The object discussed in this paper is a two-sided red-figure bell krater – a vessel used for mixing water and wine. Side A depicts Artemis aiming her weapon at a vulnerable Aktaion, who is being torn apart by a pack of dogs. This side is particularly notable because it relates – depending on the version of the myth told – to the Greek idea of hubris, the concept of fate, and the presentation of women in Greek society. Side B depicts the goat god Pan with an erect phallus chasing a young shepherd boy with a statue of a herm (fertility statue of Hermes) in the background on a hill. This side of the krater evokes strong sexual imagery, allowing it to dwell upon the same theme of prey versus predator as the story of Artemis and Aktaion. Pan’s further
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In Greek mythology, Pan is often associated with forests and hunting. His chasing of the shepherd boy as portrayed on the krater shares a theme with its opposite side. Aktaion is being hunted by his own dogs and Artemis while the shepherd boy is being hunted – sexually – by Pan. Parallels between sexuality and hunting are common, especially within the context of the cult of Dionysus and its related iconography but also more specifically within the introduction of Seneca’s Phaedra. The iconography surrounding Pan (horns, goats, forests, hunting, and wild sexuality) and its association with Dionysus and, wine by extension, is not accidental. Given the krater’s function as a mixing dish for water and wine in large symposiums, it is not unreasonable to assume Pan may have excessively drank and his pursuit of the shepherd is driven by this. Depictions of excessive drinking among satyrs, nymphs, and other forest creatures and sexual pursuit are especially common in Greek art. This highlights the importance the Greeks placed on temperance in drinking – with excessive drunkenness being a severe taboo in their society. The portrayal of Pan’s pursuit of the shepherd boy on the krater likely served as both a reminder to symposium guests of the type of behavior drunkenness can lead to and as a mythological reinforcement of
In Greek mythology, Pan is often associated with forests and hunting. His chasing of the shepherd boy as portrayed on the krater shares a theme with its opposite side. Aktaion is being hunted by his own dogs and Artemis while the shepherd boy is being hunted – sexually – by Pan. Parallels between sexuality and hunting are common, especially within the context of the cult of Dionysus and its related iconography but also more specifically within the introduction of Seneca’s Phaedra. The iconography surrounding Pan (horns, goats, forests, hunting, and wild sexuality) and its association with Dionysus and, wine by extension, is not accidental. Given the krater’s function as a mixing dish for water and wine in large symposiums, it is not unreasonable to assume Pan may have excessively drank and his pursuit of the shepherd is driven by this. Depictions of excessive drinking among satyrs, nymphs, and other forest creatures and sexual pursuit are especially common in Greek art. This highlights the importance the Greeks placed on temperance in drinking – with excessive drunkenness being a severe taboo in their society. The portrayal of Pan’s pursuit of the shepherd boy on the krater likely served as both a reminder to symposium guests of the type of behavior drunkenness can lead to and as a mythological reinforcement of