Odysseus in the Underworld krater

[4] It was found in Pisticci, south Italy and is believed to be the work of the Dolon painter, a famous Lucanian red-figure vase painter who worked in the Metaponto workshop and had a particular affinity for large krateres and mythological scenes.

It has a pair of curved handles emerging from the lower body of the vessel and sprouting outward to the lip.

[6] The A-side scene on the belly of the kalyx-krater depicts Homer's story of Odysseus's visit to the Underworld to consult the dead seer Teiresias.

[7] The scene on the B-side of the krater depicts the Judgment of Paris, where Hermes (on left) asks Paris, the Trojan prince, to arbitrate the contest between Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena and determine who is the most beautiful.

The scene is so well detailed that many scholars describe the krater as having a “double A-side”.

Odysseus in the Underworld Krater [ 1 ]
Odysseus, seated between Eurylochos and Perimedes, consulting the shade of Tiresias; to left Eurylochos wearing pilos and chlamys. Side A from a Lucanian red-figured calyx-krater. [ 2 ]
Hermes (on the left) asking Paris to arbitrate the contest between Athena, Aphrodite and Hera. Detail, side B from a Lucanian red-figured calyx-krater. [ 3 ]