Black-figure plate

Cultural exchange was as important in Antiquity as it is today. It shaped not only the relationships between the Greeks and their neighbours but also the contacts between the different regions of the Greek world. The poet Anacreon was born in the first half of the 6th century BC in the Greek city of Teos on what is today the west coast of Turkey. His artistic work, which mainly comprised erotic and symposiastic poems, probably reached its highpoint during Anacreon’s time at the courts of the Tyrants Polycrates of Samos and Peisistratos of Athens. But had he been forced by the advancing Persians to flee his homeland in eastern Greece or was he attracted by lucrative offers from his patrons? In any case, the poet obviously left a lasting impression on 6th century Athens, since as many as three vases were made there between 515 BC and 490 BC, and thus possibly during his stay in the city, to commemorate his poetic recitals. In these depictions Anacreon is seen wearing a striking set of clothes, which must have been typical of his eastern homeland, and which consisted of a headdress similar to a turban as well as long colourful robes and boots. The plate shown here was also made around 515 BC in Athens. Though in this case there is no inscription to identify the male figure, it probably does depict, or was at least inspired by, the flashy personal style of Anacreon. The image shows the poet dancing to the music provided by a female aulos player while holding a drinking cup in his raised left hand and a barbiton, a Greek stringed instrument with which he was known to accompany his compositions, in his right. Who would not be reminded by this depiction of the song Wine and Song, written in imitation of Anacreon’s works? “Bring me hither Homer’s lute, taught with mirth (not wars) to suit! Reach a full cup, that I may all the laws of wine obey, drink, and dance, and to the lyre sing what Bacchus shall inspire.” Anacreon became an outstanding personality in Athens under Peisistratos’ rule; he brought new impulses from his homeland in eastern Greece, thus enriching the city’s cultural sphere and leaving a lasting impression on its inhabitants. His renown, in fact, endured well beyond the end of the tyrants’ rule, and in c. 450 BC, he was even commemorated by a statue on the Acropolis. (ed)

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