Greek handmade ceramic amphora, museum copy.

Exikias amphora housed in the Vatican Museums in Rome is a work of ancient Greek art.

It bears the inscription of the manufacturer:ΗΕΧΣΕΚΙΑΣ ΕΠΟΙΕΣΕΝ , and the dedication inscription: ONETORIDES KALOS to the young athlete Onitoridis, about whom we know nothing else. The black glaze covers the entire vessel except for the painted parts. His foot is decorated with rays. Both sides are decorated with angiographies.

The front shows two heroes. Achilles and Aiantas sit facing each other and play on a simple table a toy invented by Palamidis. From their mouths we read what they threw: Achilles four, Aiantas three. They are both dressed in war, and play dice to pass the time, while on shift in the Trojan War. They wear chests on the thighs and arms. They hold the spears in their hands to be ready, while a helmet and shield are leaning close to the side. The shield of Aeandus is decorated with the Gorgon of Fear, while in the shield of Achilles made for him by Hephaestus we can see the head of Seilinus, a snake and a panther.