Midas as the Great King in Attic Fifth-Century Vase-Painting (1988)

MIDAS AS THE GREAT KING IN ATTIC FIFTH-CENTURY VASE-PAINTINGAuthor(s): MARGARET C. MILLERSource: Antike Kunst, 31. Jahrg., H. 2. (1988), pp. 79-89Published by: Vereinigung der Freunde Antiker KunstStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41309164 .

Accessed: 15/09/2014 19:32

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Vereinigung der Freunde Antiker Kunst is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toAntike Kunst.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 129.78.139.28 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 19:32:36 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=vfak

http://www.jstor.org/stable/41309164?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


MARGARET C. MILLER

MIDAS AS THE GREAT KING IN ATTIC FIFTH-CENTURY VASE-PAINTING

Midas, the mythical king of Phrygia, was known to classical Athenians for three things: he was very wealthy; he had the ears of an ass; he once captured Silenos. This he managed by filling a spring with wine and making Sile- nos drunk. In this way Midas sought to gain wisdom; he was rewarded with the insight that it was best for mortals never to have been born, and next best to die as soon as possible1. Attic vase painters had started depicting Midas' encoun- ter with Silenos before the mid sixth century B.C. Some twenty vessels remain, each depicting one of three phases of the tale: Silenos ambushed, Silenos led by his captors, Silenos presented to the enthroned Midas2. Illustrations

Brommer I = F. Brommer, Vasenlisten zur griechischen Helden- sage 3(i973)

Brommer II = F. Brommer, Bilder der Midassage, AA 1941, 36-52 Brommer III = F. Brommer, Mythologische Darstellungen auf

Vasenfragmenten der Sammlung Cahn, in: Studien zur griechischen Vasenmalerei ( = AntK Beiheft 7, 1970) 50-65

Schefold I = K. Schefold, Gotter- und Heldensagen der Griechen in der spatarchaischen Kunst (1978)

Schefold II = K. Schefold, Die Gottersage in der klassischen und hellenistischen Kunst (1981)

1 Classical literary references to the myth are limited: Wealth: Aristo- phanes, Ploutos 286f.; cf. Tyrtaios, Fr.9, 6 (Diehl); Platon, Politeia 408b. Nomoi 66oe. Ass's ears: Aristophanes, Ploutos 287. Silenos captured: in the garden of Midas, where grew the sixty-petalled rose, Herodotos 8, 138, 2; Xenophon referred to the spring filled with wine by Midas (Anabasis 1, 2, 13); the same story appeared in Bion and Theopdmpos (F.Jacoby, Die Fragmente der griechischen Histo- riker 2B [1962] 55of. no. 115F 75a = Athenaios 2, 45c). Aristotle pro- vides the explanation for the capture, by testifying to the wisdom of Silenos, which Midas wished to gain from him ( apud Plutarch, Con- solatio ad Apollonium 27 [Moralia 115B-E]). This tradition of the wisdom of Silenos is already suggested by Pindar, Fr. 157. L.E. Roller, The Legend of Midas, Classical Antiquity 2, 1983, 299-313, has most recently collected and discussed these and other aspects of the Midas legend, including later elaborations. 2 Brommer I, 5341. gathers the lists or Brommer II, 36-52 and III, 54-57.62. In the list in Brommer I, *A8, Art Market 1971' should now be emended to 'Toronto, Borowski Collection 72'; the amphora is now attributed to the Painter of Berlin 1686 (Beazley, Paralipo- mena 129, 17 tery see below, note 5). To this list we should now add

of the first phase, Phrygian hunters ambushing Silenos at a fountain house, become popular at the end of the sixth century. As is clear from the pelike of the Acheloos Pain- ter in New York, there is nothing to mark the hunters who surprise Silenos as Phrygians; the painter trusts to the viewer's knowledge of the myth (PL 18, /J3. This lack of specific Oriental detail for depiction of myths set in

New York 78.11.9, a pelike attributed by von Bothmer to the Pan Painter showing Silenos conducted: Metropolitan Museum of Art. Notable Acquisitions (1 975-1 979) 15 (noted by Schefold II, 353, n.337, as 'Basel Antiquitatenmesse'). Other vases are less certainly related. We should possibly add a fragmentary column krater in Flor- ence, attributed to the Triptolemos Painter by J.R. Guy, Column Kraters by the Triptolemos Painter, Abstracts of the Annual General Meeting (Archaeological Institute of America) 3, 1978, 44. Two vases show a satyr before a fountain, of which that at Yale has a stream of liquid in added red: Yale 167, unattributed cup (A. Greifenhagen, Alte Zeichnungen nach unbekannten griechischen Vasen, Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Philos.-Hist. Klasse, Sitzungs- berichte 3, 1976, figs. 11-12); Coll. Diefenthal, Metairie, unattributed lekythos (J.Neils, in: H.A. Shapiro, Art, Myth and Culture: Greek Vases from Southern Collections [1981] 52f.). Mtinster 784, a white-ground lekythos attributed to the Gela Painter, may belong, though its origin is much more convincingly dramatic: K. Stahler, Griechische Vasen des archaologischen Museums der Unjversitat Mtinster, Boreas 2, 1979, 193-196 and Stahler, Heroen und Gdtter der Griechen (1980) no. 14; suggested by E.Simon to depict Aeschy- lus' Kerykes: Satyr-Plays on Vases in the Time of Aeschylus, in: The Eye of Greece. Studies in the Art of Athens (ed. D.Kurtz and B.Sparkes 1982) 1 38 f. See also Schefold I, 73f. and II, i72f.; and L. E. Roller, The Greek View of Anatolia, Ancient Greek and Related Pottery (1984) 260-263. Cf. the gem in the British Museum: H.B. Walters, Catalogue of the Engraved Gems and Cameos, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the British Museum (1926) no. 1559 pl. 21. 3 New York 49.1 1.1: pelike, ca. 510 (Beazley, ABV 384, 19). The earliest Attic vases to attempt to give an Oriental flavour to the scene are: London 1910.2-12.1 (see below note 9) and the fragmentary column krater in the Cahn Collection, Basel (HC 191: Schefold II, 172 fig. 228), both ca. 500; the new pelike in New York, of ca.470, incorporates some Orientalizing dress (see note 2). Strong local colouring does not occur consistently until the mid fifth century. Contrast the Lakonian version of the myth, the cup attributed to the Typhon Painter, on which the Phrygians are given pointed caps, sleeved garments and trousers (Rome, Villa Giulia 57231: C.M. Stibbe, Lakonische Vasenmaler des sechsten Jahrhunderts v.Chr. [1972] no. 342; AA 1937, 4o6f. fig. 21).

