An Apulian red-figure bell krater attributed to the Painter of Athens 1714, and dated to ca. 370 BCE.
One one side is depicted a young silen persued by a maenad. A silen was a mythical creature similar or perhaps identical to a satyr, sometimes identified as more similar to a horse, while satyrs have the attributes of goats. In many traditions the terms are synonymous, but only the name ‘silen’ is attributed to the figures on Athenian pottery. Satyr depictions are more frequently ithyphallic. The name is derived from Silenos, the god of drunkeness and tutor and companion to Dionysos. The silen carries a sista, and the maenad is depicted holding a tympanon, a frame drum with an animal skin stretched over it.
The scene represents a curious inversion of the more common persuit scene of a satyr chasing a maenad.
This model was compiled in Agisoft Metashape from 727 colour checked images, with retopology in Instant Meshes and editing and texture painting in Blender to reduce digital artefacts and glare.
1 comment