| |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
| |
“Peleus” |
“Eros” |
“Thetis” |
“Poseidon” |
“Ares” |
“Ariadne” |
“Aphrodite” |
| (1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1633 Capitelli |
|
|
Olympias with Zeus Ammonas a snake |
|
|
Olympias |
|
| |
(The dream of Olympias while bearing Alexander the Great; conceived by Zeus Ammon who came to her as a snake) |
| (2) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1635 de Peiresc (Scenes from the Iliad) |
| 1635 Rubens (‘Totally perplexed’ - Painter and Whitehouse, from Rooses and Ruelens, 1909) |
| (3) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1642 Teti |
Alexander
the Great |
Genius of Connubial Love |
Julia Mamaea with the purple dragon |
Aevum or Time |
Represents the shortness of Alex’s reign |
Represents the death of Alexander |
Represents the Empire of Alexander |
| |
(Related to the birth of Alexander the Great by Olympias
after union with Zeus Ammon as a snake.) |
| (4) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1690,
Causeus |
A
Genius |
|
Olympias with Zeus Ammon as a snake |
Zeus
Ammon |
(In
the 3rd edition, 1746, E,F. and G are identified as Muses) |
| 1707
(de la Chausse) |
|
|
|
|
Muse |
Muse |
Muse |
| |
(Related
to the birth of Alexander the Great by Olympias after union with Zeus
Ammon as a snake.) |
| (5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1697
Bartoli |
|
|
Proserpina |
|
Pluto |
|
Proserpina |
| |
(Scenes from the underworld) |
| (6) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1722
Montfaucon |
|
|
Leda with |
Zeus, swan |
|
|
|
| (7) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1756
Venuti |
Paris |
Cupid |
Discordia
with snake |
Jupiter (Zeus) |
Venus
[sic!] |
Minerva |
Juno |
| |
(The Judgement of Paris) |
| (8) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1776
Winckelmann |
Peleus |
|
Thetis with Thetis transformed into a snake |
|
|
|
|
| (9) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1785
d’Hancarville (quoting others) |
Adam |
Angel |
Eve with serpent |
God |
|
|
|
| (10) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1785
d’Hancarville |
Orpheus |
|
Eurydice
with snake |
Pluto |
Pollox
(pillar = Castor!) |
Alcestis |
Tyro |
| |
(Scenes from the underworld) |
| (11) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1785-1790Townley |
(Relating
to the succession of animation and inaction in nature) |
| (12) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1786
Stich von Cipriani and Bartolozzi |
Adonis (at the
gates of Hades) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| (13) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1786
d’Hancarville |
Pluto |
|
Proserpina with Jupiter as a dragon |
Adonis |
Pluto |
Proserpina |
Ceres |
| |
(Not
as a connected story but all characters connected to Proserpina and
Adonis) |
| (14) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1787
King |
Alex.
The Great
or Severus Alexander |
|
Olympias or Julia Mamaea |
Jupiter |
Severus
Alexander |
Julia
Mamaea |
Constancy |
| |
(Related
to the births of Alexander the Great and Severus Alexander) |
| (15) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1787
Marsh |
Severus
Alexander |
|
Julia
Mamaea |
Jupiter |
Elagabalus |
Connubial
Love or Julia Paula, his wife |
A
female monitor, divination |
| (16) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1788
Knight |
Bacchus?