79



the East is characteristic of Attic sixth-century iconography. The earliest Attic portrayal of the myth shows the second phase, Silenos conducted by his captors: Ergotimos' cup in Berlin, of ca. 560 (PL 18 , j)4. Two Phrygian hunters, empty wineskin and unused tether in hand, lead the docile Silenos. Vase-painters favour this part of the myth in the first to early second quarter of the fifth century. Three black-figured vases of the second half of the sixth century depict the third phase, Silenos presented at Midas' court. The archaic scene-type used includes one problematic detail which may either hint at an otherwise lost narrative tradition or simply illustrate one means used by vase-painters of the period to suggest the exotic. On a black-figured amphora in the Borowski Collection in Toronto a figure with winged boots, broad-brimmed hat and animal skin brings Silenos, bound hand and foot, to the enthroned Midas5. Who is Silenos' guard: a hunter or Hermes? A contemporary strainer in Eleusis may suggest that it is the latter: on it a figure equipped with caduceus , as well as hat and winged boots, leads the pro- cession of the bound Silenos and his guard (PL 18, 2J6. Hermes plays no role in any of the extant versions of the myth, but as no literary reference to the myth even ante- dates Herodotos 8, 138, this silence is not significant. A mastoid cup in the Louvre, dated ca. 500, essentially reproduces the schema, even to the point of Silenos' guard wearing winged boots and animal skin7. Yet here there is no suggestion that this is Hermes; this guard carries a

4 Berlin, Antikenmuseum 31 51: merrythought cup, ca. 560 (Beazley, ABV 79, and Paralipomena 30). 5 Published by J.R. Guy in: N. Leipen, Glimpses of Excellence. A Selection of Greek Vases and Bronzes from the Elie Borowski Col- lection (Exhibition Catalogue, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto 1984) no. 5, who identifies Silenos' guard as Hermes. 6 Eleusis 1 231: black-figured strainer, unattributed. Brommer II, 4 if., identifies the figure with the wand as a herald, rejecting Bulle's identification of Hermes. 7 Louvre F 166: black-figured mastoid, Group of Louvre F 116 (Beazley, ABV 614, 1; E.Pottier, Vases antiques du Louvre 2 [1901] pl. 76).

long spear. The winged boots also appear on two Phry- gian hunters who lead Silenos on a late black-figured pelike attributed to the Eucharides Painter8. Either the details of the story had changed over the two generations that separate these pairs of vases or, in the view of an Attic sixth-century vase-painter, winged boots are not unsuited to the hunters of distant Phrygia. To this group of three sixth-century representations of Midas enthroned should be added one other late archaic vessel, a lekythos in the British Museum, attributed to the Sappho Painter9. Two seated men flank the central image of a Phrygian poised, rope in hand, on the roof of a fountain house where Silenos drinks. The man on the left, swathed in a himation and holding a staff or sceptre, is identified as 'Mides' by an inscription. Two palm trees add a touch of the exotic (PL 18 , 4). On the four archaic vessels showing or suggesting the presentation of Silenos to Midas, two features are note- worthy. First, there is a general lack of interest in provid- ing any indication of the Eastern setting of the scene. Second, the formula used to identify Midas' royal status is very limited: he is seated and he bears a sceptre (or, once, spear)10. In Attic archaic painting, the same for-

8 Leningrad: ca. 500 (Beazley, ABV 396, 24; AA 1912, 341L figs. 25.26). Might this reflect some sixth-century means of elevating a Phrygian hunter to the level of myth? Winged boots were not the sole prerogative of Hermes; in Attic black-figure, Hephaistos and Apollo regularly sport them, as can be seen by a quick glance through Schefold I, figs. 1-4. 27. 78. 192. 193. 9 London 191 0.2-1 2.1: black-figured lekythos, Sappho Painter (Beaz- ley, ABV 507, 32; Brommer II figs. 3-5). 10 The standing figure on Side B of the amphora attributed to the Harrow Painter in Baltimore was identified by Robinson as Midas on account of the subject on Side A (Beazley, ABV 273, 22); the lack of corroborating internal iconographic evidence argues not so much against the identification as for the lack of a specific iconographic tradition at this date to indicate an Oriental king. For new photo- graphs and discussion, see E.R. Williams, The Archaeological Col- lection of the Johns Hopkins University (1984) 172-174 no. 113. Sim- ilarly, J.R. Guy suggested that the revelling man on Side A of the fragmentary column krater in Florence might be Midas, op. c. ( supra note 2).

