Under-appreciated Greek and Roman Art

Short essays on a number of ancient works I find interesting

Earlier in the year I wanted to travel between covid swells to justify a trip to certain art museums by promising myself that I would write an article on famous ancient pieces I have seen with my own eyes. Some of these selected works do fit this descriptor, but after plans fell through I saved this as a draft for a rainy day. With the holidays having come to pass, I have had less time to write and decided to finish this off with a number of less-appreciated pieces that I know of and I think my readership would find interesting. Additionally, I feel that my focus on literature and history on this blog has sold short my writing on these matters. Here, therefore, are a number of short essays on ancient works of art that I find interesting.

Achilles and Ajax Playing Dice

Arguably the most famous potter of the ancient world was Exekias. Historians point to his use of liquid as a medium on the well-known Dionysus cup as an early evolution into abstract art. Much has been written about this one piece, but significantly less is said about the depiction of Ajax and Achilles. According to Wikipedia, the design was popular enough with the Greeks that either Exekias himself or contemporary potters copied the design over 150 times.¹ What is most interesting about this depiction is that we have no literary evidence for what has been depicted here. Naturally, we can assume that this event took place at some time during one of the lost stories of the Trojan Epic cycle, because there is no such mention in the Iliad. Additionally, the keen reader would notice that Achilles is still wearing his armor, meaning that it would have happened before the events of the Iliad anyway. There are many thematic allusions that one could speculate about in this piece. The posture of both warriors is a huge sticking point for me: it could be inspired by Achilles’ reputation as a showboat and would also explain why he’s still wearing his helmet during a time of leisure. Conversely, Homer portrays Ajax as a man with cunning on a level approaching Odysseus’, but without the same divine blessings: though most of the other characters accept assistance from a patron god, Ajax surpasses their recorded kill-counts with nothing but his own human might. While Achilles is pouting alone in his tent, few Achaeans attempt to persuade him to return to the front lines. Of the three in book 9, Ajax’s speech stands out in passionate anger compared to Odysseus’ honeyed words and Phoenix’s nostalgic lamentations. It should be noted that he also has the closest relationship with Achilles other than Patroclus. Ajax fights Hector twice before either Patroclus or Achilles, and defends the former’s body when Hector attempts to loot it. This is why Ajax feels so deeply betrayed in this speech; having heard two previous speakers eloquently deliver orations that would have convinced a well-balanced man to return, he begins by telling the others to give up. He knows that Achilles’ pride is so wounded that not even an exchange of 7 maidens could replace the one Briseis.² Even if the reader thinks Ajax visited the tent knowing their efforts were in vain, it could be reckoned that he was delivering the speech in order to goad Achilles back onto the battlefield by challenging his manhood. In this reading, the lines about a man accepting payment for the death of his son or brother can be seen as equivalent to saying Achilles doesn’t have the balls to fight the Trojans anymore, and the tent is less of a room to contain his tantrum and more of a tea party. Naturally it takes a lot of courage to call the greatest among the Achaeans a chicken, but it also requires a certain amount of tactical thinking to do without making it sound like a playground insult.