d i n i n g i n t h e s a n c t ua r y o f d e m e t e r a n d k o r e

Hesperia
Th e J o ur nal of the Amer ic an Sc ho ol
of Cl assi c al S t udie s at Athens
Vo l u m e 8 3
2014

Copyright The American School of Classical Studies at Athens, originally

published in Hesperia 83 (2014), pp. 257276. This offprint is supplied for
personal, non-commercial use only. The definitive electronic version of the article
can be found at <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.83.2.0257>.

hesperia
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Editorial Advisory Board
Carla M. Antonaccio, Duke University
Angelos Chaniotis, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
Jack L. Davis, University of Cincinnati
A. A. Donohue, Bryn Mawr College
Jan Driessen, Universit Catholique de Louvain
Marian H. Feldman, University of California, Berkeley
Gloria Ferrari Pinney, Harvard University
Sherry C. Fox, American School of Classical Studies at Athens
Thomas W. Gallant, University of California, San Diego
Sharon E. J. Gerstel, University of California, Los Angeles
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A. J. S. Spawforth, Newcastle University
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he s p er ia 83 (201 4)
Pa ges 25 7 2 7 6

Asteras Eipein:
An Archaic View of
the Constellations
from Halai

ABS TRAC T
A fragmentary Archaic skyphos recovered from the excavations at Halai
in East Lokris displays what might be one of the earliest depictions of
constellations known from Greece. The cup shows an unusual frieze of
animals that, by nature of the species depicted, cannot be read as a hunting
scene or as a typical Corinthianizing motif. Instead, all of the represented
animals have parallels to constellations described by Homer, Hesiod, and
later Greek writers, and can be read together as seasonal representations of
the night sky.

INTRODU C T I ON
Early Greek astronomy is known primarily through literary sources.1
The earliest artistic representations of constellations in the night sky are
fragmentary and at times problematic in terms of what they represent. A
sherd from a Late Geometric krater found at Pithekoussai has a graffito
that may depict the oldest of these, which George Huxley has tentatively
identified as the constellation Botes.2 A different fragment, which dates
to the 5th or 4th century b.c., found at Canosa, shows a bull and the stern
of a ship, which have been -interpreted as the constellations Taurus and
Argo.3 Scenes located in the heavens are not uncommon in late Archaic
and Classical art, primarily in vase painting, and are often indicated by the
presence of stars as locational devices; however, these scenes are usually
mythological in nature, as can be seen, for example, in the image of Helios
being drawn by a chariot on a black-figure white-ground lekythos dating
1. I would like to thank John
Coleman for his permission to publish my research on this skyphos, and
the Lamia Archaeological Museum
for allowing me to photograph it.
This study began during my year in
the regular program of the American
School of Classical Studies at Athens

in 20102011, and I thank Margie

Miles, Mellon Professor, for her assistance and advice. I also thank Reema
Habib, Sarah Glenn, Matt Buell, Jeff
Ropp, and the anonymous reviewers
at Hesperia for their comments and
suggestions.
Photos and drawings are by the

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens

author; the Mercator projections are

after screen stills from the freeware
program Stellarium.
2. Coldstream and Huxley 1996,
pp. 222224.
3. Berlin, Staatliche Museum,
LIMC II, 1984, p. 924, no. 99, pl. 680,
s.v. Astra (S. Karusu).

258

j o h n t. b a r n e s

to ca. 500 b.c.4 Such images do not directly depict constellations or reflect
the physical realities of the sky.
Beginning in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, celestial spheres,
physical representations of the heavenly sphere, came to reflect the astronomical knowledge of the day, and three extant examples show the full range
of constellations that fill the night sky. The earliest of these is a small silver
celestial sphere, dated roughly to the 2nd century b.c., acquired in 2000 by
the J. Kugel Gallery in Paris.5 Similar to this example is another small sphere,
currently in the Rmisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz, that is
dated to around a.d. 200.6 Lastly, the Farnese Atlas in the Archaeological
Museum in Naples holds a marble celestial sphere variously dated from the
2nd century b.c. to the 2nd century a.d., although influences from Ptolemys
Almagest suggest the later dates.7 Literary references suggest the spread of
similar objects in the Hellenistic period. For example, in Ciceros account
of the Syracusan plunder brought to Rome by Marcus Claudius Marcellus,
the spoils of war included two celestial spheres and an orrery attributed to
Archimedes, which, hypothetically, would date to the 3rd century b.c. and
just predate the celestial sphere in Paris.8
Because of the paucity of this visual material, any consideration of
early representations of the night sky in Greece must rely heavily on the
extant literary record, specifically poetic astronomy. This genre was once
quite popular in antiquity, although today only one example remains. The
Phaenomena by Aratos of Soli, written sometime after 276 b.c., is the
earliest extant complete literary description of the Greek constellations.9
In it Aratos describes the spatial relationships and mythologies of known
constellations arranged by their positions in the sky. The Phaenomena is a
particularly valuable source because its popularity in later centuries ensured
that it was frequently reproduced and distributed, while the more technical
works that influenced it were lost to time. The 2nd-century b.c. astronomer
Hipparchos, whose complete commentary on the Phaenomena has been
preserved, tells us that the work of Aratos is based on a 4th-century treatise
of the same title by Eudoxos of Knidos, which is now lost.10
Eratosthenes of Kyrene, a near contemporary of Aratos, is credited with
having written the Catasterismi (); however, the work in its
current form was assembled from a lost original sometime in the 1st or 2nd
century a.d.11 The Catasterismi was intended as a complement to earlier
discussions by Eudoxos and Aratos, and it includes additional physical
descriptions of the forms and relationships between the constellations. In
a similar vein, the Poetica Astronomica of Hyginus, dating to the end of the
1st century b.c., was intended to recount the mythological origins of the
known constellations.12 Literary and poetic descriptions of constellations
and their mythologies continued into the Roman period with copies,
translations, and adaptations of Aratos, as well as with the creation of new
constellations and myths to suit changing needs. The 2nd-century a.d.
Almagest of Ptolemy was the last such comprehensive survey of astronomical
knowledge in antiquity, and it served as a standard of learning until the
time of Copernicus. Ptolemys focus, however, was on the mathematical
calculation of the movements of heavenly bodies and the cataloguing of
stars by their place within constellations, not on their mythological origins.
The state of astronomical knowledge and, indeed, the meaning and
implications of the word astronomical in Greece during the Archaic

