Red Figure Lekythos Essay

Belonging to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art , this red-figure lekythos, dating from 460–450 B.C, features Apollo, the youthful god of music, prophecy, and healing. He is portrayed with his well-known feature, the kithara.
The invention of the first lyre begins with Hermes, the son of Maia who had been secretly impregnated by Zeus, leaving the cave where he was born. He then spotted a tortoise and decided to make a musical instrument from its shell. Next Hermes starts craving for meat and plan a scheme for stealing the cattle of Apollo. In the night, the Hermes stole fifty cattle and took them to a cave in the woods. When Apollo learned that fifty of his cattle missing, he was furious. Hermes pretends to act like a helpless baby at first; however, Zeus and the other gods knew that he had been up to no good, so Hermes finally had to return the cattle to Apollo. Meanwhile, Apollo noticed that Hermes was carrying a beautiful musical instrument, and when he heard Hermes played it, he was captivated. He offered to trade him the lyre for his fifty cattle. Apollo then became known for the beautiful music he played with the lyre and became god of music. Most festivals
According to ancient Greek, Apollo is a son of Zeus and Leto. The fury of Zeus’s wife Hera, pursued the pregnant Leto to seek refuge on Delos, a rocky island. On her arrival, Leto put her arms around a palm tree and gave birth first to Artemis and then to Apollo.
Making out of terra-cotta, the most common forms of pottery made in the ancient Greece, the vase is painted using “the red-figure style” . It was made in a specific shape for particular use such as pouring librations (lekythos). I like how this vase shows only a few figures, maintaining the right balance between the vase and the picture. The graphic decorations provide insights into the ancient Greek