When Atalanta was born, her father was disappointed she was not a son, and had her left out on the rocks to die. A she-bear nursed her, and she was finally taken in and raised by some hunters. She became a hard woman and lived a hard life, fighting centaurs, making a name for herself racing and wrestling. She even sailed on the Argos with Jason.  Atalanta finally agreed to marry- a man who could beat her in a race. The winner would win her hand, all losers were put to death. Since she was very beautiful, many young men tried, lost and died. One man, Milanion, received help from Aphrodite in order to win the race.  Atalanta and he married and were happy for a while. Unfortunately, they angered Zeus in some way, and he turned then into lions.

The vase shows a famous wrestling match between Atalanta and Peleus, the future father of Achilles. Atalanta won. The match was held at Funerary or Memorial games for King Pelias of Iolcos in Thessaly. The boar’s head in the center was the prize for the victor. The man on the left is King Akastos, the son of the dead king being honored.

The reverse side of the vase depicts, left to right, Hermes, Hercules and Alcestes. Alcestes is dead, and shown as a spirit in her shroud. Hercules and Hermes are bringing her back from Hades to the world of mortals. One of Hermes duties was to escort people to Hades (and sometimes back), with the aid of his wand.

Alcestes died while Hercules was a guest in her home. She made a deal with the Three Fates and gave her life to save her
husband’s. Upon hearing the sad news, Hercules became upset and engaged in a battle with Death in order to bring back Queen
Alcestes from the grave.

NOTE:  These selections were individually hand thrown on a potter's wheel, hand shaped and hand painted by Master
reproduction artists in Greece. They are made of terracotta, and have a pewter seal from the Greek Ministry of Culture indicating their quality as replicas.