Analysis of the figures: The bearded figure at the centre wears a long and imposing himation. His arms opened out to either side may be read as a gesture of arbitration, mediation or judgement between two parties who are fighting or in dispute. The figures to the left and right are fully equipped hoplite warriors. That both carry a spear and shield suggests this is not an ordinary duel but an encounter between heroes.
There are iconographic features by which Herakles is recognised in vase painting: the lion skin (of the Nemean Lion) worn over the shoulders or the head, the club as his most distinctive emblem, and sometimes his bow and arrows. In this work a detail resembling an animal skin can be seen on the shoulder of the warrior at the left. The central figure may be Zeus; in vase painting he is sometimes shown with a staff (skeptron) or a thunderbolt in his hand, but in certain scenes he is depicted purely as a figure of arbitration and authority — particularly in disputes between gods and heroes, with his arms opened to either side.
Style: Executed in the black-figure technique. Incised lines are pronounced on the figures, and added white has been used on the garments. The meander border and lotus-palmette frieze reflect the decorative sensibility of the Archaic period. The original example most probably derives from the Attic black-figure tradition of 550–520 BC.
This piece was reproduced using the terra sigillata technique, remaining faithful to the original ancient example.