Sunday, November 30, 2014

Vase Interpretation?

Based upon Dr. Castellani's presentation and your notes, evaluate the projected black/red figure vase.  Please decode through commentary.  Think about direction, borders, placement, and symbols or manifestations.  This blog response is a quiz and should be completed during class today.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is a man and a lion fighting. The man is Hercules. It looks like Athena is on the side of Hercules, aiding him with the fight. Apollo is on the other side helping the lion because he doesn't really like hercules very much. You can tell Athena is in it because she has a shield, spear, and helmet. Her helmet looks like it is the highest part of the vase which means that she doesn't really pay attention to boundaries, and that she is a goddess.

Macon said...

On the far left, it looks like Athena, because she is holding a spear and a shield. I can't see the top, so I can't tell if she's pushing the border or not. It looks like she is "inspiring" the man in the middle to fight the lion. She likes to have people think they fought or won things by themselves, and have them not know that she had any influence, which is why she's hiding behind him. The guy on the far right could be Hercules because unlike Apollo, he will actually look down at people and not hold a gaze above everyone else. I think both Hercules and Athena are helping the man in the middle fight the lion.

Anonymous said...

This vase illustrates Athena, Hercules and Apollo. Hera is illustrated with her shield and her spear, both weapons that are specific to her. There are also palm illustrations which represent Hera and her involvement in the situation. Hera is also on the left side which portrays her as more of a mortal than than a goddess. Hercules is in the middle fighting a lion, and this is during one of his 12 quests. Both Hera and Apollo are looking down to Hercules, meaning they are above him but could possibly be sending him aid. Apollo is on the right side of the vase which means he is closer to the divine side, but is still facing left to show that he is reaching out to the mortals.

Anonymous said...

This particular red vase image is of Heracles fighting the nemian lion in one of his 12 labors. It looks as though he has dropped his weapons to fight the beast one on one. We can see Athena holding her symbolic shield and spear behind him. Her head is tilted down showing she has care for Heracles. It looks like the border could be an olive branch symbolizing the presence of Athena. I'm not fully sure but I believe the figure on the right may be king Eurystheus who sent Heracles on this journey. It looks as though mortal beings have no highlight while the Immortal beings do have highlight.

Anonymous said...

On this vase, we have Hercules fighting off a lion, which was the first of the twelve(?) labors he had to do to make up for his family's death. You also have Athena watching over Hercules, with her helmet going over the border, showing that she is a goddess. We also have another god watching him as he battles, and if I'm wrong about who it is, I apologize. I think it is Apollo watching him as well. Athena seems to be helping Hercules while Apollo is just simply watching the battle unfold. Athena is also holding her shield and her spear, which are her favorite weapons.

Anonymous said...

This vase has a lot going on. In the middle of the vase is Hercules fighting the Namean Lion, but he is not doing this alone. He has the help of Athena. Athena is to the left of Hercules which shows that she supports mortals especially Hercules. Also Athena has her spear and shield. Hercules can not see Athena but she is present while he is fighting this lion and going through all his labors. One decorative aspect that is shown is the pom frans. Dr. Castellani talked about the deeper meaning of these in his presentation. To the right of Hercules is Hermes, I know this is Hermes because of his winged sandals and his wand. Hermes is looking down and to the left which shows that he is looking down on Hercules and merely watching the fight, he is not helping either side. Its not that easy to see but it looks like both the gods are taller than Hercules which shows that they are greater and more important than Hercules.

Anonymous said...

The vase is portraying Hercules battling the lion as one of his labors he had to complete. It shows Athena and another god facing each other representing one looking at the mortal side and the other looking at the divine side. The first god is representing Athena because she is holding her shield and her spear, and the other god I am guessing is Hermes because he is wearing winged sandals. Also, the two gods in the vase are above where Hercules is battling the lion. They both are going past the face of the vase, and that represents their divinity by them going past the borders of the vase, and also represents conflict between them because they are both watching the ongoing battle.

Anonymous said...

Looks like Athena is trying to help someone, possibly Hercules, kill the lion and Apollo is watching or maybe helping the lion. Athena is on the mortal side facing the immortal side but is looking down on Hercules or mortals.She does not stay within the boundaries showing that she is not mortal. Apollo is on the immortal side facing the mortal side and looking down as well. Not sure what is by Athena's feet. It looks like it could be her helmet. She has her spear and shield with her.

Anonymous said...

On this vase we can see that Athena, Hermes, and Hercules are all together, and that Hercules seems to be fighting some sort of lion, possibly the Nemean Lion. In this picture, Hercules and Athena are facing the divine side, while Hermes is facing the mortal side of the vase. We can see that this is Athena because she has her spear, shield, and her helmet, which appears to be crossing the boundaries of the vase. The other man appears to be Hermes, because he is looking down at Hercules instead of straight ahead, and it looks like he is wearing his winged sandals.