80



mula was used to indicate the rank of Zeus and mythical and Oriental kings, as in the case of the several representations of Priam enthroned, while on Myson's amphora the presence of the pyre alone identifies Croesus11. In archaic Attic iconography there was no more complex schema for the presentation of royalty. During the first half of the fifth century, the presentation of Silenos to Midas is less popular than scenes of the ambush and conducting of Silenos. However, after a long hiatus, in the decade after the mid fifth century, three painters produced the scene again, but with a dramatic change of iconography. The finest of the three is the stamnos in London, the name-vase of the Midas Painter (PL 19, i)12. An unattributed bell krater formerly in Palazzolo Acreide reproduces the scene, with the posi- tions of the two figures on the right reversed (PL 19, 2)13. An unattributed cup in the Vatican Museum has on its tondo an abbreviated version with only the guard and the king14. Here are the same basic elements as on the

11 Louvre G 197: red-figured belly amphora, Myson (Beazley, ARV 238, 1; Pottier op.c. [supra note 7] 3[i922] pl. 128; CVA III Ic pl. 35). The one possible exception to this rule is Florence 3845, a black-figured neck amphora, Circle of the Antimenes Painter (Beaz- ley, ABV 287, 1). The scene is variously interpreted: Beazley's description is 'uncertain subject: Oriental seated, with warriors and archer'. M.F. Vos identifies the seated Oriental as a Skythian king (Scythian Archers in Archaic Greek Vase Painting [ = Archaeologica Traiectina 6, 1963] 13, no. 107 pl. 4b); and K. Schauenburg as a satrap (EYPYMEAQN EIMI, AM 90, 1975, 112 pl. 38, 1). The seated man is wearing 'Scythian' costume, and holds, sceptre-like, what is probably the war-axe used by 'Orientals' on Attic vase-painting. In front is a 'Scythian archer'; the group is framed by two Greek hoplites. The whole image is Oriental on the basis of the clothing and not the composition. 12 London E 447: red-figured stamnos, Midas Painter (Beazley, ARV 1035, 3). 13 Siracusa 4322 B (Collezione Judica, Lentini, formerly Palazzolo Acreide): red-figured bell krater, unattributed. P. Orsi, Vasi di Leon- tini, RIA 2, 1930, figs. 10-13. Of the three vases, this is painted with the least interest in employing Oriental detail in costume. 14 Vatican 16585: red-figured cup, unattributed (Helbig4 i[i963] no. 968 [E.Simon]; G.M.A. Richter, The Furniture of the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans [1966] fig. 69).

archaic scenes: guard, Silenos, Midas, but for the first time their detail and composition vividly evoke the atmosphere of an Oriental court. One new feature on these vases suggests a different narrative background: Midas has now ass's ears which his sakkos is failing to cover15. In all the earlier representations of Midas, the king had had human ears. Other details clearly indicate a new iconographic source which is common to all three16. The stamnos of the Midas Pain-

15 The question of the source or cause of the iconographic/ narrative change from human to ass's ears remains unsolved. It also bothered the people of antiquity. F. Bomer concluded that up to Ovid's time there was no single tradition of how or why Midas got his ass's ears: P. Ovidius Naso. Metamorphosen X-XI (1980) 26 if. For some of the many (later) ancient explanations, see: Scholia on Aristophanes, Ploutos 287, and Klearchos of Soloi, C. Miiller, Fragmenta Histori- corum Graecorum 2 (1878) 305 no. 6 = Athenaios 12, 516 b. S. Eitrem sought an explanation in a theriomorphic origin for Midas, with the ass's ears particularly appropriate for a follower of Dionysos, RE 15, 1 (1932) 1528 s.v. Midas; followed by Schefold I, 78. Brommer III, 56f., suggested that the idea of Midas having ass's ears was inspired by a misunderstanding of the Phrygian cap when he was first given Oriental dress in the mid fifth century B.C.; followed by Schefold II, 173. Such a misunderstanding of the 'Phrygian cap' is not otherwise paralleled, in spite of its common appearance in Attic vase-painting; at this late date we would not expect that kind of iconographic error to occur. Most recently, L. E. Roller has suggested that Midas, with his ass's ears, was a 'caricature of Silenos' as part of the Attic tendency to portray the Phrygian king as a ridiculous figure: op. c. ( supra note 1) 308; op.c. (supra note 2) 263. Yet in other respects the portrayal of Midas on these vases is not ridiculous. 16 Two possible sources have been suggested: 1) Monumental Paint- ing: Brommer II, 44, following K. Schefold, Zwei dionysische Vasen- bilder, AM 49, 1934, 144. Roller's protest that the Vatican cup is of a different phase of the tale does not take into account the tendency of painters reproducing a visual type to abbreviate its elements when convenient, op.c. (supra note 1) n. 51. - 2) Satyr Play: E. Kuhnert, Roscher, ML 2958 s.v. Midas; H. Metzger, Les representations dans la c£ramique attique du IVe siecle (195 1) 25, n.5. There is no literary evidence for a satyr play of the appropriate theme for this period. Euripides' Theristai, which may have had the same subject as Sositheos' later play of the same title (L. Camp, I drammi satyreschi [1940] 57) was produced too late, in 431 (Hypothesis to Medea). Even if the sudden renewed popularity of this subject in the 440s results from the production of a satyr play, this would not account for the iconographic shift in the presentation of the scene.

81



ter (PL i<)y i) exhibits all the new elements found in this group. On both the stamnos and the cup Midas sits on a throne with vertical turned legs; the throne may be viewed as resting on a low dais; on both the guard is dressed as an Oriental, from the top of his floppy Eas- tern headgear to the upturned tip of his Persian shoes. He holds a distinctive type of spear with a hooked projection near the point, somewhat like a halberd. This the Athenian painters clearly thought of as Oriental17. Its origin and use are problematic, but the Greeks probably called it a dorydrepanon18.

