This beautiful fifth-century cup shows Achilles guarding the body of the dead hero Hector in his tent. The cup is signed with the names of the painter and the potter, Macron and Hieron respectively. If you have read The Iliad, you know that after Achilles killed Hector, the Trojan prince, he brought Hector's body back to his tent and refused to allow a funeral. Finally, Hector's father, King Priam came into the Greek camp and begged Achilles to surrender Hector's body for burial. Achilles agreed and gave Hector's body to Priam; the story of the Iliad ends with the funeral rites for Hector. You can read William Cowper's English translation of the Iliad online at Project Gutenberg; here is a direct link to Book 24, the final book of the epic.
You can also find more myths and legends for the week of January 1-7 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.
