Detail of a Terracotta Neck-Amphora with Twisted Handles Attributed to the Pilos Head Group in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 2011

Terracotta neck-amphora with twisted handles (jar)

Attributed to the Pilos Head Group

Period:Late Classical

Date:ca. 350–325 B.C.

Culture:Greek, South Italian, Campanian

Medium:Terracotta; red-figure

Dimensions:H. 10 7/16 in. (26.5 cm)

Classification:Vases

Accession Number:X.21.19

Obverse, young warrior seated on an altar and bearded warrior. Reverse, youth
On the neck, obverse, head of youth with pilos (pointed cap). Reverse, female head

The protagonist of the main scene has been identified as either Orestes, son of Agamemnon and Klytemnestra, or Neoptolemos, son of Achilles and Deidameia. In one account, both men vied for the hand of Hermione, daughter of Menelaos and Helen, resulting in Orestes' murder of Neoptolemos. The representation poignantly conveys the misfortune visited upon the children of Greece's greatest heroes.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/256602