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Ancient Greek

Mastoid (Drinking Cup)

500-480 BCE
terracotta, black-figure
10 × 10 cm (3.9 × 3.9 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This drinking cup depicts Herakles’s fight with the Cretan Bull, represented twice in the continuous frieze around the vase; there is a long dotted vine or ivy branch above. The hero stoops low to grasp the bull by one horn, forcing it to its knees. Behind him, as if suspended in the branch, is his cloak and his sword in its scabbard. To the left of one scene crouches a figure with a cloak around one arm and a club (presumably Iolaos with Herakles’s club), while to the left of the second version of the scene is a striding Athena, arm outstretched and covered with her snake-lined aegis - she wears a helmet and carries a spear.

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