Hellenic Pottery Painting
in Historical Times
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In a representation, Dionysos is turning his face with aversion before the eating of raw flesh by the Maenadic troupe. During this time, the representations that concern mythological scenes, the achievements of heroes and those of everyday human life, are balanced. The shapes of Amasis are evidently human. The Satyrs with heavy buttocks and the Maenades are domesticated in favor of harmony, peace and State order. The well known conflict between Athina (Minerva) and Poseidon is depicted as a peaceful, friendly settlement. The State is in need of peace, calmness and catharsis (this role will be undertaken by tragedy in the classical era). Exekias adds to the face of his figures its divine dimension. Centuries later, this high level will be rediscovered by western art. In Exekias’ drawings, the face has a divine dimension in the pose, thought and action but on the other hand, gods perform tasks related to everyday human life. Horses are named after heroes, while heroes stand like thoroughbred horses. He does not confine himself to the reproduction of the heroic moment (so beloved in the ancient pottery painting), but he is also interested in depicting the psychological and emotional state – of grief in a funeral escort or insanity on the wrinkled forehead of Ajax as he is preparing to commit suicide. We are in a time when exportation trade leads to the blooming of a monetary economy that rapidly precipitates reforms in the mental sphere. The circulation of goods is not carried out through the form of gift or barter, which binds the person and mobilizes religious powers, but through the circulation of a general equivalent: money. Thus, a mortal blow is inflicted on the mythical way of thinking because it leads to the need of developing justice, to an abstract way of thinking and consequently to reason (Λόγοs). The various sayings of the wise men about moral life are not enough. Intellect is suffocating and the first form of philosophy considers nature, the starry sky and the horizon of the sea. In the next phase, it will pose questions about man. Art contributes to this in a more effective way as tragedy stimulates psychological categories, solves contrasts in an emotional way and draws out the coordinates of the existence of the Individual - Citizen.
HAND MADE AND PAINTED IN GREECE