4. New York, Metropolitan Museum

of Art 41.162.29; LIMC II, 1984, p. 906,
no. 3, pl. 670, s.v. Astra (S. Karusu); see
also Yalouris 1980.
5. Cuvigny 2004.
6. Knzl 2003.
7. Thiel 1898, pp. 2526; Duke
2006.
8. Cic. Rep. 1.22; Miles 2008, p. 65.
9. Mair and Mair [1921] 2000,
pp. 185205; Kidd 1997, pp. 34;
Evans 1998, pp. 3940.
10. Hipparchos 1.1.811, 1.2.12;
Manitius 1894, pp. 6, 8; Martin 1974,
pp. 810. See also Mair and Mair
[1921] 2000, p. 195; Kidd 1997,
pp. 1418.
11. Condos 1997, p. 19; Pmias and
Geus 2007, pp. 2430. Sometimes
attributed to Pseudo-Eratosthenes.
12. Condos 1997, p. 19.

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

259

period are difficult to piece together from the above evidence. Additional
fragments and quotations in later scholia help to fill the historiographic gaps
in our understanding of the development of Greek astronomy, but they are
not always useful for determining how the general Greek populace viewed
the night sky in the earlier Archaic and Classical periods.13 References
to the night sky in Homer and Hesiod, the earliest Greek authors to
mention specific stars and constellations, are purely observational in that
they note the appearance of certain celestial bodies and connect them to
seasonal events such as agricultural cycles or navigational aids.14 Hesiod,
in particular, viewed the stars as signs from the gods telling men when
certain actions should be performed or avoided. The information recorded
in the poetic handbooks was not simply academic, but instead reflects
common knowledge about the night sky and the use of stars as harbingers
of seasonal change. For example, Sophokles use of the morning rising of
the star Arcturus as a signal for shepherds to drive their flocks to winter
pastures implies an understanding on the part of the general audience of
the seasonal significance of astronomical events.15 Observing the night sky
was an easy and accessible way for the average person in antiquity to mark
the passage of the seasons and plan for the months ahead, much as one
might consult the modern Farmers Almanac. However, the representations
of pre-Hellenistic constellations, and our consequent knowledge of them,
are sparse.

ARC H AIC H ALAI AN D I TS S KY P H OS

Halai in East Lokris was founded in the 7th century b.c. at a time of Greek
colonization and the expansion of trade (Fig. 1).16 As a result of increasing
commerce and contact with the north Aegean, the Black Sea, and the wider
Mediterranean, new Greek settlements began to appear in areas with easy
access to raw materials and the sea. The acropolis of Halai, which overlooks
the bay of Atalante, is located ca. 40 km to the north of Thebes, ca. 40 km
to the northwest of Chalkis, and ca. 40 km to the southeast of the Malian
Gulf. Its location was strategic, situated just off the major seaborne trade
route between the southern Greek cities and the north, and near the coastal
boundary of Boiotia. With access to the income and knowledge that the
trade routes provided, the settlement flourished, and the Archaic levels
on the fortified acropolis indicate a well-ordered grid plan supporting
a sizeable population (Fig. 2).17 The acropolis possessed a small temple
located just inside the wall to the northwest that was positioned slightly
off-axis from the surrounding gridded plan so that it faced directly east.
The skyphos was found in trench F6, about 3 m to the northeast of this
Archaic temple. From an analysis of the pottery, the trench appears to have
contained debris from the destruction of the first temple, which most likely
occurred around 480 b.c.18
13. For a brief overview of this
development see Heath 1932; Stahl
1951; Huxley 1964; Dicks 1966, 1970;
Kahn 1970; Evans 1998, pp. 125.
14. Hom. Il. 5.46, 18.483489;
Od. 5.269275; Hes. Op. 383387,

414422, 564573, 582592, 597599,

609623. See also Huxley 1964, p. 3;
Dicks 1970, p. 33; Evans 1998, pp. 411.
15. Soph. OT 11351139.
16. Wren 1996; Coleman et al. 1999,
p. 298.

17. Goldman 1940; Coleman et al.

1992, p. 275; Coleman et al. 1999,
p. 298.
18. Coleman et al. 1992, p. 275;
Wren 1996, pp. 9092; Coleman et al.
1999, p. 307.

260

j o h n t. b a r n e s
Figure 1 (left). Map showing the
location of Halai
Figure 2 (below). Plan of the western
portion of Halai showing the location
of the Archaic temple; trench F6,
which produced the skyphos, is
shaded in gray. After Coleman et al.
1999, p. 288, fig. 2

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

261

Figure 3. The two sides of the Halai

skyphos, ca. 625 b.c., Lamia Archaeological Museum H91-648

19. See Coleman et al. 1992, p. 275,

pl. 72:b; Wren 1996, pp. 56, 109, 111
112, no. B11, fig. 21; Coleman et al.
1999, p. 308, no. 18, fig. 19. Dimensions: H. 0.165 m, Diam. rim 0.290 m,
Diam. base 0.152 m.

