Amasis and Exekias (Plate I.
fig. 54). The treatment of drapery is a good indication of date, ranging
from flat masses of colour to oblique flowing lines of angular falling
folds.

The shapes most commonly employed by the Athenian potters of this period
are the _amphora, hydria, kylix, oinochoe_ and _lekythos,_ the
first-named being the most popular. A special class of _amphorae_ is
formed by the Panathenaic vases, which were given as prizes in the
Athenian games, and were adorned with a figure of the patron goddess
Athena on one side and a representation of the contest in which they
were won on the other (fig. 26). They usually bear the inscription
[Greek: ton Athenethen athlon eimiruv] "I am (a prize) from the games at
Athens." Some of these can be dated by the names of Athenian archons
which they bear, as late as the 4th century, the old method of painting
in black figures with a stiff conventional pose for the goddess being
retained for religious reasons.

FIG. 26.--Panathenaic amphora.

The chief interest of the black-figured vases is really derived from
their subjects, which range over every conceivable field, the proportion
of myth and legend to scenes from daily life being much greater than in
the succeeding period. They include groups of Olympian and other
deities, and the various scenes in which they take part, such as the
battle of the gods and giants, or the birth of Athena (treated in a very
conventional manner, as on a fine _amphora_ in the British Museum);
Dionysus and his attendant satyrs and maenads, the labours and exploits
of Heracles and other heroes, subjects taken from the tale of Troy and
other less familiar legends; and scenes from daily life, battle scenes,
athletics, the chase and so on. The same classification of course holds
good for the later periods of vase-painting, with some exceptions. The
proportion of genre-scenes subsequently becomes greater, and some myths
disappear, others rise into prominence, new deities such as Eros
(Love), and Nik[=e] (Victory) appear for the first time, and, generally
speaking, the later subjects are characterized by a sentimentality or
tendency to emotion which is entirely foreign to the conventional
stereotyped compositions of the 6th century artist.

A remarkable feature of the subjects on black-figured vases is that a
stereotyped form of composition is invariably adopted at least for the
principal figures, but minor variations are generally to be found,