he middle of the 5th century B.C. and was
employed for the funeral _lekythoi_ which came into fashion at Athens
about that time. These vases, which form a class by themselves, were
made specially for funeral ceremonies and were painted with subjects
relating to the tomb, such as the laying-out of the corpse on the bier,
the ferrying of the dead over the Styx by Charon, or (most frequently)
mourners bringing offerings to the tomb (fig. 31). They continued to be
made well on into the 4th century, but the later examples are very
degenerate and careless.

Of other forms, especially the _kylix_ and the _pyxis_ (toilet-box),
some exceedingly beautiful specimens have come down to us, which show a
delicacy of drawing and firmness of touch never surpassed, although the
lines were probably only drawn with a brush. The technique of these
vases may reflect the methods of the painter Polygnotus and his
contemporaries, who used a limited number of colours on a white ground.
Among them no finer specimen exists than the cup in the British Museum
with Aphrodite riding on a goose; the design is entirely in brown
outlines, and the drawing, if slightly archaic, full of grace and
refinement.

[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Painting from a small toilet-box or pyxis,
showing painted vases used to decorate a lady's room. On the left is a
gilt pyxis with a tall lid, and an oenochoe on a low table; on the right
two tall vases (lebes) on a plinth. All except the pyxis are decorated
with painted figures, and contain flowers.]

In the subjects on red-figured vases we do not find the same variety of
choice as on the black-figured, but on the other hand there is
infinitely greater freedom of treatment. The stereotyped form of
composition is almost entirely discarded, and each painter forms his own
conception of his subject. The class of slim _amphorae_, known as
"Nolan" from the place where they were mostly found, are distinguished
by having the design limited to one or at most two figures on each side,
often on a large scale; these vases are also famous for the marvellous
brilliance of their shining black (fig. 32).

Towards the middle of the 5th century the patriotism of the Athenian
artist finds expression in the growing importance which he attaches to
local legends, especially those of Theseus, the typical Attic hero. He
seems to have been regarded as the typical Athenian athlete or
_ephebus_, and his contests as analogous to episodes of the gymnas