17 Compare: Louvre, Campana Collection 11164: unattributed pelike, ca. 430-420 (held by a Persian man in a scene-type now identified by W. Raeck as the Persers Abschied: Zum Barbarenbild in der Kunst Athens im 6. und j.Jahrhundert v.Chr. [1981] 138-147 fig. 42). Istan- bul, Archaeological Museum 7501: unpublished red-figured pelike, ca. 400 (a guard attendant to a satrap (?): N.Asgari, The Anatolian Civilisations 2 [Istanbul 1983. Exhibition Catalogue, Ayia Irini] B. 151). Stockholm, Historical Museum V 294: red-figured lekythos from Vouni, Manner of the Kleophon Painter, PL 19, 3.4 (Beazley, ARV 1 1 50, 27: the enthroned Persian holds it in the standard sceptre-position). This last surely reflects a desire on the part of a painter to suggest the Eastern setting for his scene by including this 'Persian' detail, but without an appreciation of the actual use of the object. In fact, it is striking that Attic painters tend to show this weapon in ceremonial rather than military contexts; the only exception known to me is on a fragmentary cup near the Codrus Painter, Florence 2 1 B 368, on which an Amazon wields one in battle (Beazley, ARV 1274, iv, i; illustrated by Sekunda op. c. [infra note 18] pl. 3, 2). 18 So far as I know, there is no contemporary representation of it from anywhere within the fullest extent of the Persian empire. The identification of this weapon with the dorydrepanon has been discussed by N. Sekunda, The Rhomphaia , a Thracian Weapon of the Hellenistic Period, in: Ancient Bulgaria. International Symposium on the Ancient History and Archaeology of Bulgaria, Nottingham 1981 (ed. A.G. Poulter 1983) 275-288 (I am much indebted to Mr. G.L. Cawkwell for this reference). Sekunda uses ancient literary references to suggest that it was a Thracian weapon, whose primary use was by infantry against cavalry; from Herodotos 5, 112, about action on Cyprus, it was clearly more widespread. No ancient testimony has yet been identified concerning its use by Achaemenid forces. I wish to express my gratitude to Prof. J.K. Anderson and to Mr. G.L. Cawkwell for their kind assistance in this matter.

The stamnos and the bell krater share different features (PL 19, 1.2): near the king stands a fan-bearing attendant; and, in both cases, the attendant is a woman. The Midas Painter is more advanturous than most in dressing this woman in 'Oriental' garb: over her Greek-style chiton she wears a sleeved garment covered doubtless with glit- tering gold pasmatia. In addition, beside the king there is a column which is usually understood as a synecdoche for 'palace'19. In general the three vases show a new interest in suggesting the Phrygian setting by incorporating generically Oriental details. In some respects, this simply reflects a general trend in fifth-century vase-painting. However, the new compositional format, with its more successful evocation of royalty, clearly indicates a source of inspira- tion which is foreign to the earlier tradition of Greek art. For a developed tradition of royal iconography, we must turn to the imperial art of the East. The clearest contemporary expression of royalty is to be found in the programme of decoration at Persepolis. In this vast complex, the symbols of imperial majesty recur constantly. On the door jambs of the Palace of Darius and elsewhere, the King walks, followed by attendants, often beardless eunuchs, bearing parasol, towel and flywhisk20. When enthroned, the King is sur- rounded by attendants and guards. Even in abbreviated throne scenes, such as on the Throne-Hall doorjambs, he sits, sceptre in hand, with his flywhisk-bearer behind him. Above the enthroned King is a baldachin whose elaborate decoration is occasionally preserved. For the full format one must turn to the audience scenes of

19 So: Kuhnert op. c. (supra note 16) 2963; Eitrem op. c. ( supra note 15) IJ35- 20 It has long been recognised that in Near-Eastern contexts, men who are shown without beards are to be understood to be eunuchs: P.J. Junge, HazarapatiS, Klio 33, 1940, 1 9 f. Cf. also M.C. Root, The King and Kingship in Achaemenid Art (1979) 287. Problems relating to the audience scenes of Persepolis are well summarised by H. Ga- belmann, Antike Audienz- und Tribunalszenen (1984) 7-22.

82



Xerxes, with his son and heir Darius, on the Treasury Reliefs' originally from the Apadana steps (Pl.i% $)21- The King sits with sceptre and lotus-blossom on throne and footstool. The lower end of his sceptre slants away from him. With the King on the royal dais stands his son. Beyond the incense-burners before the King, a man bows slightly, hand to mouth, in what seems to be a gesture of respect22. Behind the King and his son, off the dais, stand two attendants: a eunuch with towel, probably the Chamberlain; and the King's Weaponbearer with axe and gorytus. These five figures are framed by the support for the baldachin and four more figures, guards bearing spears and a banner, and an attendant. The Achaemenid kings borrowed the image of enthroned king from the Assyrians, along with much of their imperial iconography23. This is best known from the wall- paintings at Til Barsip in which is depicted Tiglath- Pilesar III in audience: behind the king stand guards, weaponbearer and eunuchs with towel and flywhisk; his throne and footstool rest on a dais; his sceptre slants away from his throne24.

21 The identification of the location was made by A. B. Tilia, Studies and Restorations at Persepolis and Other Sites of Fars ( = Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. Reports and Memories 16, 1972) 173-240; ead Recent Discoveries at Persepolis, AJA 81, 1977, 67-77, esP- 69-74. The identity of the royal figures: A.S. Shahbazi, The Persepolis 'Treasury Reliefs' Once More, Archaologische Mit- teilungen aus Iran 9, 1976, 151-156, with reference to earlier work. For analyses of the audience scenes, see: E.Schmidt, Persepolis 1 (1953) 162-169; G.Walser, Audienz beim persischen Grosskonig (1965); Root op.c. (supra note 20) 227-284; Gabelmann op.c. (supra note 20) 8-16. 22 cf . R. N. Frye, Gestures of Deference to Royalty in Ancient Iran, Iranica Antiqua 9, 1972, 102-107, esP- Io6- He holds a staff, and is variously interpreted as the hazarapatish, the Captain of the Immor- tals, or grand marshall, introducing delegations to the King. See Root op.c. (supra note 20) 238, for references and discussion. 23 One possible exception to this general rule is the use of the baldachin in state art, which Root op. c. 246 suggests in Egyptian, though the form is Persian. 24 Discussed by Gabelmann op. c. (supra note 20) 23 f. with bibliogra- phy.

