Spielende Krieger

Attische Kunstindustrie und männliche Wertewelt

Abstract

Two warriors playing a board game – this motif, created around 540 B.C., was one of the most popular subjects in Attic vase painting for several decades. Based on a newly compiled catalogue of over 200 known examples, this essay explores the full range of forms that took the motif beyond Exekias’ famous design. Its popularity can be attributed to the pictorial interweaving of two central elements of male self-perception: the willingness to engage in war and the affirmation of the joy of life, expressed in the simplest terms through play. The direct, almost ironic juxtaposition of these two themes removes some of the heaviness from battle and war, while highlighting the significance of the 'light' theme of play. By adding or combining other motifs on the same vessel, it was easy to emphasise one aspect over the other. The motif’s wide range of applications also stems from the fact that the two central themes, battle and play, were part of the lifeworld not only of the aristocracy, but of all free citizens in Athens, in the Greek world and beyond, wherever the products of the Attic ceramic industry were traded.