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Greek Mythology >> Galleries >> Greek Vase Paintings 7 >> T1.6

T1.6 THE BIRTH OF ERICHTHONIUS

Birth of Erichthonius | Attic red figure vase painting
DETAILS
Museum Collection British Museum, London
Catalogue No. London 1837,0609.54
Beazley Archive No. 206695
Ware Attic Red Figure
Shape Hydria
Painter Attributed to the Oinanthe Painter
Date ca. 470 - 460 B.C.
Period Late Archaic

DESCRIPTION

Gaea (the Earth) hands her newborn son Erichthonius over to the foster-care of the goddess Athena. Gaia is depicted as a matronly woman partially risen from the earth, inseperable from her native element. Zeus, holding a lightning bolt and crowned with a wreath, stands behind her. On the right Athena drapes the infant in swaddling and Nike (Victory) with a sash.

ARTICLES

Gaea, Athena, Nike, Zeus