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The Natural History of a Caeretan Hydria

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The Natural History of a Caeretan Hydria BABESCH 91 (2016), 69-85. doi: 10.2143/BAB.91.0.3175644 The Natural History of a Caeretan Hydria John K. Papadopoulos Abstract One of the most extraordinary renderings of various sea creatures is the well-known and often-published Caere- tan hydria now in the Niarchos Collection. In contrast to the accurately rendered seal, which is rare in Greek art of all periods, octopus, and dolphins, the central creature that dominates the scene is usually considered as an imaginary sea monster, a ketos. The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the central creature is no sea monster, but a fairly accurate representation of one of the most elusive creatures of the sea: an oarfish, of the family Regalecidae. For Jaap Hemelrijk One of the most remarkable illustrations from as Boardman notes, for all its charm, the Phokaia- Classical antiquity of sea creatures on a single mermaid story has no authority.7 object prior to the Roman period is the celebrated Despite these disparate labels, there was con- Caeretan hydria now in the Stavros S. Niarchos sensus in the fact that the threatening creature Collection (fig. 1a-b).1 Often published, the vessel that dominates the scene, and which calls for a is attributed to the Eagle Painter, at least the pri- hero of the likes of Herakles or Perseus to deal mary figures.2 The hydria has been given many with, if not dispatch, was a sea monster: a ketos in names, in accordance with its iconography: Hans Greek.8 The terrifying nature of this monster is Peter Isler referred to it as the ‘Perseushydria’, in well related by Hemelrijk: ‘The painter has tried his belief that the primary scene depicted Perseus his utmost to make the monster truly horrible; and the sea monster. John Boardman concluded with a multitude of dorsal crests, coloured fins that the human protagonist was Herakles, even and other kinds of red or white details; there is though this was no normal Herakles, but in later even a fine flame-like thing on its forehead, rem- publications he referred to the hero as ‘anony- iniscent of the hole through which a whale throws mous’; whether Herakles or Perseus, the absence up fountains of water. His teeth are formidable, of a Hesione or Andromeda is noteworthy.3 Jaap and his wide-open muzzle is menacing enough Hemelrijk first named the vase as the ‘Zurich Mon- with its sixteen sharp, white teeth.’9 ster’, but finally settled on the ‘Athens Phoke’, The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the after the singular representation of the seal (phoke) central creature is no sea monster, but a fairly accu- at the far left of the primary scene and the fact rate representation, in all but one detail, of one of that the vase, at least for a while, was physically the most elusive creatures of the sea: an oarfish, of located in Athens.4 He was the first to doubt that the family Regalecidae. Before delving into the natu- the hero was Perseus or Herakles and that the ral history of this remarkable hydria - and fish - it scene refers to a lost myth in which the city- would be useful to describe the vessel and recap the nymph of Phokaia - the name-princess of ‘Seal- little that is known of its provenance. town’, as he refers to her - was ‘nearly eaten by a monster, but was changed just in time into a THE HYDRIA phoke, when, happily, the great hero arrived to save her.’5 He adds that the sickle-shaped The hydria was first published by Isler as part of weapon, the harpe, wielded by the hero in one the Hirschmann Collection of Greek Vases in 1982, hand (in the other hand is a white stone) was and more fully the following year in the Jahrbuch probably meant for cutting out the tongue of the des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, though it sea monster and he goes on to cite Heraclides had been noted in passing by Jaap Hemelrijk and Ponticus, who derives the name of the city of Stella Lubsen-Admiraal in the late 1970s.10 The Phokaia from the founder Phokon, and from the vessel is said to be part of a grave group found in sighting of a seal, phoke, which came onto land.6 Italy, together with another Caeretan hydria and This suggestion has not appealed to all scholars: a Caeretan amphora of Nikosthenic form, but these 69 reports are unconfirmed.11 The vessel stands to a to as a monster. To the far left is the seal, almost height of 40 cm (40.4 including the small projec- vertically rendered, attempting to look over the tion above the rim of the vertical handle); the central creature toward the hero; Isler notes ‘the diameter of the base is 17 cm, the rim 19.7.12 The inquisitive look of the seal is particularly well shape of the vase and its subsidiary decoration caught’ and Hemelrijk describes the same animal has been well described