ium.
Hence the grouping on some vases of scenes from his labours are like so
many groups of athletes (fig. 33), and hence, too, a general tendency of
the red-figured vases, especially the cups, to become a sort of
glorification of the Attic _ephebus_, the representations of whom in all
sorts of occupations are out of all proportion to other subjects.

[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Funeral lekythos showing vases placed inside
tomb.]

We find evidence of this, too, in another form. Many vases, especially
the cups of the "severe" and "strong" periods, bear names of persons
inscribed on the designs with the word [Greek: kalos], "fair" or
"noble," attached; sometimes merely, "the boy is fair." The exact
meaning of this practice has been much discussed, but evidence seems to
show that the persons celebrated must have been quite young at the time,
and were probably youths famous for their beauty or athletic prowess.
Some of the names are those of historical characters, such as
Hipparchus, Miltiades or Alcibiades, and, though they cannot always be
identified with these celebrated personages, enough evidence has been
obtained to be of great value for the chronology of the vases, Further,
the practice of the vase-painter of adopting his own particular
favourite name or set of names has enabled us to increase our knowledge
of the characteristics of individual artists by identifying unsigned
vases with the work of particular schools.

IV. _Vases of the Decadence_.--For all practical purposes the red-figure
style at Athens came to an end with the fall of the city in 404 B.C.
Painted vases did not then altogether cease to be made, as the
Panathenaic prize vases and the funeral _lekythoi_ testify, but at the
same time a rapid decadence set in. The whole tendency of the 4th
century B.C. in Greece was one of decentralization, and the art of
vase-painting was no exception, for we find that there must have been a
general migration of craftsmen from Athens, not only to the Crimea and
to North Africa, but also to southern Italy, which now becomes the chief
centre of vase production. Here there were many rich and flourishing
Greek colonies or Grecianized towns, such as Tarentum, Paestum and
Capua, ready to welcome the new art as an addition to their many
luxuries. In the character of the vases of this period we see their
tendencies reflected, especially in their splendid or showy aspect; the
only aim being size and gaudy colouring.

The gene