The skyphos itself (Fig. 3) was a local production decorated in a

Corinthianizing style consistent with a date of ca. 625 b.c.19 Based on its
date, it was probably intended as one of the earlier dedications in the temple.
Roughly two-thirds of the skyphos is preserved, including a full profile and
one handle with a plain, slipped interior. The exterior decoration consists of
three zones separated by horizontal bands painted in a brownish slip. The
first zone consists of simple vertical lines at the rim, the second depicts a
central animal frieze, and the third contains slightly curved rays just above
the base. A painters signature, reading [. . .] , and a potters
signature in retrograde, reading (), appear in the central
register with the frieze. The animals, all of which face left, include, from
left to right, a bull (only the back half preserved), a snake, either a hare or
a small dog, a large dog, a scorpion, a dolphin, and a panther or lion (only
the front half preserved). Most of the figures have incised outlines, with

262

j o h n t. b a r n e s

Figure 4. Detail of the Halai skyphos

showing the bull, snake, and hare

Figure 5. Detail of the Halai skyphos

showing the snake, hare, and dog

the exception of the snake and scorpion, and the dolphin and the bull have
an additional light gray color added to their undersides. Crosses and an
unidentifiable floral motif fill in the spaces between the figures.
The first animal on the left (Fig. 4) was originally identified as a
cow, with the pendant line under the animals belly taken to be an udder.
However, cattle in contemporary Corinthian vase painting are almost
universally male, and the rendering here is in keeping with conventions
showing male genitalia on ungulates.20 The tail identifies this animal as
a bull, as opposed to a goat, ram, or boar, since the long tail curves down
behind the haunches and in toward the body, again in keeping with the
artistic convention for cattle. By contrast, the long tails of sphinxes, lions,
and panthers always curve up or out from the body toward the animals
back. The figure behind the snake (Fig. 5), originally identified as a hare,
is problematic because it has short ears, and because a fragment of the
vessel is missing below its tail. The animal has the appearance of a small

20. See Payne 1931, p. 70, pls. 11

14, 20, 2426 and Amyx 1988, p. 665
for illustrations and references for these
conventions.

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

263

Figure 6. Detail of the Halai skyphos showing the dog, scorpion,

and dolphin

Figure 7. Detail of the Halai skyphos showing the dolphin and

lion/panther

21. Payne 1931, p. 70.

dog, like the figure chasing it, although its snout is shorter and its ears are
slightly longer (if still shorter than conventional hares ears) than those of
the dog behind it. Close observation of the tail reveals that it most likely
stops just above the break, which is consistent with the short tail of a hare
rather than the characteristically long tail of a dog. For these reasonsshort
snout, longer ears, and a short tailit is likely that the animal represents a
hare, although the possibility cannot be ruled out that it instead represents
a small dog.
The snake, scorpion, and dolphin (Figs. 4, 6, 7) are all fully within
the conventional depictions of their species, as is the lion or panther at
the right edge of the preserved frieze. Humfry Paynes observation is well
taken that the recognized difference between frontally facing panthers
and side-facing lions is a modern aesthetic designation.21 Darrell Amyxs
assertion that this convention reflects zoological realities is undermined
by depictions of maned lions that face forward, such as those depicted on

264

j o h n t. b a r n e s

a Corinthian alabastron in Oxford,22 and cats in profile that lack manes or

teats, as is seen on a Corinthian aryballos in London.23 As Payne suggests,
it is entirely likely that few, if any, artists in mainland Greece had ever had
a direct encounter with a panther or a lion, and so the artistic renderings
of both species betray innocently conventionalized and overlapping
iconographic markers. The cat on the Halai skyphos can, therefore, be
identified as either a lion, a panther, or, in fact, both. It is worth noting
that all of the figures in the frieze are real animals, and that mythological
monsters, hybrids, and humans are markedly absent despite the popularity
of such motifs on contemporary Corinthian vessels. The odd assortment
of the animals on the skyphos and the absence of familiar mythological
subjects indicate a special selectivity on the part of the painter with regard
to the friezes overarching subject.
Animal friezes are a common feature of Corinthianizing decoration,
and they appear in a variety of forms during the Archaic period. Some, like
hunting scenes, have a recognizable theme, although others may show rows
of animals without any overarching narrative subject.24 However, in the
case of this particular scene, the combination of animals is striking because
of the unusual composition. While panthers, lions, and bulls are common
on Corinthian and Corinthianizing pottery, bulls are less popular by the
late 7th century.25 The dolphin seems out of place surrounded by land
animals, especially with no indications of water. The scorpion is a generally
uncommon motif and is more often represented as a shield emblem than
as an actual animal. The image of a dog chasing a hare is a common trope
in hunting scenes, but the snake lying under the pair is atypical. These
irregularities suggest that the frieze should not be read as a normal hunting
scene or as a standard assortment of wildlife in a conventional frieze.
The filling ornaments between these animals are also significant. In her
consideration of the Dodwell Painter, Mary Blomberg suggests that certain
ornamental fillers, like the crosses found between the animal figures in this
frieze, might have been used as iconographic markers to emphasize the
mythological nature of scenes.26 Moreover, since many mythological scenes
that appear on Corinthian pottery were later preserved as constellations, she
proposes that these filling ornaments can be read as stars, thereby locating
the scene in the heavens. Blomberg acknowledges that a difficulty with
this interpretation lies in the fact that such star-like filling ornaments also
appear in nonnarrative and nonheroic scenes, as in scenes composed entirely
of animals;27 nonetheless, there is no need to discount this idea. While
Homer and Hesiod mention more human figures or nymphs than animals
as constellations, their descriptions cover only a small percentage of the
sky, and neither authors goal was to give a full description of all the known
constellations. In fact, most of the constellations in the comprehensive
descriptions by Aratos, Eratosthenes, and Hyginus are either animals or
mythical beasts (24 animals and beasts and 15 humans in Eratosthenes and
Hyginus, 23 and 13 in Aratos). Therefore, the absence of human figures
in a scene should not preclude its location in the heavens.
If the star-like filling ornaments do indicate a mythologized or heavenly
scene, then it is possible that the animals on the Halai skyphos represent an
assortment of celestial beings. In the absence of an obviously narrative or

22. Ashmolean Museum 1879.107;

CVA, Oxford 2 [Great Britain 9], p. 63,
no. 59, pl. 1:59 [384]. See also Amyx
1988, pp. 663664.
23. British Museum 1860.4-4.16;
Amyx 1988, p. 43, no. 9, pl. 13:2b.
24. Isler 1978.
25. On bulls see Payne 1931, p. 70;
Amyx 1988, p. 665.
26. Blomberg 1983, pp. 1920.
27. Her example is an Archaic
Corinthian pyxis in Brussels, Muses
Royaux dArt et dHistoire R 201; see
Blomberg 1983, pp. 20, 78, no. 55, pl. 42.

