The Carlos kylix

This fifth-century B.C. red-figure kylix or drinking cup, decorated with scenes from a Greek symposion, is a gift from Emory benefactor Michael C. Carlos to the museum that bears his name. It is on display until October 3 with two similar kylikes, a vase, and some pottery fragments on loan from museums in Princeton and Tampa. The symposion was an important Greek social, political, and religious institution at which participants engaged in dialogue, sang, played musical instruments, and performed religious rituals--activities depicted on the Carlos kylix by the artist known as "the painter of the Paris Gigantomachy," after his most famous work. The Carlos kylix is one of the finest and best-preserved examples of this artist's work.