WHITE MINOAN BULL

 WHITE MINOAN BULL

Yes the Minoans really were obsessed with Bulls 

#whiteterracottabull #minoan #bull #minoansculpture

The standard text practice of showing the most deluxe carved stone or metal rhytons overlooks that there have been many discoveries of art featuring bulls on Crete and that clay was also used as a material .

Bulls and Lions

 #archaicgreekceramics #bulls #lions #animals #corinthian 

BULLS AND LIONS 

Here's a closeup of a corinthian oinochoe - wine pourer that was decorated with bands of lions and bulls or should I say lionesses? 

I do like the late Archaic depictions of animals on ceramic vessels ! 

Heracles had that bull First

 #Heracles #cretanbull #greekceramics 

The Bull Theseus caught at Marathon was supposedly the same one Heracles caught in Crete and shipped to Tiryns. It allegedly escaped and somehow wandered north all the way to Attica possibly because it had been dedicated to Poseidon and no one dared to kill it expect Theseus who offered it up as a sacrifice to dear maybe dad Poseidon or maybe just to annoy the Minoans who were supposed to give sacrificed it earlier. 

  

We know this is Heracles and not Theseus as he is bearded and has tied his archers quiver to the branch of a nearby tree. Heracles favorite weapon apart from his club was his bow.

You might want to compare this to the famous Vaphio cup.

Note the bull is lassoed and bound by the hind legs not the horns or neck. 

This black figure vessel has been dated to about 510 BCE so early Classical

Theseus and the Bull

 Theseus and the Bull

#theseus #bull #Classicalgreekart #greekceramics

A simple elegant vessel but I do feel sorry for the bull who doesnt seem to know what comes next ... I also note the woman pictured is certainly not wearing a veil or a cape. She may possibly be Medea and the old man Theseus' father? 

The Story of Theseus and the Bull is that Theseus was sent to marathon to slay a Bull which he lead back to Athens to be sacrificed.

The story claims the Bull was the white one the father of the Minotaur which Heracles had captured and sent to Tiryns but it broke loose and somehow ended up at Marathon.

If there is any history behind this I suspect the bull was meant to be sent as a tribute to Crete and it was killed as an act of defiance of Minoan power.

Bull's Head Rhyton

 Bull's Head Rhyton

#bullshead #rhyton 

You've probably seen Minoan Rhytons including the clay one I showed you recently.

I did an image search and found an example from the Classical period.

Whoever photographed it didnt think to include an angle showing the openings.

The general theory seems to have be that soft wax stoppers were used so these actually could function for pouring liquids. I suspect many of these were also designed to be designed as objects of arts between usage but whether hanging from a hook or sitting on a shelf I do not know.

YET MORE ALPHAS !!!

 YET MORE ALPHAS 

#cursive #greekcursive #greekcursiveAlpha #alpha 

Yes this is a cut and paste job but the images are from an old thoroughly out of print book