PENTHESILEA - ACHILLES The look of ‘’love’’
15:26:00
The depiction of the single combat between Achilles, the greek warrior and Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons was a dear theme for ancient greek artists.Here we choose our favorite! The black-figured amphora by Exekias
(Exekias was the potter but also the painting has been attributed to
him). The amphora is on display at the British museum, London.
Penthesilea
with her Amazon warriors came to help the Trojans defend their home
from the Greeks. After she fights Telamonian Ajax (there was no clear
victor after their battle), she faces the great Achilles. He manages
to wound her and eventually kill her. Here, the artist shows Achilles
plunging the spear into her throat while Penthesilea is on one knee
and tries unsuccessfully to fight back. We can see a stream of blood
gush from her wound. While they are fighting, their eyes meet and
this is the moment they became enamored with each other (as ancient
sources claim).
According
to Pseudo-Apollodorus in the epitome of the Bibliotheke, Achilles
fell in love with the Amazon queen after he killed her (a view that
appears to be supported by Pausanias as well). At this very moment,
as depicted in the amphora, the eyes of the two warriors met and they
fell in love, albeit too late. When Achilles began taking care of her
body while crying, the greek Thersites jeered at him. Driven by his
grief and anger, Achilles killed him. It is said that he gave her
body to the Trojans so they can give her a proper burial. In the
amphora, Exekias chooses to focus on the two warriors; this is why
they are the only ones in the scene. This creates a great amount of
tension, guiding the viewer’s eye towards their direct stare of
each other. The romance between Achilles and Penthesilea (that ended
before it began) inspires artists but above all the true romantics!
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