Anonymous said...

From Dr. Castellani's presentation, Apollo, Hercules, and Athena are present. Apollo is illustrated through the Palm Plant, which is one of his symbols. Because Apollo is looking to the left, he is most likely helping Hercules because the left side is the mortal side. Hercules is the man in the middle fighting the lion. Fighting the lion was one of his labors that Hercules had to complete to redeem himself of murder. From the shield and spear that you can tell that Athena is present as well. Athena is behind Hercules, suggesting that she is using her power to help him fight off the lion. Since Hercules is looking towards the right, the vase hints that he will become immortal later on because the right is the divine side. The vase is describing one of Hercules' labors and showing how the Gods and Goddesses helped him.

Anonymous said...

The Vase we are being shown is portraying Hercules when he fights the lion. You can see two people standing on either side of him. One of them looks like it might be Athena because of the shield and the other looks like Apollo because you can see his winged boots. This shows that there were gods there to help Hercules. Its hard to see but you might be able to see Athena's crested helmet which is probably crossing over the lines to show that she favors the mortals and isn't quite like most of the other gods. The leaves that are a sign of Athena are also present in this painting, you can see them on all four corners of the picture. This clarifies that Athena was present when Hercules was fighting the lion.

Anonymous said...

The vase seems to portray the ancient Greek figure of Hercules. In the story of Hercules, he is set out to do many impossible tasks by a king who wishes him dead. Remarkably Hercules is able to accomplish all of them. One of these tasks is to kill a lion. Hercules does so with his bare hands. The figures holding weapons and shields on the sides symbolize Athena and Apollo who were watching over him and protecting him.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Castellani helped me interpret this vase from his lesson he gave us. In this Vase there are 3 figures. I see that there is a Palm tree which is one of Apollos symbols. Apollo is on the far right looking left at the mortal side. Hercules is in the middle fighting the lion because that was one of his labors that he had to complete. The final figure in this vase is Athena, she is on the far left looking right at the devine side because she felt more like a human. I know it is her because she is holding a spear and a shield which are two of her symbols. Athena is behind Hercules suggesting that she is helping him fight the lion. This vase is an image from one of Hercules labors in which he had to kill a lion.

Anonymous said...

Athena is on the far left holding her spear and sword, she is helping him fight the lion while remaining unnoticed, because she likes people to feel as if they won on their own without divine intervention. Then her crest on her helmet breaks the natural borders showing she is a goddess and she is also looking down showing her pity for the mortals.Then Apollo is represented by the palm leaves. Hercules is in the middle fighting the lion with the help of the Athena. Apollo is shown on the side of the lion because he does not care for Hercules.Only this may not be Apollo because he is looking down and Apollo mainly looks over the mortals showing he is a god.

Anonymous said...

This vase obviously shows Heracles fighting the lion in one of the 12 labors. Athena is present on the very side with her shield, helmet (that probably goes beyond the borders), and her spear. Hermes is also present because of the little flowery things in the picture. You can also tell that it is Hermes because of the winged shoes. Athena is down on the mortal side facing the divine side. Hermes is on the divine side facing the mortal side Heracles is in the middle but still on the mortal side facing the divine side because that is the point of all of these labors, to please the gods. Both Hermes and Athena are looking down because they interact with the humans and mortals unlike Apollo who always looks straight ahead so that only other gods maybe appear before his eyes.

Anonymous said...

In the image Athena is clearly shown to the left side of Hercules and she is carrying her shield and spear as if she were getting ready to help him fight in battle. On the other side of Hercules you can see the image of Apollo, who also looks as if he is ready for a fight. Athena and Apollo will stay with him and possibly help him or give him an advantage in the fight in order to make him look more heroic. They both seem to be looking down meaning they are more human like and divine.

Anonymous said...

After visualizing the vase, there are many codes and pictures that have a deep meaning. There appears to be two men on the vase, one woman, and also a lion. One of the men, Apollo, have a weapon that includes a spear. The woman who appears to be Athena is holding her shield, which is a common weapon and use for her. The other man appears to be fighting the lion. I assume the man that is fighting the lion is Hercules. This would be my guess because no mortal man would be able to fight a lion and win a fight with a lion. The lion would demolish the mortal man in an instant. Hercules however is the strongest man and he could withstand the power of the lion. Also, Hercules fought a lion in one of his twelve labors. Fighting the lion was the first out of twelve labors Hercules accomplished. There are many factors to this vase, and it describes the story of Hercules fighting the lion.