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

Figure 8. Mercator projection of the

visible night sky with constellations
mentioned in the text

265

heroic aspect in the frieze, it is worth considering the possibility that these
animals represent constellations (Fig. 8). The interpretation of iconographic
markers as mythological subjects should not rule out the possibility that the
image describes the natural world, since the constellations, by their simple
existence, serve as very real and physical illustrations of the mythologies
they depict. The mythological may define or explain the physical, but
there is no reason to draw a sharp division between the two categories in
this context.

TH E FRIEZ E AS CON S TELLAT I ON S

Cel e st i al I den t i f i c at i on s

28. Aratos, Phaen. 167178, 254

267; Eratosth. [Cat.] 14, 23; Hyg. Poet.
astr. 2.21, 3.20; Condos 1997, pp. 172
173, 193194; Kidd 1997, pp. 244248,
274281.

From discussions in Aratos, Eratosthenes, and Hyginus, and given the

existence of the three celestial spheres mentioned earlier, it is clear that
by the Hellenistic period much of the night sky had been filled with a
series of canonical constellations. The specific borders of these star groups
might have changed slightly over time, but, for the most part, this canon,
with some later additions and alterations, has survived to the present
day. References to a handful of these stars and constellations in Homer
and Hesiod suggest that at least a portion of the constellations in this
canon were commonly recognized in the Archaic period. Other literary
fragments and later quotations can potentially provide further evidence for
the early existence of additional elements of the canon. Therefore, if the
previous hypothesis is accepted, that the animals on the frieze represent
constellations, a reading based on the celestial canon is possible.
The bull, the scorpion, the dolphin, and the panther/lion in the frieze
can be connected to the constellations Taurus,28 Scorpius (not Scorpio,

266

j o h n t. b a r n e s

as that title is an astrological designation, which would be anachronistic

to invoke here),29 Delphinus,30 and Leo.31 In the canon of constellations
known from the Greek world, there are no other cattle, scorpions,
dolphins, or large cats except for these. Scorpius is attested earlier in the
Near East in star catalogues, glyptic art, and boundary stones where it
appears to have included the constellation Libra as the Scorpions Claws.
It first appears in Greek records in a fragment attributed to Kleostratos
of Tenedos, ca. 520 b.c., and then in Eudoxoss work in the 4th century.32
The initial attestation of Delphinus in Greece is similarly late, appearing in
the 5th-century astronomical calendar (parapegma) of Euktemon;33 however, dolphins appear as motifs on Late Geometric vessels and in narrative
scenes as early as the 7th century.34
Taurus is likely illustrated on the previously mentioned vessel from
Canosa from the 5th or 4th century b.c., which is roughly contemporary
with the first reference to the constellation in a fragment attributed to
Eudoxos.35 Homer and Hesiod, however, omit the bull and instead mention
only the component star groups of the Hyades and the Pleiades, which
would later form the respective head and shoulder of the bull.36 These
component groups possessed their own developed mythologies, as seen in
Hesiod, but it is not difficult to see how the V-shaped cluster of the Hyades
could also be visualized as the horns of a bull, as was the case in the Near
East perhaps as early as the Bronze Age.37 Leo is similarly mentioned
early in the Near East, but in Greece the constellation is linked to the
Nemean lion, which could suggest either an independent development or
a mythological rationalization of an imported constellation.38 Eratosthenes
attributes the story to Pisander of Rhodes and his now lost 6th-century
Heraklea, although Hesiod also mentions the story in the Theogony.39
Hipparchoss discussion of the description of Leo in Aratos makes it clear
that the constellation was known to the Greeks at least by the time of
Eudoxos in the 4th century b.c.40
The snake, the hare, and the dog appear to be an integrated group in
the frieze on account of their close proximity to one another. The dog is the
easiest to identify with a constellation, as there are two prominent canines
in the night sky: Canis Major and Canis Minor.41 These constellations were
29. Aratos, Phaen. 8590; Eratosth.
[Cat.] 7; Hyg. Poet. astr. 2.26; Condos
1997, pp. 188189; Kidd 1997,
pp. 210213.
30. Aratos, Phaen. 316318;
Eratosth. [Cat.] 31; Hyg. Poet. astr.
2.17; Condos 1997, pp. 99100; Kidd
1997, pp. 301302.
31. Aratos, Phaen. 148155;
Eratosth. [Cat.] 12; Hyg. Poet. astr.
2.24; Condos 1997, pp. 127128; Kidd
1997, pp. 236239.
32. On its appearance in the Near
East see Roscher IV, 19091915,
col. 1456, figs. 11, 19, 30, s.v. Sterne
(A. Jeremias); Roscher VI, 19241937,
cols. 966967, s.v. Sternbilder (F. Boll
and H. Gundel); Evans 1998, p. 6.

On Kleostratos of Tenedos see Condos 1997, pp. 188189; see also Dicks
1970, p. 87. On Eudoxos see Kidd
1997, p. 211.
33. Kidd 1997, p. 301.
34. Amyx 1988, p. 670.
35. Fr. 29; see Kidd 1997, p. 244.
36. Hom. Il. 18.483489, Od.
5.270277; Hes. Op. 383384, 571
573, 614623.
37. On earlier Near Eastern conceptions see Allen 1899, p. 382;
Roscher IV, 19091915, cols. 1449
1450, s.v. Sterne (A. Jeremias); Roscher
VI, 19241937, cols. 938939, s.v.
Sternbilder (F. Boll and H. Gundel);
Condos 1997, p. 194; Kidd 1997,
p. 244.