(Dionysos) |
|
Ceres with Jupiter? |
|
Liber |
Ceres |
Libera |
| (17) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1790
Wedgewood |
Deceased
person entering into Elysium |
Cupid |
Symbol
of immortal life holding serpent |
Pluto |
Deceased
person of noble family |
Emblem
of death |
The
authority of the deceased |
| |
(Life and death) |
| (18) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1791
Darwin |
Ghost |
Love
divine or Libitina |
Immortal
life with serpent |
Pluto? |
Humankind |
Mortal
life |
Humankind |
| |
(Life and death; part of the Eleusinian Mysteries; Libitina
was the goddess of death) |
| 1791
Veltheim |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1791-
1819Byres |
Soul
of deceased |
Genius or guardian angel |
|
Immortality |
Mankind
(male) |
Venus
Libitina |
Mankind
(female) |
| |
(Allegory
of death; not published until 1845) |
| 1792
Visconti |
Peleus |
|
Thetis |
|
|
|
|
| 1808
ZoÔga |
Peleus |
|
Thetis |
|
|
|
|
| (20) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1824
Fosbroke |
|
|
|
Neptune |
|
|
|
| |
(Husband
with deceased first and second wives) |
| (21) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1827
Romano |
Peleus |
Amorino |
Thetis
with marine serpent |
Proteus |
Shade
of Achilles |
Polyxena |
Deidamia |
| |
(Published in 1833) |
| (22) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1829
Millingen |
Peleus |
“Amour” |
Thetis
with marine serpent |
Neptune |
Peleus |
Thetis |
Personification
of Mount Pelion |
| 1838
Thiersch |
Peleus |
|
Thetis |
|
|
|
|
| (23) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1845
Windus |
Rope-dancer or Pylades |
|
Lucilla or Fadilla with Hygeian serpent |
Galen |
Marcus
Aurelius |
Lucilla or Fadilla (his daughters) |
Faustina
Jr (his wife) |
| |
(Pylades
was the lover of one of the daughters of Marcus Aurelius. Galen,
the physician, cured one of the daughters.) |
| 1848
Nibby |
|
|
Proserpina
with Jupiter in form of dragon |
|
|
|
|
| (24) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1849
Lloyd |
Peleus |
|
Thetis |
|
Peleus |
Thetis |
|
| (25) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1850
Pyl |
|
|
|
|
Jason |
Medea |
Aphrodite |
| (26) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1850
Guigniaut |
Peleus |
“Amour” |
Thetis
changing into serpent |
Neptune |
Theseus |
Ariadne |
Bacchus
(Dionysos) |
| (27) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1857
Overbeck |
Peleus |
|
Thetis |
|
|
|
|
| 1869
Lloyd |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| (28) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1879-1886
Klein |
Theseus |
|
Amphitrite |
Poseidon |
|
|
|
| 1886
Graef |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1888
Smith |
Peleus |
|
Thetis |
Neptune |
|
|
|
| (29) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1907
Anonymous (from Simon) |
(Entrance
of shadowy figures into Elysium) |
| 1926
Walters |
Peleus |
|
Thetis |
Neptune |
|
|
|
| (30) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1929
Granger |
Alexander
the Great |
|
Julia
Mamaea |
|
|
Julia
Mamaea |
The
Fate, Clotho |
| |
(Related to the births of Alexander the Great and Severus
Alexander; Julia Mamaea dreamed of giving birth to a small dragon; with
Christian significance of birth, death, and immortality) |
| (31) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1953
von Salis |
(Scenes
from various Greek myths, but not specified) |
| (32) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1953
Simon |
Apollo-Veiovis, with features of Augustus |
Cupid |
Atia
with Apollo in form of snake |
Romulus-
Quirinus |
Apollo-
Veiovis- Terminus |
Atia |
Venus
Genetrix |
| |
(Atia, mother of Augustus, slept with Apollo-Veiovis in
the form of a serpent and gave birth to Augustus.) |
| (33) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1958
Polacco |
C.
Claudius Marcellus |
|
Atia
with snake |
Romulus-
Quirinus |
Apollo-
Veiovis- Terminus |
Julia, daughter of Augustus |
Venus
Genetrix |
| |
(Marriage
of Julia to Augustus’ nephew, C. Claudius Marcellus; one scene) |
| (34) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1958
Richter |
(In
review of Simon, agrees it is not Peleus and Thetis, but perhaps an
“unknown myth”.) |
| (35) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1964
Haynes(see 1966, 1968,
1995) |
Peleus |
Eros |
Doris or Tethys with ketos |
Nereus or Oceanus |
Ares
(later Hermes) |
Thetis |
Aphrodite |
| |
(Doris
is the mother of Thetis, Tethys her grandmother; Nereus is the husband
of Doris and father of Thetis, Oceanus the husband of Tethys; Ares is
the husband of Aphrodite. The representation of a happy marriage.) |
| 1965
Biesantz |
(Exposed
weakness of all solutions, but proposed none of his own!) |
| (37) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1966
Haynes (see also 1964, 1968, 1995) |
