Pseudo-Panathenaic Amphora with Discus Thrower

Description Panathenaic amphorae were prizes given to victors at the Panathenaic ("all-Athens") festival, the great state festival of Athens. It was held every four years much like the Olympic games. The prize amphorae were quite large and contained olive oil, the most valuable part of the award. Smaller versions, such as this one, were produced as commemorative objects. Each Panathenaic vase depicts a striding, armed Athena on the front. As the city's patron goddess, in whose honor the festival was given, she was thought to preside over the games. The back shows the particular event for which the prize was given. Here, the contest is discus-throwing, and a competitor appears with his trainer (holding a staff) and another athlete.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
7/16/1991	Loan Consideration	examined for loan
6/08/1992	Treatment	cleaned; coated

Exhibitions

• Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens. Hood Museum of Art, Hanover; Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond; Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton. 1992-1993.
• Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville; San Diego Museum Of Art, San Diego; Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA), New York. 2009-2011.

Provenance William Randolph Hearst, San Simeon [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; William Randolph Hearst Estate Sale, May 1958, no. 5494; Walters Art Museum, 1958, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase, 1958