Reconstructed Red-Figure Wine Cooler (Psykter) with Battle of the Gods and Giants

A psykter is a bulbous vessel that floated in a large basin of water to keep wine cool. This psykter has been reconstructed from a number of separate pieces. Although large sections are missing, there is enough to determine that the scene depicted on the vessel is the fight between the Gods and Giants, which is also called the Gigantomachy. This major mythological battle began when the giants, primordial beings of great strength, attacked the gods and goddesses of Olympus. 

On one side a female warrior carrying a shield and wielding a spear advances, pressing back her enemy.  This is the Greek goddess Athena. She can be identified by her aegis, which is a breastplate of scales with the head of the fearsome Medusa in the middle. Athena is fighting Enceladus, the giant of Mount Etna, who is holding a shield with a bull-head motif. On the other side of the psykter, Poseidon lifts a large boulder, preparing to throw it onto the giant Polybotes. Polybotes is holding a spear in one hand and a shield with a five-leaf clover motif in the other. The story continues by noting that when Poseidon threw the boulder, it fell into the sea on top of Polybotes and became an island.   

Carefully chosen moments of action join with other visual clues, such as Athena’s aegis, to help viewers identify the story. The motifs that decorate the shields on both sides of the vase may also aid viewers in understanding the story to a greater extent. Often, shield motifs were used to identify specific regions within Greece, and different designs originated from different areas. They might be giving clues to the characters in the story or to the patrons who commissioned the vessel. It is sometimes difficult to discern exactly what the shield motifs mean—but their detailed presentation and wide variety are intriguing.