Peleus |
Eros |
Doris
or Tethys with ketos |
Poseidon |
Hermes
(earlier Ares) |
Thetis |
Aphrodite |
| |
(One
scene) |
| (38) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1966-1967
Bastet |
Dionysos |
Eros |
Personification
of Naxos with sea-monster (earlier as a snake) |
Poseidon |
Ares
or Apollo |
Ariadne |
Aphrodite? |
| |
(Ariadne
and Dionysos on Naxos; one scene) |
| (39) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1967
Ashmole |
Peleus |
|
Thetis
with ketos |
Poseidon |
Achilles |
Helen |
Aphrodite |
| |
(Marriage
of Achilles and Helen on the White Island. The triumph of life
over death under the gaze of celestial love) (Handle heads: Oceanus) |
| 1967
Becatti |
(agrees
with Mùbius) |
| (40) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1968
Haynes (See also 1964, 1966, 1995) |
Peleus |
Eros |
Doris
or Tethys with ketos |
Nereus
or Oceanus |
Hermes |
Thetis |
Aphrodite |
| (41) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1968
Clairmont |
Peleus |
|
Thetis |
Poseidon |
Achilles |
Helen |
Aphrodite
& Helen |
| (42) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1970
Brown |
Achilles |
Eros |
Thetis |
Poseidon |
Hermes |
Iphigenia |
Aphrodite |
| |
(Achilles
and Iphigenia) |
| (43) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1970
(Mss.) Eisenberg |
A
late Renaissance mixture of the following figures: |
| (Published
2003) |
(Mars
+ Augustus) |
|
(Rhea
Silvia + Thetis) |
Poseidon
based upon Eurystheus? |
(Augustus) |
(Ariadne
+ Rhea Silvia) |
(Aphrodite
+ Juno) |
| (44) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1972
Brown |
Achilles |
Eros |
Thetis |
Lycomedesof Scyros |
Achilles |
Deidamia |
Scyros
personified |
| |
(Achilles and Deidamia) |
| 1976
Harrison |
Theseus |
Eros |
Amphitrite |
Poseidon |
Theseus |
Ariadne |
Aphrodite |
| |
(agrees
with Mùbius) (Made as a funerary urn for a young deceased heir
of Augustus) |
| (45) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1979
Hind |
Peleus |
Eros |
Thetis |
Poseidon
or Zeus |
Aeneas |
Dido |
Aphrodite
or Juno |
| |
(Connects
Greek myth - referring to the forthconming Trojan War - with Roman legend
- Aeneas and Dido; relevant to Augustus and the Julio-Claudian
house) (For agreement with Ashmole (1967) on side B, see Hind (1995) |
| 1984
Smart |
Peleus |
Eros |
Thetis |
Poseidon
or Zeus |
Achilles |
Iphigenia
or Deidamia |
Artemis |
| |
(Iphigenia on Aulis) |
| (47) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1986
Simon (see 1957) |
Apollo-Veiovis, with features of Augustus |
|
Atia
with Apollo in form of snake |
Chronos |
Apollo-
Veiovis- Terminus |
Atia |
Venus
Genetrix |
| |
(Now
D is Chronos, a harbinger of the golden age to come, not Romulus-Quirinus) |
| (48) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1987
Felton |
Perseus |
Eros |
Andromeda |
Poseidon |
Theseus |
Ariadne |
Aphrodite |
| |
(A
representation based on Fabularium, Liber V, by a Roman elegiac poet,
Sextus Propertius, 50-16 B.C., also known as Propertius V.) |
| (49) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1988
Schindler |
Apollo |
Eros |
Atia
with snake |
Romulus |
Augustus |
Julia |
Venus
Genetrix |
| (50) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1990-1991
Painter & Whitehouse |
Augustus |
Eros |
Atia
with Apollo in form of snake |
Poseidon |
Paris |
Hecuba |
Aphrodite |
| |
(Birth
of Augustus (Octavian) (The vase ‘was made to celebrate Rome’s birth
from the ashes of Troy, and to honour the man [Augustus] who had inaugurated
Rome’s golden age.’ and ‘can only have belonged to the emperor Augustus
himself.’) |
| (52) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1992
Skalsky |
Peleus = Marcellus |
Eros |
Thetis
= Julia |
Oceanus
+ Tethys (!) |
Paris
= Marcellus |
Helen
+ Thetis = Julia |
Aphrodite |
| |
(A
complex interpretation based upon Catullus 64; relates to wedding of
Marcellus and Julia and to Rome’s future. The shrine and
column are cryptograms for pi and iota.) |
| (53) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1995
Haynes (see also 1964, 1966, 1968) |
Peleus |
Eros |
Tethys
or Doris or Amphitrite with ketos |
Oceanus
or nereus or Poseidon |
Hermes |
Thetis |
Aphrodite |
| (54) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 1995
Hind (see also 1979) |
Peleus |
Eros |
Thetis |
Poseidon
or Zeus |
Achilles |
Helen |
Aphrodite |
| |
(Now
agreeing with Ashmole (1967) except for D as Nereus, the father of Thetis;
basing several identifications on visual puns or rebus!) |
| |
| NOTE:
The first time that a new identification of a figure has been proposed
it has been underlined. |
| The
above compilation is an updated and revised version of ‘Earlier Interpretations
of the Scenes’, appendix V of ‘Recent Research on the Portland
Vase’ by Kenneth Painter and David Whitehouse, Journal of Glass Studies,
Vol. 32 (1990), pp. 172-176. |