38. Roscher IV, 19091915,

cols. 14521453, s.v. Sterne (A. Jeremias); Roscher VI, 19241937,
cols. 954959, s.v. Sternbilder (F. Boll
and H. Gundel); Condos 1997, p. 127;
Kidd 1997, p. 236.
39. Eratosth. [Cat.] 12; Hes. Theog.
326332; Condos 1997, p. 243.
40. Hipparchos 2.1.1820; Manitius
1894, pp. 130132.
41. On Canis Major see Aratos,
Phaen. 326337; Eratosth. [Cat.] 33;
Hyg. Poet. astr. 2.35, 3.34; Condos
1997, p. 67; Kidd 1997, pp. 305310.
On Canis Minor see Aratos, Phaen. 450;
Eratosth. [Cat.] 42; Hyg. Poet. astr.
2.36; Condos 1997, pp. 6970; Kidd
1997, pp. 341342.

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

267

more widely known in antiquity by their main stars, Sirius and Procyon,
respectively, which were in turn associated with dogs. Sirius was more
commonly called (the Dog Star) and Procyon () is literally
the Star-before-the-Dog. The antiquity of the canine association with
Sirius is revealed in Homer, as shown by a passage that describes Achilles
gleaming like one of the brightest stars in the sky, the dog of Orion.42 Sirius
was an important summer seasonal marker and a harbinger of summer
illnesses. It appears multiple times in Hesiod and is likewise used by later
authors such as Aischylos and Aristotle.43
The hare, like the bull, the scorpion, the dolphin, and the large cat,
has only one constellational correlate, known as Lepus,44 and is recorded
by Hipparchos in a quote of Eudoxos, which attests knowledge of the
constellation from at least the 4th century.45 In the night sky, Lepus is
located directly in front of Canis Major, constantly fleeing its pursuer
through the sky, and, in the associated myth, the hare is described as the
game hunted by Orion and his dog. Hyginus, however, records a variant
mythology, in which the hare was often considered an inappropriate target
for such a great hunter, and so instead Orion hunted the bull, Taurus, located
directly in front of him. This variant myth and its resulting pairings leave
Canis Major to hunt the great hare alone, without a human presence, in a
manner that parallels the depiction in the frieze.
The snake is more difficult to connect with a single constellation,
not for a lack of astral comparanda, but because there were three celestial
serpents recognized by the Greeks: Serpens, Hydra, and Draco. Because
Serpens, the serpent entwined within the larger constellation Ophiouchus,
is always described in later sources alongside the human who grapples
with it (variously identified as Asklepios, Herakles, Tropias, Phorbas, and
others), and because no human appears on the skyphos, this identification
does not seem likely.46 The constellation Draco is of uncertain origin, but
it is mentioned by Eudoxos and Hipparchos in the 4th century, although
the mythological stories related by the scholia of Aratos might well date
earlier.47 Described as the serpent that guarded the apples of the Hesperides,
Dracos pictorial significance is bound up with the two bears that flank
it, Ursa Minor and Major, and with Herakles, who kneels nearby with
his foot above Dracos head. The argument could be made that the two
quadrupeds and the serpent on the skyphos represent the two bears and
Draco in the sky; however, the long tail of the larger quadruped negates
its identification as a bear, a species that would otherwise be unexpected in
Corinthian iconography, rendering this identification of the group unlikely.
The identification of the isolated serpent on the skyphos as Draco seems
equally unlikely given the absence of various divine and semidivine beings
traditionally associated with Dracos mythology.
42. Hom. Il. 22.29. Canis Major
and/or Sirius were often identified as
the hunting dog of Orion.
43. Hes. Op. 417422, 582592,
609614; Aesch. Ag. 967; Arist. Mete.
361b35.
44. Aratos, Phaen. 338341;
Eratosth. [Cat.] 34; Hyg. Poet. astr.

2.33; Condos 1997, pp. 130131; Kidd

1997, pp. 310311.
45. Hipparchos 1.2.20; Manitius
1894, p. 22.
46. Aratos, Phaen. 7487; Eratosth.
[Cat.] 6; Hyg. Poet. astr. 2.14, 3.13;
Condos 1997, pp. 144145; Kidd 1997,
pp. 206211.

47. Aratos, Phaen. 4562; Eratosth.

[Cat.] 3; Hyg. Poet. astr. 2.3; Roscher VI,
19241937, cols. 881884, s.v. Sternbilder (F. Boll, and H. Gundel); Martin 1974, pp. 9294; Condos 1997,
pp. 102103; Kidd 1997, pp. 192
200.

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j o h n t. b a r n e s

Significantly, however, Hydra, located just to the east of Procyon and

below Leo, sits close to the dog stars in the celestial sphere.48 Hipparchos
records this constellation in a quote from Eudoxos, although a similar
serpent in the same part of the sky might also have been known earlier in
Phoenicia.49 Unlike the serpent in Ophiouchus and Draco, the mythology
of Hydra does not depend on an association with human or divine figures.50
Hipparchoss quotation of Eudoxos also recounts how the heads of Hydra,
Canis Major, Canis Minor, and Lepus are connected as they move together
through the sky. Eudoxos, through Hipparchos, describes this joint
progression, timed to coincide with the rising of Cancer and indicating the
final setting of Botes, in much the same way that Hesiod describes the
joint processions of constellations used as indicators of specific times of the
year. The contexts of Eudoxos and Hesiod are very different, but their uses
of multiple constellations as markers of celestial importance are similar.
In addition, the joined constellations listed by Eudoxos parallel the linked
depictions of the snake and the two quadrupeds on the skyphos. Taking
into account the spatial proximity of Hydra, the dog stars, and Lepus, the
identification of the serpent as Hydra seems the most plausible.

