One of the most memorable scenes in the entire Iliad takes place near the very end of the conflict. Hector, the son of Priam (the king of Troy) and Achilles have taken part in the climactic hand-to-hand combat that will take place in the whole tale. For a decade, the men from Greece have been trying to conquer the city of Troy, all because Hector’s brother, Paris, ran off with Helen, the wife of Menelaus, one of the Greek kings. In response to this flight, Menelaus and the other Greek kings brought their armies across the sea. Initially, Paris and Menelaus were to meet in hand-to-hand combat in the field before Troy, but when Paris fell and was about to be slain, Hera (the queen of the gods) intervened and magically transported him back inside the city walls, enraging the Greeks and setting off combat that would last a decade.
Achilles, though, did not enter the fighting right away. In the preparations for leaving Greece, Agamemnon (Menelaus’ brother) had been forced to give up Khryseis, a young girl whom he had brought home as part of the spoils from his last war, because she was the daughter of a priest. As compensation, Agamemnon demanded that Achilles surrender the girl that he had brought home. Achilles agrees because Agamemnon is higher than him in the Greek power structure, but he is very angry about the situation and sulks in his tent, refusing to go out and join the battle with the other Greeks. His young friend, Patroklos, goes out every day to battle, but the Greeks do not do well without their heroic Achilles fighting by their side. One day, Patroklos puts on Achilles’ armor and goes out to fight, and the Trojans initially panic, thinking that Achilles has finally joined the battle. However, Patroklos falls, and initially the Trojans think they have killed Achilles (and the Greeks think they have lost their hero), but when the helmet comes off and it becomes clear that Patroklos has died in Achilles’ armor, Achilles’ anger is stirred up, and he agrees to enter the battle. From that point on, the Greeks begin to press an advantage that becomes even more pronounced when Hector and Achilles fight.
Initially, Hector stands and fights Achilles hand to hand, but eventually it becomes clear that Hector cannot defeat Achilles, and that his life is in danger. At this point, Hector turns and runs, with Achilles in hot pursuit. The two men run around the city several times, until Athena appears in the guise of one of Hector’s compatriots, and Hector stops, thinking that he has an ally against Achilles. Unfortunately, this is just a ruse, and then Achilles catches Hector and kills him. In ancient Greece, it was important to pay homage to the dead by disposing of their body quickly and burying it. What Achilles has in mind for Hector’s body, though, is quite different. Instead, he attaches Hector’s corpse to the back of his chariot and then drives around, dragging the body behind him, giving it the utmost in discourtesy. It is this scene that the Antiope Group has represented on a vase entitled “Achilles Dragging the Body of Hector.” The vase was done during the Attic Black Figure period, in which black figures appear against the background of the red vase (Cartwright). All of the scenes emerge in basically four colors: black, rust, the orange of the background and a cream color. Because vases are round, what one gets in a work like this is basically a round frieze. In the center of the primary scene, Achilles stands, shoulders and arms bent, looking ahead as he holds the reigns of the chariot ahead of him. Both Achilles and Hector are rendered in all black with cream lines to show musculature; Hector’s body lies down with the arms stretched out behind his head. In front of Achilles’ determined visage, a tiny version of Hector floats on wings, representing the spirit of Hector, which has left his body. Old Priam and Hecuba, the queen, stand off to one side inside the palace. Iris, the messenger with wings, is coming down to Troy to tell Priam how he can ransom his son’s body back from Achilles. The warrior in front of the procession might be Hermes, disguised as one of the Myrmidon soldiers, showing Achilles the way back to the camp of the Greeks.
The style of the work on this vase is similar to many others during that time period. The purpose of the scene is to emphasize one of the most important events of the Trojan War. The faces are typical of those done by the Antiope Group and other artists during this time period. All faces look to one side and are represented in profile. It is true that drawing a person’s face from the front represents a struggle on a number of fronts, as balancing the eyes, nose and mouth while representing realistic perspective was a challenge. On Hector’s corpse, the musculature is clear; this was an interest in Greek art through all periods, as realism with regard to the human body was seen as an important goal for the artist. The musculature on the arms of Isis is also defined; as a representative of the immortals, the messenger would have also been expected to represent the ideals of physical beauty. Achilles’ posture shows the determination with which he planned to humiliate Hector. His shoulders are hunched and slightly forward. Interestingly, more horse legs are represented than what are necessary, showing the illusion of movement; this is the only detail betraying that any movement is taking place at all. Other than that, even Hector’s body appears to be more in repose than in the violent sort of bouncing and jouncing one might imagine that his body is suffering as Achilles drives around the plain. Hecuba’s face shows a wry smile that one might expect from a Stoic queen in public view, although one can imagine that her grief in private would be much greater. Priam’s arm is out in a gesture of outrage, as the offense that Achilles has done to his son’s body is considerable in terms of the etiquette of that era’s culture. The folds in the garuments of Priam and Isis show, again, the commitment among Greek artists to having as much verisimilitude as possible in terms of visual realism; note the curve of the calf on the back leg of Isis, showing musculature even beneath his robe. The ornamentation running up and down the sides of the scene show a tendency toward bordering that runs throughout most Greek art.
Works Cited
Cartwright, Mark. “Black Figure Pottery.” http://www.ancient.eu/Black_Figure_Pottery/
Homer. Iliad. http://classics.mit.edu/Homer/iliad.html
The Antiope Group, Achilles Dragging the Body of Hector. Attic Black Figure Vase, Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston.
