Band 1, Story 2: The Return of Theseus to Athens after slaying the Minotaur

What is the context?

Prince Androgeus, son of King Minos, died and the fault lay with the Athenians. The sacrifice of young Athenian men and women was the penalty for his death. When the time for the 3rd sacrifice approached, the Athenian prince Theseus volunteered to slay the Minotaur. He then led the Athenians out of the Labyrinth, and they sailed away from Crete.

Composition

What is the central focus?

The boat is the central focus despite not being placed centrally the eyes are drawn to it.

Composition

Is there compositional symmetry?

The ship interrupts any symmetry so there is little however all the figures in the procession are aligned at the waist.

Composition

How is the subject matter suited to the shape of the band?

The procession of Athenian youths led by Theseus takes up most of the band and is well suited to its long thin shape.

Content

How does the artist achieve variety?

There is a range of poses displayed e.g. a man swimming to shore, people seated or standing on the boat. The boat also adds variety as the rest of the band is taken up by human figures.

However this is only displayed on the boat. The procession feels stilted and rigid with all their poses being the same.

Content

How is emotion displayed?

The figures on the boat are more realistic and emotive with their hands raised in joy and celebration appearing to be conversing with one another. This clearly displays the narrative.

However the figures in the procession appear emotionless as they all have the same stilted and rigid pose.

Detail

How is movement created in the figures?

The procession of Athenian youths lacks movement as there is no feel for the anatomy beneath their clothing this is a limitation of the 2D black figure. They appear static and frozen and there is a lack of variation in their poses.

However the figures seen on the boat and the figure swimming in the ocean are very lively and active as we see a variation of poses and incisions to show anatomical features.

How is awkward space filled?

The man swimming to shore.