A Se asonal Rea ding

For the ancient Greeks, the stars were important tools for marking seasons
through the observation of their positions just above the horizon at sunrise
and sunset.51 A star or constellation was said to rise when it appeared for
the first time on the eastern horizon in conjunction with either sunrise or
sunset. Likewise, the star or constellation would set when it appeared for
the last time on the western horizon, either at sunrise or at sunset. The
celestial body could therefore mark four times of year with its morning
rising, its morning setting, its evening rising, and its evening setting.52
For a constellation, which contains numerous stars and covers a broad
swath of the sky, these events were marked with particularly bright or
strategically located stars. However, true risings and settings, when a
star or constellation crosses the horizon plane at the same time as the sun,
48. Aratos, Phaen. 443449;
Eratosth. [Cat.] 41; Hyg. Poet. astr.
2.40; Condos 1997, pp. 122123; Kidd
1997, pp. 339341.
49. Hipparchos 2.2.13. On Hydra in
the Near East see Allen 1899, p. 248;
Roscher VI, 19241937, cols. 1008
1011, s.v. Sternbilder (F. Boll and
H. Gundel); Kidd 1997, p. 340.
50. Neither Eratosthenes nor Hyginus identify the constellation Hydra
with the Lernaean Hydra. Instead, it is
identified in literal terms as a water
snake associated with the crow and
krater on its celestial back, their position not unlike that of the two quadrupeds on the skyphos. By contrast, both
Eratosthenes and Hyginus connect

Herakles to the constellation Draco,

positioned near his feet, which can be
seen as the guardian of the apples of
the Hesperides; see Martin 1974,
pp 9194; Condos 1997, pp. 101103,
115123. A connection between Hydra
and Herakles appears only in the scholia of Aratos as a briefly mentioned,
unattributed story; see Martin 1974,
pp. 280281.
51. The concept is well and concisely explained by Robinson (2009)
and Boutsikas (2011, p. 304). See also
Mair and Mair [1921] 2000, pp. 203
204; Evans 1998, pp. 190198.
52. Because the true risings and
settings cannot be viewed, the visual
phenomena are referred to in this

article: visual morning rising (heliacal

rising); visual morning setting (apparent cosmical setting); visual evening
rising (apparent acronychal rising); and
visual evening setting (heliacal setting).
Conventionally, these are marked when
the sun is 15 below the true horizon,
and the star is 10 above the true horizon. Due to local topography, weather
conditions, and the position of a given
star or constellation relative to the
celestial equator, the visual rising or
setting can occur between a few days
and a few weeks before or after the true
rising or setting. See Robinson (2009)
for a detailed explanation with regard
to ancient viewership.

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

269

Figure 9. Schematic representation

of the visual rising or setting of a star
showing the positions of the sun,
star, and horizons

53. Boutsikas 2011, pp. 303308.

cannot be viewed directly since local topography typically obscures the true
horizon, and the sun obscures the star or constellation with its light. For
this reason, the ancient Greeks marked the visible risings and settings
of heavenly bodies (Fig. 9), which occur while the sun is below the true
horizon plane and the star or constellation is just visible above the local
topographical horizon. When Hesiod (Op. 383384), for example, writes
of the rising and setting of the Pleiades as indications for the harvest
and for plowing, he refers to the visible phenomena of these risings and
settings. From Greek latitudes, most stars and constellations in the night
sky intersect the horizon and can thus be said to rise and set. Since some
stars and constellations in the northern sky, like the two bears and Draco,
are circumpolar and do not set, their calendrical significance was marked by
their upper and lower culminationsi.e., their highest and lowest positions
in the northern sky relative to the horizon. Calendrical importance was
marked when these culminations were observed to coincide with the first
and last light of day, similar to the risings and settings of other stars.
With regard to an astronomical reading of the skyphos, Hesiod
explicitly discusses the seasonal significance of Sirius and the star clusters
that occupy the same position in the sky as Taurus. In her recent work on
the timing of the Panathenaia, Efrosyni Boutsikas emphasizes the seasonal
significance of Dracos upper culmination, at least for the city of Athens,
and makes a plausible connection between the positions of constellations
and the timing of religious events.53 It is worth remembering here that
the findspot of the Halai skyphos suggests that it was a votive offering in
the nearby temple. Literary evidence makes it clear that stars and constellations were used as seasonal markers during the Archaic period, even
if the specific nature of timings and associated celestial indicators are
debatable. For this reason, it is worth considering the seasonality of the
different figures, and groups of figures, on the skyphos when they are read
as constellations.
The winter group, consisting of the snake, the hare, and the dog (Fig. 5),
provides a starting point, since, if read as the constellations Hydra, Lepus,
and Canis Major, they all rise within a few weeks of each other and proceed
through the sky together, as related by Hipparchos. In the night sky, Lepus

