Pêcheurs : les jeunes hommes et la mer

This paper publishes a black-figured skyphos by the CHC Group (500-490 BC) depicting fishermen. Οn side A, two youths and a bearded man in short himation and cap stride to the right while carrying baskets hanging from poles. Side B depicts a transaction between the first youth of a group of three and a man in perizoma. The youth offers a basket containing three fishes to the man, who is about to receive them in a similar, but empty basket. The youths are depicted in heroic/ritual nudity. The second one in the group is wreathed and holds the lower part of a fish in one hand, while raising his other hand with a piece of fish-meat towards his face. All fish (presumably tuna) are represented with their tails up. By using the metaphor of the sea-hunt and the subsequent celebrations marking its successful completion (offering of dekatê to the gods and ritual meal), the painter of this skyphos visualized a civic and cultural ideal, namely the education of youths (agoge).