Anonymous said...

The black and red figure vase shows the goddess Athena. The crest of Athena's helmet is crossing into the top border, which is a metaphor for Athena crossing the border between mortal and divine. On the vase, Athena is looking to her left which is the more mortal side. She was well known for looking down over mortals, and bringing them to the divine side, in a sense, if they deserved her help. There fighting cocks on the vase are symbolic of her fighting spirit. The fighting cocks were also symbolic of bravery and boldness, because they fought to the death, which Athea respected. A popular symbol of Athena is her spear, which, along with her shield, is depicted on the vase. These two symbols instill a sense of strength, an anthropomorphic quality.

Anonymous said...

This vase appears to be portraying Hercules defeating the Nemean Lion. To the left of Hercules appears to be a goddess holding a shield and spear, who is presumably Athena. This makes sense that Athena is on the left side of Hercules, because the left side of an image according to Greek mythology is the mortal side, and Athena looked at humankind and found the need to help them whenever she could. There is another figure to the right of Hercules who is also holding a spear, but I do not know for sure who it is. It is definitely not Apollo, Hephaestus, or Dionysus, as none of their symbols are shown with the figure, but I have a feeling it is Hermes. A symbol of Hermes is a staff, and it looks like the figure has some sort of winged shoes, which is also a symbol of Hermes. Similarly to Athena, Hermes is a god who helps humans and heroes in their quests. Both Athena and Hermes are looking down upon Hercules, and this is another symbol that they are looking at the human world, not maintaining eye contact above humans in the godly world. On a different topic, there are palmettes located around the vase, which is a symbol of Apollo. The placement of the palmettes creates a boundary for both humans and gods alike, but Hermes is slightly outside of the boundary. Presumably Athena is also outside of this boundary, defying what the gods want as well, as she is shown to do so in many other red and black vases.

Anonymous said...

Based on Dr.Castellani's presentation, this vase shows the battle between Hercules and the lion. To the left of Hercules there is the goddess Athena which supports and prefers humans over gods. On the right there is the god Zeus who likes to put down humans, and he is better than them.Athena is holding a shield and a spear, which are two of her symbols, and Zeus is holding which looks to be a staff which is one of his symbols. The gods are projected above Hercules, because they have divine powers.

Anonymous said...

From Dr.Castellani's presentation he talked about what all these differnet vases wear and what they represented. This vase that you projected on the screen represents a man and a lion fighting, the man who is fighting is hercules he discoverd that his arrows weer usless so he decided to use his club to defeat the beast. Right next to hercules is athena. On the other side is apollo and hes helping the lion because he dosent really like hercules. You can tell that athena is in this picture because you can see the shield, spear, and helmet. Her helmet is the higest part of the vase which means she dosent pay attention to boundries and she is a goddess.

Anonymous said...

Heracles is fighting a lion as one of the twelve labors. Athena is present with her shield, helmet (that probably goes beyond the borders), and her spear. Hermes is also present because of the little flowers that represent him. He is also identified by his winged shoes. Hermes is one the divine side looking toward the mortal side. Athena is on the mortal side looking toward the divine side. Heracles is in the middle but still on the mortal side looking toward the divine side. Both of the gods are looking down because they both interact with the mortals in some way or another.

Anonymous said...

This image is of Hercules fighting a lion as one of his labors, with the help of Athena. She is facing left and down towards the mortal side. Athena is holding her specific weapons which are a shield and a spear. On the left side of the vase Apollo is observing the fight. There is no real evidence that Apollo is attempting to help hercules. The way Athena is looking down at him, standing directly behind him shows that Athena is trying to protect Hercules; however, Hercules is still the main focus of the image. This shows that Athena is not too present. Even Hercules may not know she is there fighting the lion with him.

Anonymous said...

The lion is a symbol that represents the presence of braveness and fearlessness. The symbol of a god much bigger and fierce. It represents that of the spears and shield its the highest of it the helmet hanging over the alter at the top of the vase. The goddess is too blinded to pay any attention to her surroundings.

Anonymous said...

Based on Dr.Castellani's presentation, this vase shows Athena, Hercules and Apollo. Hera is painted holding her shield and her spear, which are both weapons that are specific to her. There are also palm illustrations which represent Hera and her involvement in the setting. Hera is also on the left side which portrays her as more of a mortal than than a goddess. Hercules is in the middle fighting a lion, and this vase has to be a scene during one of his 12 quests. Both Hera and Apollo are looking down to Hercules, meaning they are above him but could possibly be sending him aid. Apollo is on the right side of the vase which means he is closer to the divine side, but is still facing left to show that he is reaching out to the mortals.