The three Attic vases of Midas reflect the Persian tradition of the visual projection of the King enthroned. Although Midas seems not to wear Oriental clothing, he is an Oriental figure, and specifically echoes representations of the Great King: he carries his sceptre in the same way; his beard flows down over his chest; he sits on a sturdy throne with straight legs; his feet rest on a footstool; throne and footstool stand on an abbreviated low platform. The throne is of interest: even the absence of a backrest on the stamnos in London may depend on an Achaemenid differential status-symbol25. The profile of the legs offers another detail of Achaemenid imitation; turned legs are highly characteristic of Achaemenid fur- niture26. Behind Midas stands an attendant, and before him a guard. To be sure the guard is there as a matter of narrative necessity, yet his precise position is not. More- over, there is no such narrative necessity for the guard on the Vatican cup, since Silenos himself has been left out. The model for the vase-painters was surely Achae- menid27: but how could Athenian painters learn about Achaemenid imperial iconography? One possible source for Athenian knowledge would be verbal descriptions of Athenian ambassadors who had visited the Great King or his satraps. Between the years ca. 464-430 B.C., four or possibly five Athenian embassies to the King are attested; others doubtless took

25 Gabelmann suggests that the Oriental figures of authority on back- less chairs in Lycian reliefs are to be interpreted as Satraps rather than the King, op.c. (supra note 20) 45. 26 cf. H. Kyrieleis, Throne und Klinen ( = Jdl ErgSnzungsheft 24, 1969) 35-41- 27 Modelling of details on an Achaemenid pattern can be noted in other instances, as, for example, the 'rod of office' held by the standing Persian on the white ground lekythos by the Thanatos Painter in Paris, Louvre CA 2980 (Beazley, ARV 1229, 16; cf. P. Devambez, A propos d'un lecythe 4 fond blanc: L'idSe royale a Athdnes, AA 1973, 71 1-719 figs. 1-4).

83



place28. However, there is no evidence that any fifth-century Athenian travelled all the way to Persia. The King seems to have received foreign embassies no further East than Susa. The evidence for Greeks at Pasargadae and Persepolis relates only to Ionians; there is no certainty that any of these workers returned to their homeland29. While we must look to Persepolis to give us an idea of the nature and expression of Achaemenid imperial iconography, we cannot assume that classical Athens had any direct knowledge of the programme of decoration of that particular palace complex. The fate that allowed the preservation of the fragile sys- tem of Assyrian wall-painting at Til Barsip has not been so kind to most Achaemenid palatial decoration. Even so, evidence is emerging to suggest that the entire decorative programme familiar from Persepolis was employed also at the other Achaemenid capitals. From Achaemenid Susa the most memorable elements of the decorative sys- tem are the rows of animals and Persian guards, but in the basement of the Louvre a vast collection of glazed- brick fragments retrieved from the area of the Palaces

28 Kallias Hipponikou to Susa, 464 B.C. (Herodotos 7, 151), and 450/ 449 (Diodorus Siculus 12, 4, 5; Demosthenes 19, 273; Plutarch, Cimon 13, 5). - Pyrilampes Antiphontos, 449-443 (Platon, Char- mides 158a; Athenaios 9, 397C-d; cf. Lysias 19, 25). - Diotimos Strombichidou, to Susa, 437/436^) (Strabon 1, 3, 1); possibly 431 (Thukydides 2, 7, 1). Cf. also Epilykos Teisandrou, 424/423 (Ando- kides 3, 29; Theopompos: Jacoby op.c. [supra note 1] 569 f. no. 115 F 153 = Theon, Progymnasmata 2; IG13 227 + IG112 65: R. Meiggs and D.M. Lewis, A Selection of Greek Historical Inscriptions to the End of the Fifth Century B.C. [1969] no. 70, with M.B. Walbank, Herakles of Klazomenai: A New Join at the Epigraphical Museum, Zeitschrift fur Papyrologie und Epigraphik 51, 1983, 183 f.)- 29 Persepolis: Ionian stone-workers' inscriptions: G. Pugliese Carra- telli, Greek Inscriptions of the Middle East, East and West 16, 1966, 31-36; references to Yauna on the Persepolis tablets: G.C. Cameron, Persepolis Treasury Tablets (1948) 15.21; R.T. Hallock, Persepolis Fortification Texts (1969) 1224. Pasargadae: evidence of Ionian stone-working: C. Nylander, Ionians in Pasargadae (1970). Susa: cf. Darius' building inscription: R.G. Kent, Old Persian (1950) i42ff. DSf.

remains to be sorted30. Athenian ambassadors may not have reached Iran proper, but the palace of Susa where they awaited the King was apparently filled with the same imperial iconographic programme of decoration. Certainly Aristophanes' parody of the report of an embassy to Susa presupposes acquaintance with diplomatic experience on the part of the Athenian populace (Acharnians 61-125). Yet even if Athenian ambassadors had became familiar with Achaemenid royal iconography in addition to having audience with the King themselves, they could not have conveyed sufficient information to account for the accuracies - and inaccuracies - of the court scenes on the vase paintings, discussed below. This first possibility, that the Athenian vase-painters could have learned about Achaemenid iconography from ambassadors, must be ruled out. We are clearly dealing with an image whose formulae could only have been transferred visually. A second possibility is autopsy: the vase painters could themselves have seen Achaemenid imperial monuments with representations of the Great King in Asia Minor. Surely Sardis, as the major satrapal capital of Anatolia, had its share of Achaemenid court ritual, and a full decorative programme of imperial iconography. In fact, Xenophon has Cyrus the Great instruct the satraps as they are sent out to the provinces to arrange things in their local centres and palaces just as he has them at

Babylon (Cyropaedia 8, 6, 10). There is no reason to

suppose that the instruction was based on any historical record; but it is probably the result of personal observa- tion on the part of Xenophon and his contemporaries that there was a similarity of conduct and presentation between the satrapal and imperial capitals. Elsewhere Xenophon colourfully records the impatience of a Spar- tan commander left 'cooling his heels' outside the door of a Persian prince (Hellenika 1, 6, 7). Just as the dis-

30 Noted by M.C. Root, The Parthenon Frieze and the Apadana Reliefs at Persepolis, AJA 89, 1985, 103-120, esp. 119, with references.

