Two Greek pottery painters - their chariot horses

 Salvete Omnes,

two VI [6th] century BC painters from the ancient Greek world - in the theme of Iliad 

Exekias  -  the pottery from the MET.

.

Painter of the Vatican Mourner -

.

Valete

Beauty from Getty Museum - Homer's Iliad horse-stealing episode

 Salvete Omnes, 

today we have the last day of July 2026, time flies or as ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus said - panta rhei. 

While another ancient Greek - Homer - and his compositions - the Iliad and the Odyssey - have been with our culture for close to 3,000 years, inspiring countless writers, painters, sculptors and film makers - eg the latest Nolan's film.

So our horse-related image comes from the Iliad milieu, but from the  early Archaic period of the ancient Greek history & art,  as it shows Odysseus and Diomedes' infiltration the Thracian camp, the Trojan allies, at Troy in order to steal their famous horses ("huge of size, a wonder to behold'' or -  ''His[Rheos] be verily the fairest horses that ever I saw, and the greatest, whiter than snow, and in speed like the winds.'). Odysseus slays (of honey-sweet life) Rhesos/Rhesus, a Thracian king, and 12 other sleepingThracian warriors. - Book X of Iliad,

Murray's translation

Here you can read the description from Getty Collections webpage - where the amphora's photos are available for study. The authorship has been attributed to Inscription Painters (Chalcidician style) from Rhegion, Southern Italy (then so called Magna Graecia due to the Greek colonization and settlement) 

the amazingly well portrayed white stallion 

.

.

the act of killing of king Rhesos you can also study from the Wiki Commons page, where horse side of the amphora does not appear. Note that Odysseus is carrying a bow and arrows in a quiver slung on his back.

Valete

Heracles & Hippolyte's belt

 Salvete Omnes,

April 1st or April Fools Day -  what a Spring day to behold .. 

so let me invite you to the ancient Greek mythological  hero's adventure - the lion pelt clad and with armed with a bow and club Heracles, son of Alcmene and god Zeus, sailed on his quest for the belt of Hippolyte, the queen of Amazons. Accordingly the name Amazon was meant to mean ' without a breast, because the right breast was cut off, that it might not hinder the use of  bow' and javelin.

According to Apollodorus, in his 9th labor Heracles was ordered by the 'evil' Eurystheus, king of Tiryns, to fetch him the belt of Hippolyte (belt of Ares), the queen of the Amazon warrior-women from the river Thermodon [in Pontus according to Strabo]. 

Apollodorus stated that 'these warrior-women cultivated male virtues,' while Diodorus Siculus wrote in his Book II that the women of Thermodon river held the 'sovereignty in their hand and performed services of was just as did the men. Of these women one, who possessed the royal authority, was remarkable for the prowess in war and her bodily strength, and gathering together an army of women she drilled it in the use of arms and subdued in was some of the neighbouring peoples[..], and as the tide of her fortune continued favorable, she was so filled with pride that she gave herself the appellation of  Daughter of Ares.' Greek god  Ares had a belt made for the queen, known as the belt of Ares. Their capital was called Themiscyra, in the mouth of Thermodon.

Heracles, according to Apollodorus, came by ship with his companions, and having put into the harbor of Themiscyra was visited by queen Hippolyte wearing the belt. Goddess Hera, always trying to derail Heracles in his efforts, arrived in the likeness of an Amazon warrior and went up and down the horde of Amazons saying the strangers who had arrived were carrying off the queen. So the Amazons in arms charged astride their horses down the harbor. But when Heracles saw them in arms, he suspected treachery, and killing Hippolyte stripped her of her belt. And after fighting the rest[of the Amazon host] he sailed awaya dna touched at Troy.'

Diodorus, Book II, 4-16.,  gives a detailed description of the battle between Heracles and the Amazons. 

enjoy

valete

8th Century BC Bronze Horses from Greece

 Salvete Omnes, 

during VIII century BC or  the Iron Age in ancient Greece, of the Archaic Age, the inhabitants produced many thousands of bronze horse figures that, according to researchers, served as personal offerings to their gods, at the Hellenic sanctuaries like Olympia, Delphi, Ephesos and others.
MET possess  many of these votive figurines. 

there are plenty of articles on Academia on the Archaic and Geometric horses. 
Perhaps in the future we can discus some, in the future  

Valete

Perseus, Gorgon Medusa & Pegasus

Salvete Omnes,

 

 

Spring is approaching fast  as time flies - we should have the new year start on the Spring Equinox - like the ancient nomads and ancient Iranians had had. 

