Kylix depicting Pentathletes facts for kids

The kylix depicting pentathletes is a cool ancient Greek drinking cup. It shows pictures of different sports from the pentathlon. This special cup is decorated in a style called red-figure and was made by a group of artists known as the Proto-Panaitian group. You can see it today at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where it's part of their amazing collection of ancient Greek art.

About This Special Drinking Cup

This drinking cup, called a kylix, shows athletes who competed in the pentathlon. It comes from a place called Attica in Greece, and it was made around 510–500 BC. The cup is about 7.6 centimeters tall and 29.8 centimeters wide. It's decorated with a style of art called red-figure painting.

Experts believe the Proto-Panaitian Group made this kylix. This group of artists came after another famous group called the Pioneer Group. The Proto-Panaitian artists were known for drawing more detailed bodies and features in their art. They especially liked to show male athletes in their decorations. This cup is a great example of their style and focus.

The cup has lots of cool drawings. Inside the cup, in the middle part called the tondo, there's a picture of a young male athlete. He is holding jumping weights. He looks like he's about to run or jump, in a pose often used in art to show movement. His body is twisted, ready for action. Behind him, you can see two javelins, probably leaning against a wall. The artist kept the details simple, which makes the images clear and easy to see.

Around this athlete, there's a message written in Greek. It says, "Athenodotos is handsome." This tells us the athlete's name. It also shows how much the ancient Greeks admired their athletes.

The sides of the kylix also show scenes from the pentathlon. These include javelin throwing and the long jump. On one side, called Side A, there are three figures. From left to right, you see an athlete picking up a javelin. Another athlete is holding two javelins. A third figure is holding a pick. Picks were used to loosen the dirt. This helped the javelin stick into the ground when it landed. The pictures on this side show the athletes getting ready for the event, not actually throwing the javelin.

On the other side, Side B, there are three more athletes and another message. From left to right, two athletes are each holding two javelins and moving to the right. A third athlete has a jumping weight in his left hand. He seems to be making a hand motion towards the others. In the background, there's another pick. The message on this side says, "The boy is handsome." We don't know if it's about one specific athlete or all of them. But it's clear the artist wanted to praise the athletes.

How the Kylix Was Found

This special cup was found in a tomb in Ancient Capua. Capua is a city in southern Italy. Finding a Greek cup there might mean that Greeks traded with people in Italy. It could also show that Greeks had settled in southern Italy. After it was found, the cup had several owners. Finally, the Museum of Fine Arts bought it in 1898 after its last owner passed away.

The History of the Pentathlon

The pentathlon was a series of five athletic events. The winner was the person who performed best overall in all five. The five events were discus-throwing, javelin throwing, the long jump, running, and wrestling. The pentathlon was first added to the Olympic Games in Olympia in 708 BC. That was also the first year wrestling was part of the games.

Pentathletes were greatly admired by ancient Greek society. This is because they needed to be fast, strong, and powerful to win. All the events happened on the same day. We don't know the exact order of the events, but wrestling was always held last.

We don't have clear records about how the pentathlon was scored. We don't know how each event was ranked or how athletes were judged. This is different from how the modern athletic pentathlon is scored. Even without perfect records, experts have come up with ideas about how it might have worked. These ideas show that athletes had to reach a certain level in each event to win.

Sports were a very important part of Greek culture. They showed off the power and beauty of young people. The pentathlon included many different kinds of sports. This made people think that pentathletes were some of the best athletes ever. The respect and praise they received were so great that their images were often used to decorate pottery. They were seen as the perfect human form.

Why Pentathletes Were So Respected

Athletes in ancient Greece were highly praised. But pentathletes were especially respected. The famous Greek thinker Aristotle wrote about why pentathletes were the most handsome and best athletes. He said, "he who excels in all [is] for the pentathlon."

These athletes had to be very skilled and flexible in their abilities to win. The five events needed different muscles and strengths to succeed. So, someone who could master all of them and win was truly impressive. This is why they deserved so much respect.

Winners of athletic events also gained a special status. Sometimes, they were invited to special activities. For example, they might sit in the front row of a play. These extra benefits, along with how often athletes appeared in Greek art, show how highly society thought of athletes.