peleus’ Marriage on Shoulder
 Surrounded by animals on handles
 Theseus
 Kalydonian Boar on Lip Side A
 Leader of the dance on Lip Side B
 Friend of Peirithous on Neck Side B

32. Overall Themes:
 Greek victory over Trojans (in particular),
barbarians and animals
 Gods’ preference for the Greeks