84



covery of copies of Darius' Behistun inscription and relief in different parts of the empire attest to Darius' programme of developing and dispersing propaganda internationally, so too we may suppose other representa- tional propaganda was copied and spread wide31. Each provincial capital probably had, in addition to its court ritual patterned on that of the great courts, a parallel programme of decoration. Nothing has yet been certainly found of the satrapal palace at Sardis. However, the presence of Achaemenid imperial iconography in Anatolia is attested by such imitations as Lycian funerary monuments at Xanthos and the so-called 'Greco-Persian' reliefs from Northern Anatolia. The evidence from Lycian tomb-paintings in the area of Elmali can now be added32. Possibly an Athe- nian could learn about Achaemenid imperial iconography without entering the satrapal palaces at Sardis or

31 The delays in waiting for an audience with a satrap in court are reflected also in Epikrates, Antilais: R.Kassel and C.Austin, Poetae comici Graeci (PCG) 5 (1986) Fr. 3, 13. For copies of the Behistun inscription: Elephantine: A.E. Cowley, Aramaic Papyri in the Fifth Century b.c. (1923) 248-271. Babylon: U.Seidl, Ein Relief Da- reios' I. in Babylon, Archaologische Mitteilungen aus Iran 9, 1976, 123-130. 32 M.J. Mellink, Excavations at Karatas-Semayuk and Elmali, Lycia, AJA 75, 1971, 245-255; 76, 1972, 257-269; 77, 1973, 293-303; 78, *974> 3 5 1- 3 59; cad., Local, Phrygian and Greek Traits in Northern Lycia, RA 1976, 21-34; ead>> A Sample Problem from the Painted Tomb at Kizilbel, Actes du Colloque sur la Lycie Antique (1980) 16-20. The north wall of the Lycian tomb at Kizilbel, dated ca. 525-500, includes a depiction of an enthroned ruler, with a fan- bearer behind him. The second tomb at nearby Karabarun, dated ca.475, shows a banquet scene with Achaemenid details. Before a reclining nobleman a cup-bearer holds vessels familiar from Persian toreutic; a towel- and fan-bearer stands in front. The fan itself, of square shape, is difficult to see, but around the corner on the north wall another fan-bearer is well preserved. This rectilinear fan is possibly Anatolian as it appears also on the 'Greco-Persian' reliefs from Northern Anatolia, e.g., Afyon, Museum E. 1858, from Altintas, Kutahya: Asgari op. c. ( supra note 17) B. 145. Mellink reasonably pro- poses the existence of a lost tradition of palace wall-painting between Til Barsip and Kizilbel, op.c. (supra [1980]) 19, followed by Gabel- mann op.c. (supra note 20) 39.

Daskyleion. Not only diplomatic or military business took Athenians to Sardis. It seems that there was consid- erable private traffic between the two cities, for in 422 B.C. Aristophanes' Bdelykleon could chide his father for failure to recognise a Persian cloak which anyone who had been to Sardis would know (Wasps 1138-1139). The third possibility is that examples of Achaemenid imperial iconography came to Athens, where there was a danger that they could be misunderstood by a viewer ignorant of their cultural background. To help in the consideration of this possibility, we are fortunate in the survival of an example of the kind of medium by which formulae could travel outside the empire: seals and seal- ings. Many Achaemenid stamp seals depict the so-called Royal Hero grappling with a lion. The scenes of cylinder seals have a wider range of subjects appropriate to the projection of imperial qualities: religious, military or hunting scenes33. An as yet unpublished fifth-century sealing from Daskyleion marks a radical departure from the rule, though the stamp seal that produced it cannot have been unique34. The sealing reproduces, in miniature, the Achaemenid throne scene type. Clearly visible are the King, the flywhisk-bearer and the weaponbearer35. A

33 P.R.S. Moorey, Seals, in: The Cambridge History of Iran 2 (1985), 864-867, most recently has summarized cylinder and stamp seal types. Cf. also E.F. Schmidt, Persepolis 2 (1957) 7-14; A.U. Pope and P. Ackerman, A Survey of Persian Art 7 (1938-39) pls. 123.124. Sidonian kings adopted the repertoire of Achaemenid imperial images on their coinage, though they do not include an audience scene: John W. Betlyon, A New Chronology for the Pre-Alexandrine Coinage of Sidon, Museum Notes (The American Numismatic Society) 21, 1976, 11-35. 34 Ankara, University Museum Erg. 55: Asgari op.c. (supra note 17) B. 161. The group of bullae found at Daskyleion has been elsewhere dated to the first decade of Xerxes' rule (488-476 B.C.): M. Mellink, Archaeology in Asia Minor, AJA 59, 1955, 235 f.; K.Balkan, In- scribed Bullae from Daskyleion-Ergill, Anatolia 4, 1959, 123-128. 35 In Asgari op.c. (supra note 17) B. 161 the Tlywhisk Bearer' is described as a Tanbearer' but this is not likely in terms of Achae- menid dynastic portrayal. The photograph is not clear.

85



third figure, doubtless a guard, stood behind them. In front appear the same two incense-burners and a figure approaching with hand to mouth. This sealing proves what had long been suspected: pictorial elements of Achaemenid imperial iconography were reproduced on a smaller scale. Such objects could be easily transported abroad; possibly a similar seal sealed communications between the King and the Athenians36. Some details from the group of vases showing Silenos before Midas betray misunderstanding on the part of the vase-painters of the meaning or use of elements of the Achaemenid audience scene: 1 . The sleeve of Midas' garment curves down in odd

fashion, covering his left arm; this would appear to be a misunderstanding of the full draped sleeve of the Achaemenid royal robe. The painter seems to have taken the sleeve as a fold in a himation37. Sleeved garments were generally a rare imported luxury in contemporary Athens, and such full sleeves were probably totally unknown38.