elsewhere and need not as a ‘human looking baby-seal.’14 Elsewhere he be repeated here.13 notes ‘the seal on our hydria with its naïve and The primary figurative scene shows the name- melancholy eyes is so astonishingly true to life less hero fighting the sea creature normally referred that an intimate knowledge of the animal cannot be doubted.’15 And he goes on to note that Phoka- ians would have had such knowledge of seals. Lila Marangou states: ‘Confident incisions on the neck and head give the seal a troubled expression, as if worried about the outcome of the man’s struggle with the monster.’16 Two dolphins and an octopus are dispersed around the central crea- ture. These are not the only sea creatures in the work of the Eagle Painter. In dealing with the crab pinching with its claw one of the ankles of Herakles on the hydria once in London and now in Malibu (fig. 2), Hemelrijk writes: ‘The Eagle Painter excels in the portraiture of animals. This crab is one of his greatest achievements….Our crab demonstrates the power of observation so typical of Greek artists. I am told that not all the details are exactly true to nature, but the devia- tions are slight and not very important.’17 The figurative scene on the reverse of the vase, in the zone below the vertical handle, depicts a bearded hunter wearing what is normally described as a short white chiton, accompanied by his dog. Armed with a spear raised in his right hand, he chases a dappled stag and a mountain goat (fig. 3). Although the front half of the spear is straight, the back portion is depicted as a wavy line, ‘like Fig. 1a-b. Caeretan hydria, Private Collection, with detail (dating to the last three decades of the 6th century BC). 70 mals is their naturalistic rendering. The painter is equally at home representing creatures of the sea, as he is in representing land animals. As already noted, the hydria is attributed to the Eagle Painter, at least the figurative scenes. First identified as the Knee Painter by Hemelrijk in 1956 - after the characteristic stylization of the human knee - he later renamed the painter after his most impressive scenes depicting eagles hunt- ing hares or deer.19 But Hemelrijk goes on to note that the hydria is not the work of a single hand. According to his analysis, the figures are painted by the Eagle Painter, the subsidiary ornaments by the Busiris Painter. The Eagle and Busiris Painters are the two master painters, often cast as brothers, who, together with putative assistants, account for Fig. 2. Detail of Caeretan hydria showing the crab bit- the production of all Caeretan hydriae. As Board- ing at Herakles' ankle in a scene depicting Herakles, man dutifully notes, however, ‘there are those accompanied by Iolaos, fighting the Lernean Hydra. J. who continue to believe that one man may be Paul Getty Museum in Malibu (Acc. no 83.AE.346). responsible for them all.’20 Whether one or two Photo courtesy museum. artisans, all Caeretan hydriae can be readily accom- modated within the last three decades of the 6th century BC.21 Whatever the name of the vase painter, as early as 1928, T.B.L. Webster, in his attempt to reconstruct the life of the artist, wrote: ‘He was an Ionian living in Etruria, acquainted with, if not himself a painter of, the pictures in Etruscan tombs.’22 What is noteworthy is that whoever painted the Caeretan hydriae wrote in east Ionic Greek.23 The names δις, Αια[ς], Νεστωρ, on a Caeretan hydria in the Louvre were certainly by someone who wrote in east Ionic epichoric.24 For Hemel- rijk, the evidence taken together, not least the phoke on our hydria, was unequivocal: the two ‘master-painters’ left East Greece, most probably from the city of Phokaia, traveled via Egypt, where they perhaps stayed for a little time, and sometime around 530-525 BC set up a workshop in Caere or, perhaps more likely, at its harbor Pyrgi.25 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HYDRIA As several scholars have stressed, the vase painter who decorated this hydria was well-versed in rendering creatures of the land, sea, and air, and it is this aspect of the hydria that forms the focus of this paper. Fig. 3. Detail of reverse of Caeretan hydria The seal (fig. 4) shown in fig. 1. Seals belong to the group generally referred to as a loosely coiled, very large cork-screw.’18 With pinnipeds, which is derived from the Latin pin- details picked out in added red and white, together nipes for ‘winged- or fin-footed’; members of the with incision, what is noteworthy about both ani- family Phocidae - referred to as true or earless seals 71 mer Yugoslavia south, extending throughout the Mediterranean, with the largest colony at the Cabo Blanco Peninsula on the west Saharan coast.30 An interesting feature of Mediterranean Monk Seals is that, like all Phocidae, they cannot rotate their hind-flippers under their bodies to walk.
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