François Vase

A milestone in the development of ancient Greek pottery due to the drawing style used as well as the combination of related stories depicted in the numerous friezes,[1] it is dated to circa 570/560 BCE.

The François Vase was discovered in 1844 in Chiusi where an Etruscan tomb in the necropolis of Fonte Rotella was found located in central Italy.

The François Vase may have been made for a symposium given by a member of an aristocratic family in Solonian Athens (possibly for a special occasion, such as a wedding), then broken and, after being carefully repaired, sent to Etruria, perhaps as an instance of elite-gift exchange.

[6] The uppermost frieze, on the neck of the krater, depicts on side A[7] the Calydonian boar hunt, including the heroes Meleager, Peleus, and Atalanta.

On the other side of the vessel, this zone features the dance of Athenian youths led by Theseus who is playing the lyre, standing opposite Ariadne and her nurse.

The second band on side A shows the chariot race which is part of the funeral games for Patroclus, instituted by his friend Achilles, in the last year of the Trojan War.

The third frieze on both sides, the highest and also most prominent one because of its location on the top of the body vessel, depicts the procession of the gods to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis.

Side B shows the return of Hephaestus to Olympus; sitting on a mule, he is led to the Olympian gods by Dionysus, followed by a group of silens and nymphs.

The fifth frieze shows sphinxes and griffins flanking lotus blossom and palmettes ornaments and panthers and lions attacking bulls, a boar, and a deer.

It goes all the way to the role in the Trojan War of their son Achilles, who puts on funeral games for his companion Patroclus (second frieze down), ambushes Troilos and finally is himself carried dead from the battlefield by Ajax.

Kleitias's drawings were especially detailed in regard to animal and human anatomy and when depicting textiles, making him a unique artist of his time.