Gorgon chasing after Perseus

 

Ad rem,
I love ancient Greek myths - and today decided to share some images related to the myth (well, collection of myths ) about the ancient hero named Perseus or the destroyer. Why Perseus, well, he is credited as the hero releasing the fabulous winged horse of the myths - Pegasus.

 

Hermes giving Perseus a curved sword

 Unwed Danae of Argos, daughter of king Acrisius,  was the mother of Perseus while his  father was the mighty and thundering  Olympian god Zeus (in form of the Shower of Gold or Golden Shower).  

 

Zeus as Shower of Gold coming to Danae

 

Danae and her son were banished from Argos by her father, sealed in a wooden casket and he had them thrown out into the sea. 

 After two days hey were fished out of the sea by Dictys (netman or fisherman), bother of king Polydectes (much-receiver or Death)  of Seriphos (island of the Cyclades). From that island he set our on his hero quest. The quest was prompted by the king Polydectes, lusting after Danae, who demanded that every young men on his  island provide him with a horse needed as a wedding gift for his intended marriage to Hippodamia (daughter of Oenomaus, famous for his chariot horses and chariot races). Perseus was too poor to own a horse so he boasted that he could find and slay a Gorgon monster. And as a result of his boast he set out on his quest.

Since Perseus was a mortal son of his Olympian god father, then his Olympian half-brothers and half-sisters would eventually come to his aid and provide him with magic items to help him achieve his hero quest: a cap of Hades (making the wearer invisible), winged sandals allowing him to fly, polished bronze shield, a curved sword, and a leather bag.

So this Perseus' hero quest involved searching for, finding and eventually slaying the Gorgon monsters, there sisters - Stheno (strength) , Euryale (far-leaper), and Medusa (wide-ruling). The most dangerous was Medusa, who once had been a beautiful girl and became the victim of Poseidon's lust and ravishment, and Medusa had the evil power to turn humans and animals into stones (petrifying them) just by looking with her eyes. 

 

Perseus, with his cunning, bravery, courage, and skills and magic tools, searched, found and slayed all there Gorgons, and used Medusa's head to carry on his other heroic deeds, including the defeating of the Poseidon's monster bound to devour princes Andromeda. 

Perseus freeing beautiful Andromeda

 

Perseus and Andromeda

Eventually, Andromeda and Perseus married and had children, and hero Heracles was one of their descendants. Perseus gave the Gorgon Medusa head to his half-sister goddess  Athena, who carried it on her shield.

Finally, about Pegasus and his coming to the world - when Perseus slayed Medusa by cutting her head, the monster carried her children conceived during the ravishment by Poseidon - winged horse Pegasus and a giant Chrysaor, and these unlikely 'twin' children finally left her body via her neck. Thus Pegasus flew into the skies and the legend. Not much is known about Chrysaor.

You can easily look for books available on the archive world library  - eg. borrowing  Early Greek Myth by Timothy Ganz, or the classic telling The Greek Myths by Robert Graves.

enjoy

Valete

Henry D. Dakyns & his analysis of Hipparch 'corralled'

 Salvete Omnes,

 

a short entry, but with some interesting works linked in there -  for your pleasure and perusal.
Do canter away with Xenophon and his horse 

when Henry G. Dakyns translated Xenophon's Cavalry Commander (Hipparch, Hipparchicus) - I posted it here - 

 

so Henry Dakyns also made his own analysis of this treatise with annotations - nota bene a short entry to the Greek cavalry prior to the age of Philip II & his son Alexander (Macedonian conquerors eg prof. Ilkka Sylvanne article on their Art of War) by S. Skarmintzos on Academia. 

so if it pleases you, read away
 

and chlamys recreated

and there is this PhD. thesis - Of Horses And Men Developments in Greek Cavalry Training and Warfare (550-350 BC) - by  Annelies Koolen-who has a very extensive equestrian background (page 277 in her dissertation)-  but I have not read it yet (it is awaiting my reading list's longish line ) .

Valete