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j o h n t. b a r n e s

rises first, followed closely by Sirius (the head of Canis Major), which rises
almost contemporaneously with the head of Hydra. These risings would
have occurred at sunset at the end of December or early January, or at
sunrise in early August, preceded by the rising of Taurus a couple of months
earlier (Fig. 10).54 Even if the hare is instead read as a second, smaller
dogperhaps as the constellation Canis Minor with the star Procyonthe
position of Procyon in the night sky exactly matches the series described by
Hipparchos, since the rising of Procyon just precedes the rising of Sirius.
Conversely, the settings of Lepus, Procyon, Sirius, and the head of Hydra
are not simultaneous, but span the course of nearly two months due to
their positions in the sky relative to the equator and their elevations above
the horizon. In light of the comment by Hipparchos regarding the unified
movement of the group, the near-simultaneous risings of this group appear
all the more significant.
Leo and Delphinus, the summer group, share a similarly conjunctive
timing, in that just before Leo begins to set in the west, Delphinus rises in
the east. At sunset this position would have been visible sometime in June
(Fig. 11:a), while at sunrise it would have been visible sometime in late
January or early February. Scorpius (and Libra in the position of its claws)
is located in the sky between Leo and Delphinus, and its position in the
frieze (Fig. 7), preceding the other two figures, can be explained in a few
ways. Firstly, it could be an error on the part of the painter, betraying an
unfamiliarity with the night sky and the actual positions of the constellations.
This explanation is unsatisfactory, however, in light of the fact that Scorpius
is visible in the sky at some point in the night for most of the year, only
disappearing for roughly a month in October and November when the
proximity of the sun obscures the constellation with its light. Therefore,
it would have been easy for the painter to check his arrangement should
he have wished to do so. Conversely, the scorpions position could reflect
a different grouping of the figures, in which the scorpion is placed with
the adjacent dog (Fig. 6). The dog, in this arrangement, would stand for

Figure 10. Mercator projection of

the night sky at sunset on January 8,
625 b.c., corresponding to the figures
in the winter iconographic group;
light from the sunset has been
removed from the sky to make the
constellations more visible

54. Because of the precession of the

earth, all dates given are based on the
date of 625 b.c. The commercially
available program Red Shift was used
to approximate the dates for the risings
and settings. Since calculating visual
phenomena in the ancient world is, by
nature, uncertain, all dates given here
must be understood to be rough
approximations.

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

271

Figure 11. Mercator projection of

the night sky at sunset on (a) June 6,
625 b.c., corresponding to the figures
in the summer group, and (b) April 15,
625 b.c., corresponding to the figures
in the spring group

b
Canis Major in two separate groups, an acknowledged compositional
method of eliding multiple scenes into a single image in Archaic vase
painting. In this combination, Scorpius and Sirius, or the spring group,
define the eastern and western limits of the sky in the same way that
Delphinus and Leo do. Scorpius rises in the east when Sirius approaches
the western horizon at sunset in April and at sunrise in late November
(Fig. 11:b).
The figures can thus be broken into smaller groups: the snake-hare/
small dog-large dog, the large dog-scorpion, and the dolphin-panther/lion.

272

j o h n t. b a r n e s

When matched with their possible constellational correlates, these groups

overlap in a seasonal procession of risings and settings at sunset that
progress from left to right, or according to the figures in the frieze. At
sunset, Hydra-Lepus/Procyon-Sirius all rise in the winter, Scorpius rises
as Sirius sets in the spring, and Delphinus rises as Leo sets in the summer
with Scorpius midway through the sky. The bull (partially preserved and
represented in Fig. 4) and the associated constellation of Taurus could also
fit this pattern as a marker of an autumnal seasonal arrangement, since
Taurus would have risen at sunset sometime at the end of October or the
beginning of November (Fig. 12), thereby completing the yearly cycle. In
keeping with the pattern noted here, at the rising of Taurus in the autumn,
Delphinus, from the winter assemblage, would have been high above the
western horizon.
Although the autumnal group is now lost, in the roughly one-third of
the frieze not preserved there is room for perhaps two or three more animals
based on the spacing of the figures in the preserved sections. Specifically
what figures filled the rest of the frieze cannot be determined, but there
are animals known to both the constellational canon and the Corinthian
iconographic corpus that fill this space in the sky. Roughly contemporaneous
with the rising of Taurus is the rising of the sea-monster Cetus and the
so-called Goat Star (Capella, in ancient Greek), while the eagle
Aquila and Capricorn approach the horizon in the west. The procession
of seasonal groupings of constellations would not make the vessel into a
calendar, as there is no way to mark the uniform passage of time, nor should
this series be viewed as a zodiac, since the zodiac, properly speaking, is the
series of constellations through which the sun passes in the course of the
year.55 Nor should this frieze be interpreted in terms of astrology, which,
as employed in later periods, did not develop until the 6th century b.c. in
Babylon, and is unattested in Greece before the 5th century.56 Rather, with
a seasonal reading, the frieze can be viewed as a representation of the night
sky throughout the year, in the abbreviated form of seasonal assemblages.

Figure 12. Mercator projection of

the night sky at sunset on November 2, 625 b.c., corresponding to the
bull figure in the autumn group

55. Now called the ecliptic, in antiquity it was referred to as the zodiacal
circle. The full zodiac, as developed in
the Near East, was probably not introduced to Greece until the 6th century
or later; see Gundel 1992, pp. 1617.
56. Barton 1994, pp. 1119; Beck
2007, pp. 1416.

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

273

CON C LU S ION S

57. Hes. Op. 609614; see also lines

614617 and 618623 for comparable
groupings.

