Red-figure Oil Flask (Lekythos) with Man Chasing Woman

In the scene depicted on this vessel, a man reaches toward a woman, who flees from his grasp. As he touches her shoulder, she pulls away. Pursuit scenes like this one are numerous in Greek vase painting and almost always tell the story of a god or hero chasing a female, who might be a human or a divinity.   

The precise identification of the figures in this scene is unclear, but the details of the painting provide some clues. Since the man is not bearded, we can rule out the elder gods, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Of the younger gods, Apollo is the most likely candidate, as he is often represented nude and with long, flowing hair. If the male figure is Apollo, he might be chasing Daphne, a beautiful nymph who was rescued from the god’s amorous pursuit by being transformed into a laurel tree. Another possible identification is the Greek hero, Perseus, who rescues his future wife Andromeda from the advances of her uncle, Phineus. A more likely possibility, however, is the mortal king, Peleus, chasing Thetis. Thetis was a beautiful sea nymph who resisted the advances of her pursuer by changing her shape into fire, water, a lioness, and a snake. Peleus eventually captured her, and their subsequent marriage set the stage for the Trojan War. Their son, who was prophesied to be greater than his father, was Achilles, the greatest of Greek warriors and the central hero of the Trojan War.   

In many of these myths, the end is understood to justify the means, and the actions of the gods, which would be considered repellent by modern standards, often resulted in the birth of important characters in the mythological and literary realm. When thinking about Greek myths today we often have to set aside modern judgement and consider what these stories tell us about ancient Greek beliefs, customs, and values.