Red-figure Lekythos

This vessel features a squat, cylindrical body with a closed neck and mouth, suggesting it was used to contain and pour a valuable liquid, such as olive oil or perfume. Its distinctive black and red color and style of decoration likely indicate it is Greek, though where it comes from is a mystery. This form is called “lekythos”, a small pouring form commonly used in Greek ritual practice and funerary rituals. These types of vessels often had scenes of daily life on them, and this one features the figure of a nude male.

As a Mediterranean archaeologist, my particular interest is in exploring games in human societies. This Greek vase is really interesting to me because it seems to depict a Greek boxer. I base this interpretation on two observations: First, he is nude, and most Greek athletes performed in games naked. Secondly, in one hand he holds what appears to be leather straps, which were used by Greek boxers during competitions as a kind of boxing glove. He seems to have just finished a match or is about to start one. Boxing was one of the important events held at Greek athletic events held in the Panhellenic Games, which included the major festivals of the Pythian Games, the Isthmian Games, the Nemean Games, and of course, the Olympic Games! Even as a modern viewer, this image brings out memories of the cheers, tension, exultation, and the spectacle of the Olympics games I attended in London 2012!

-Carl Walsh, Mediterranean Archaeologist (JIAAW Postdoctoral Fellow 2017-2019)

Learn more about athletics in ancient Greece and see other depictions of boxing:

Athletics in Ancient Greece | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
According to tradition, the most important athletic competitions were inaugurated in 776 B.C. at Olympia in the Peloponnesos. By the sixth century B.C., other Panhellenic ( pan=all, hellenikos=Greek) games involving Greek-speaking city-states were being held at Delphi, Nemea, and Isthmia. Many local games, such as the Panathenaic games at Athens, were modeled on these four periodoi, or circuit games.

White ground oil flask (lekythos) depicting a grave monument for an athlete
White ground oil flask (lekythos) depicting a grave monument for an athlete Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens Medium/Technique Ceramic, White Ground, polychrome Dimensions Height: 31.5 cm (12 3/8 in.) Diameter: 10 cm (3 15/16 in.) Credit Line Henry Lillie Pierce Fund Description The grave monument resting on a two-stepped base represented is an unusual type.

Attributed to the Antimenes Painter | Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) of Panathenaic shape | Greek, Attic | Archaic | The Met
Alexander, Christine. 1933[1925]. Greek Athletics. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Richter, Gisela M. A. 1953. Handbook of the Greek Collection. pp. 62, 203, pl. 23g, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Beazley, John D. 1956. Attic Black-figure Vase-painters. pp. 274, 691, no. 124, Oxford: Clarendon Press. Beazley, John D.