The animals chosen for inclusion in the frieze on the Halai skyphos present
an atypical collection of creatures by both natural and artistic standards.
None is mythological, nor do any reference humans, and yet by this unusual
assortment the frieze suggests a series of deliberate choices on the part of
the painter to depart from conventional animal friezes. The interpretation
of these animals as constellations arranged in seasonal groupings provides a
potential explanation for the positioning of the figures within the frieze. All
of the animals can be associated with known constellations within the later
Greek canon: Taurus, Hydra, Lepus, Canis Major, Scorpius, Delphinus, and
Leo. From left to right the frieze can thus be subdivided into four groups,
with each group rising and setting at sunset during its associated season:
the bull and missing sections represent autumn; the snake, the hare, and the
dog represent winter; the dog and the scorpion represent spring; the dolphin
and the panther/lion (perhaps also including missing sections) represent
summer. In this arrangement, it is the combination of constellations in
different positions across the sky, rather than the appearance of a single
one on the horizon, that marks the time of year. Hesiod similarly groups
constellations and stars together to form larger units that together herald
seasonal activities. His autumnal sign to cut wood for winter, for example,
consists of the morning rising of the star Arcturus in conjunction with
Orion and Sirius reaching the highest point in the sky.57
It is tempting to take this seasonality and view it as a function of the
skyphos as a votive object. Is it possible that the four seasonal groupings
match the timings of religious events, as has been suggested by Boutsikas
with the Panathenaia? Halais location near prominent trade routes
suggests that its inhabitants could have had access to the knowledge and
learning carried on those routes, of which astronomy was likely a part.
The special alignment of the temple to face directly east, while the rest of
the acropolis shows a northwestsoutheast orientation, indicates that the
cardinal orientation of the structure was an important consideration from
its inception. This alignment would have allowed the eastern risings of the
constellations depicted on the skyphos to be viewed from the entrance to
the temple. The risings may have been visible over the altar in front of the
temple, with the observation of those risings taken as signs for religious
events. Unfortunately, without more specific information about the religious
calendar at Halai, one can only speculate on the connection between the
decorative program of this skyphos and the temple near which it was found.
Nevertheless, the association of the decorative program with
constellations opens avenues for future research concerning representations
of constellations in the Archaic period. Since the majority of astronomical
literary evidence dates to the Classical and Hellenistic periods, only through
the reevaluation of visual materials can the nature of the Archaic Greek sky
be developed. The constellations were not simply markers for calendrical
time, they were also very real and visual markers of the myths that they
embodied. The mythologies should not be read as cold rationalizations
of natural phenomena, nor should mythological illustrations be viewed as
a class of depiction distinct from those that display the real world. An
image on a votive object or a painted vessel can realistically depict both a

274

j o h n t. b a r n e s

mythological scene and the heavenly arrangement of stars and constellations

that represent that scene in the physical world.
Examples can be found in so-called astral mythsstories derived from
the positions of stars or constellations and integrated into the mythologies of
the figures for which the constellations were originally named. For example,
Aratoss description of the death of Orion as caused by a scorpion links the
story to the positions of the respective constellations of Orion and Scorpius
in the sky.58 As Orion sets nightly in the west, the scorpion rises in the east
to give the impression that the great hunter constantly flees his pursuer
across the heavens, in much the same way that Lepus flees the chasing
dogs. A similar astral theme of pursuit can perhaps be seen in the flight
of the bears and the Pleiades from Orion, and again in Orions flight from
Eos.59 The astral myth can potentially also be detected in the story of Heras
crab, which attacked Herakles during the battle with the Lernaean Hydra,
and whose iconography dates at least to the Late Geometric period.60 As
the constellation of Herakles sets, the constellation of Cancer rises, an
arrangement that parallels that of Orion and the scorpion.
A comparable, although contentious, arrangement has been suggested
for the theme of the lion and bull combat, where the nightly pursuit of
the bull Taurus by Leo across the sky parallels the symbolic associations
of power and sovereignty often cited in discussions of the artistic motif.61
Whether the position of these constellations influenced the artistic motif,
or vice versa, is ultimately less important than the fact that the theme exists
in tandem both in art and in the heavens. In the absence of contemporary
literary support, such astral myths are often a matter of conjecture. Still,
the principle that the heavens contain very real illustrations of myth, and
that both the night sky and the myth can be analyzed together in the same
scene, should not be discounted out of hand. The reevaluation of mythical
scenes in Archaic and Classical art may yet reveal insights into the way the
heavens were conceived and used in the ancient world.
The issue of foreign influence is also raised by several of the animals
on the Halai skyphos, if the argument for their associated constellations
is accepted. Taurus, Hydra, Canis Major, Scorpius, and Leo have all been
argued to be Babylonian or Phoenician in origin, only imported into Greece
at some point in the Early Classical period.62 This importation, however, is
itself a matter of debate, as there is no reason why a constellation of a bull, for
example, could not have been developed independently in the two regions.
That said, if multiple contemporary and equivalent constellations can be
identified in Greece and in the Near East during the Orientalizing period,
then the issue warrants additional research. It is conceivable that the stars
and their associated mythologies were elements in the cultural exchanges
already well defined in Greek art and literature of the period, as previously
suggested by Huxley with regard to the sherd from Pithekoussai.63
The astral interpretation of the Halai skyphos presented here offers one
explanation of the animal frieze, fragmentary though it is. Taken together
with the meager textual evidence at hand, the interpretation is consistent
with what is currently known about early Greek astral observation in terms
of representation and seasonality. If accepted, the seasonality of the scene
could also help to justify the votive function of the skyphos. It is very

58. Aratos, Phaen. 634649; Condos

1997, pp. 23, 150, 188; Kidd 1997,
pp. 396397.
59. Condos 1997, pp. 23, 150.
60. Bates 1911, pp. 27; Venit 1989,
pp. 100, 102.
61. Hartner and Ettinghausen 1964;
Hartner 1965; Markoe 1989. Hartners
assertion that the motif originates in
this astral alignment, and his connection of the motif with the vernal equinox and agricultural cycles, perhaps
push the matter too far.
62. Condos 1997, pp. 67, 70, 127,
188189, 193; Kidd 1997, pp. 211, 236,
244, 340. See also Huxley 1964, pp. 34;
Dicks 1970, pp. 163171; Evans 1998,
pp. 1125.
63. Coldstream and Huxley 1996,
p. 224. For a similar model of diffusion
see, for example, West 1997; Halpern
2003.

a v i e w o f t h e c o n s t e l l at i o n s f r o m h a l a i

275

likely that this vessel and the fragment from Pithekoussai, conceivably a
depiction of Botes, are not alone in their early depictions of constellations.
With future investigation and further review of older material, additional
examples may come to light. Further work on the nature of astral myths
and the connection between Greek and Near Eastern astronomy might also
provide a context for the use and understanding of the constellations by the
ancients, who marked the changing seasons by their risings and settings.

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John T. Barnes
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