Red-figure bell krater

The Kleophon painter is an important Athenian vase-painter of the Classical period (490/80-323 BC). He decorated large vases with a marked preference for festive scenes, symposia and komoi.

He was named after the ‘kalos’ inscription praising the youth Kleophon on one of his pots. The subject of “komos” was very popular among Greek and especially Athenian vase-painters. It is frequently found on kraters, large open vessels used for mixing wine with water and, thus, indispensable components of the symposium.

Wine, dance and music are the three basic ingredients of the “komos” in which mortals are frequently depicted returning from a symposium or en route to another one, dancing and sometimes exhibiting explicitly amorous intentions.