2. The attendant behind Midas bears a fan, rather than the flywhisk of Achaemenid court art. Whereas the flywhisk was possibly unknown in Greece, the fan had recently arrived in Athens, probably imported from the East along with the idea of employing somebody to serve as fan-bearer. The Anatolian material shows that Lycians also used fans in the fifth century, but theirs is usually a square fan39. The Athenian vase-painter nat- urally took the flywhisk to be the more familiar fan.

3. Similarly, the baldachin support seems to have been mistaken by the vase-painter as a column of the royal palace. This occurs also on a lekythos from Vouni dated ca. 430; behind an enthroned Persian stands a Doric column (PL 19, 3.4 J40.

4. The fan-bearer on the Greek vase is a woman, not a eunuch41. Fifth-century Athenians certainly knew of the existence of contemporary eunuchs, but there is no certainty that they all understood the extent or nature of the eunuch's role in the Oriental court42. The painter assumed from the small size and beardlessness of his model that these figures were women and dressed them in the Greek concept of Oriental feminine dress. The bashlyk headdress worn by some imperial eunuchs, which also wrapped around their chins in the manner of a veil, probably reinforced this false impres- sion. A sudden change in Attic representations of Oriental kings enthroned that occurs about 400 throws this misquotation of fan-bearer into sharper focus. The best example is an unpublished pelike of ca. 400 in Istanbul43. Here again is a court scene, but one done with care by a painter who was more familiar with Persian culture. The 'King' or 'satrap' is enthroned without baldachin or dais, but in general the scene conforms to Oriental models. A guard, spear in hand, stands to the left. Before him a woman, rather than a eunuch, carries towel and phiale. Most interest- ing is the figure behind the enthroned man: a beardless fan-bearer who wears male dress and, so far as can be

36 cf. A.D.H. Bivar, A Persian Monument at Athens, and its Connec- tions with the Achaemenid State Seals, in: W.B. Henning Memorial Volume (1970) 43-61, who argues convincingly that the decoration of an Athenian fourth-century (?) relief of uncertain use was inspired by Achaemenid seals and coins. 37 And this is how moderns have interpreted the folds: Kuhnert op. c. ( supra note 16) 2964. 38 cf. M.C. Miller, Perserie: The Arts of the East in Fifth-Century Athens (Ph.D. Diss. Harvard University 1985) 255-266. 39 Supra note 32.

40 Stockholm V 294 (supra note 17). Cf. Herakleides of Cumae, apud Athenaios 12, 514c, for a description of the baldachin. 41 This is true also of the only earlier vase known to me which depicts a mythological Oriental king: the Danaos on Munich 2429, a hydria attributed to the Painter of the Louvre Centauromachy, ca. 460-450 (Beazley, ARV 1054, 102; 1682; LIMC 3 (1986) 342 s.v. Danaos no. 1). Here the narrative explains more easily the presense of a woman. 42 Aristophanes, Acharnians 117, for Pseudartabas' companions; Platon, Protagoras 114c, for Kallias' door-keeper. Cf. Herodotos 1, 117, 5 and passim. 43 Istanbul, Archaeological Museum 7501 (supra note 17).

86



made out, has none of the physical features usually depicted in a woman. Here, finally, is a eunuch fan- bearer44.

5. The guard's cloak appears to be a misunderstanding of a kandys. Xenophon tells us about the kandys, that odd sleeved garment worn hussar-style without the use of the sleeve (Anabasis 1, 5, 8; Cyropaedia 1, 3, 2; 8, 3, 23; 8, 8, 1 7; cf. esp. Pollux 7, 58). It is recognised on the Persepolis reliefs and other Iranian material from his description45; and Greeks start to show it in accu- rate Iranian usage in the late fifth century, first on representations of Medea and Andromeda, then in fourth-century grypomachies, and most notably on the Alexander sarcophagus46. The lack of use of the sleeve

44 K. Schauenburg describes the fan-bearer as 'ein Perser' (op. c. [supra note 11] 115). The eunuch fan-bearer also appears: Salerno, Ram- head rhyton, Group of Class W, ca. 380 (Beazley, ARV 1551, 22; AntK 4, 1961 pls. 9, 4; 10, 2). Ferrara 3032 [V.T. Tomb 1145], kalyx krater, Iphigenia Painter, ca. 380 (Beazley, ARV 1440, 1; N.Alfieri, Spina. Museo archeologico nazionale di Ferrara, 1 [1979] figs. 276.277). Vienna 158, volute krater, Meleager Painter, 400-375, though this figure does wear earrings (Beazley, ARV 1408, 1; 1692; CVA 3 pl. 139, 1-7). The interpretation of a fourth-century relief lekythos in Naples as Silenos before Midas accepted by Brommer II, 44, has now been rejected in favour of that evidently advanced earlier by B.M. Felletti Maj, as Herakles before Busiris by J.R. Guy, in Roller op.c. (supra note 2) n. 27. A fan-bearer behind the enthroned King, whether Midas or Busiris, though identified by Brommer as a 'Dienerin', is perhaps another eunuch. 45 cf. E.R. Knauer, Ex oriente vestimenta, Trachtgeschichtliche Beobachtungen zu Armelmantel und Armeljacke, in: Aufstieg und Niedergang der romischen Welt II 12.3 (1985) 581-741; ead., To- wards a History of the Sleeved Coat, Expedition 21,1, 1978, 18-36, esp. 21-23; T. Linders, The Kandys in Greece and Persia, Opus- Ath 15, 1984, 107-114; V. Gervers-Molnar, The Hungarian Szlir (1973) 5-io. 46 Medea and the Peliads: the 'Three-Figure Relief, Rome, Lateran (Helbig4 1 [1963] no. 1060 [W.Fuchs]; EAA 4 [1961] 950 fig. 1 1 34 s.v. Medea). Andromeda: Berlin 3237, unattributed Attic red-figured kalyx krater, ca.400 (Beazley, ARV 1336; 1690, and Paralipomena 480; H. Diepolder, Griechische Vasen [1947] fig. 38). Arimasps: Louvre G 529, Group G, Attic red-figured bell krater, fourth century (Beazley, ARV 1469, 161; Pottier op.c. [supra note 7] 3 [1922] pl. 154). The fragmentary cup attributed to the Stieglitz Painter at Bryn Mawr, of ca.470, may show a banqueting Persian wearing a

could be confusing to an artist not familiar with the garment47. The Midas Painter has taken the sleeves of the guard's kandys to be a peculiar sort of side fold, while making the top look like the heavily-patterned Thracian cloak. The same mistake can be found on contemporary vases, such as the lekythos from Vouni, on which there is a mixture of Greek and Oriental elements (Pi. 1% j. 4). The Persian is enthroned on a Greek klis- mos, holding in hand an Oriental-looking drinking horn and wearing what passed for Oriental dress. He holds a dorydrepanon, though here it serves fancifully as an Oriental sceptre. Before him a woman wearing good Greek costume brings a bow; behind another woman in Greek peplos adjusts her cloak. But this is no ordinary cloak; it is another kandys, complete with fringed border along hem and sleeves48. While in narrative terms the guard on the vases is the guard of the bound Silenos, in iconographic terms he fits into the Eastern formula as the guard attendant to the King.

Such misunderstanding of the details of their model strongly suggests that the Attic vase-painters relied wholly on a visual source, copied without any real knowledge of the culture that produced the form. If their model was small scale, such as a seal, its size would

kandys (Bryn Mawr P 955: CVA USA 13 pl. 25); the vase is suffi- ciently early that the painter possibly relied on autopsy for his knowledge of the garment. Knauer suggests that the cup shows Attaginos' banquet of Herodotos 9, 16 (ex oriente vestimenta [ supra note 45] 612). 47 This has been clearly pointed out by Kyle M. Phillips with reference to the developing iconography of Andromeda tied to poles/ rock: Perseus and Andromeda, AJA 72, 1968, 1-23. 48 Did Iranian women wear the kandys? This is the conclusion of Linders op.c. (supra note 45) 107-122; and Knauer, ex oriente vestimenta ( supra note 45) 621. Cf. the early seventh-century bronze statuette of a woman in a private collection in Teheran: R. Ghirsh- man, Persia (1964) fig. 297. Agnes Spyckett, Women in Persian Art, in: Ancient Persia. The Art of an Empire (ed. D. Schmandt-Besserat 1980) 43-45, examines the evidence for female dress in Ancient Iran.

87



increase the likelihood of misunderstanding of detail. It does not alter the situation to suggest that the vase-painters were copying an Attic model of larger scale49; such a model must have copied and misunderstood an example of the Achaemenid royal audience scene type. Athenians of the mid to late fifth century were interested in the East and had a certain degree of knowledge about the peoples there. Indeed, those who wish to see the Par- thenon frieze as the democratic response to the Achae- menid imperial programme of Persepolis must posit some general awareness of Achaemenid iconography on the part of the average Athenian50. The evidence of throne scenes examined here suggests that there was some conceptual transfer from East to West, but that the depth of exchange of cultural information may not have been great. These vases by their misinterpretation of detail clearly indicate a visual, rather than reported, source, and one that has been only half understood. The painters, unable through ignorance to copy their model accurately, interpreted it in terms of the world they knew. Could a contemporary Athenian appreciate the subtleties of a contrast between the Parthenon and Apadana friezes?

ZlJSAMMENFASSUNG

Drei Erzahlstufen zeigen die etwa zwanzig von 560-360 v.Chr. entstandenen attischen Vasenbilder, die die Mi- daslegende illustrieren: den Fang des Silens; das Abflih- ren; die Vorflihrung vor Konig Midas am koniglichen Hof. In der letzten Gruppe, den Thronszenen, zeigt sich eine neue Entwicklung, die sich nur von einem gemein- samen Vorbild ableiten lasst, dem Audienzszenentypus der koniglichen Ikonographie des Achamenidenreiches. Mogliche Ubertragungsmittel des bildlichen Schemas vom Osten nach Athen lassen sich anhand einiger Missverstandnisse des Musterbildes von seiten der attischen Topfer naher erkennen. Es hat den Anschein, dass die importierten Vorbilder einen kleinen Mafistab hatten, wie etwa Siegelabdrucke.

49 One such model was proposed by Schefold op.c. (supra note 16) 144 and followed by Brommer II, 44. 50 As, most recently, Root op.c. (supra note 30) 103-120.

88



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PI. 1 8, i Pelike by the Acheloos Painter. New York, Metropoli-

tan Museum of Art 49.1 1.1. Phot. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 191 1.

PI. 18, 2 Attic black-figured strainer. Eleusis, Museum 1231. Phot. Mus.

PI. 18, 3 Cup by Ergotimos. Berlin, Antikenmuseum V.I. 31 51. Phot. Mus., I. Geske-Heiden.

PI. 18, 4 Lekythos by the Sappho Painter, Detail. London, Brit- ish Museum 1910.2-12.1. Reproduced by Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum.

PI. 19, 1 Stamnos by the Midas Painter. London, British Museum E 447. Reproduced by Courtesy of the Trus- tees of the British Museum.

PI. 19, 2 Attic red-figured bell krater. Siracusa, Museo Nazio- nale 4322 B. Phot. Mus.

PI. 19, 3.4 Lekythos from Vouni, Manner of the Kleophon Pain- ter. Stockholm, Historical Museum V 294. Phot. Mus.

PI. 19, 5 Apadana Audience Relief. Persepolis, Treasury, South- ern Portico of Courtyard 17 (direction of view, east) - relief on the eastern wall. Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

89



t- I

N

18



19

I W

2

3 4

~ 5



Midas as the Great King in Attic Fifth-Century Vase-Painting (1988)

Documents

Transcript of Midas as the Great King in Attic Fifth-Century Vase-Painting (1988)