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85 Appendix Kalos Names and Other Inscriptions A part from the obvious importance of inscriptions for helping us to identify persons and scenes that might otherwise be difficult to recognize, they also have a semantic value: an inscription matches a figure with a name, thus creating a specific character, mortal or divine . The significance of the so-called kalos inscriptions is even more substantial, since the formula used to praise the beauty of a youth depicted on a vase—for example, “Xenon kalos”—often becomes a dating tool for the whole cup as well as the context in which it was found. Moreover, vase paintings adorned with inscriptions reflect a practice common in monumental paintings and reliefs, thus offering us a glimpse of works long lost. The inscriptions on vases attributed to the Codrus Painter are usually written in purple, which has either turned to gray over the centuries or completely faded, as in the case of the Dionysos and Xenon cups (cat. 53, pl. 21; cat. 37, pl. 47). Henry Immerwahr speaks of “small, neat letters” on the painter’s mythological cups, and he points out the use of the Ionic alphabet.1 The letter forms are more or less consistent, with the exception of five types of alpha (with the middle bar horizontal, vertical, leaning against the left bar, leaning against the right bar, or with a dot instead of a middle bar), two versions of upsilon (with an elongated vertical bar or a V-shaped one), two types of gamma, two of rho, and two of sigma (three-bar and four-bar). The chi is transcribed as a horizontal bar with dots on either side, and the epsilon usually has four bars. Two different versions of a letter can be found on the same cup or even forming the same word, as in the case of the inscriptions on the Codrus, Erichthonios, and Divine Banquet cups (cat. 1, 2, and 3). There is no indication of rough breathing, as one would expect for the names of Hephaistos and Herse, although Hera and Eos are spelled with an eta.2 There is also a graffito—an AK (alpha-kappa) ligature—on the supporting surface of the Themis cup (cat. 17), probably an abbreviation for a name. A kappa is inscribed on the base of the Cassandra cup in the Louvre (cat. 19), which, however, is not the cup’s original foot. I was unable to find good parallels for these graffiti. The closest examples are the ligatures on a type A amphora by Euthymides from Vulci and a Nolan amphora attributed to the Group of Polygnotos.3 Problems concerning the reading of inscriptions and how they affect the interpretation of a scene are discussed in the relevant chapters above. Even though the Codrus Painter is quite fond of naming gods, heroes, and members of the Dionysiac entourage, there are only few kalos inscriptions . To be more precise, only one kalos name is attested with certainty. It appears in the tondo of a cup in the British Museum (cat. 37), praising a young athlete: “Xenon Kalos.” Three more cups may bear a kalos name—the Eriboia cup, the fragmentary cup in Basel, and the cup from Lucca—but one must point out that the word kalos does not follow the names of the youths (cat. 15, pl. 9b–c; cat. 25, pl. 40b; cat. 26, pl. 41a). The reading of the Eriboia cup as an episode from the Theban cycle (or perhaps a gathering of Attic local heroes) was largely based on the names of heroes inscribed on the exterior. One name in particular has consistently puzzled scholars, and it remains unparalleled today, despite several attempts to supply the missing letters: Μ[ΑΝ]ΤΕΝΙΟΣ. The inscription is found on side A next to the head of a youth conversing with a woman. Since this name is not attested anywhere else, it might actually be of non-Greek origin. There is also the 86 Appendix middle phase of the Codrus Painter’s career. It is thanks to this identification of gods, local heroes, and other mythological figures that we are able today to recognize scenes that would otherwise be impossible to decipher. Unfortunately the bulk of his palaistra protagonists remain unnamed . Certain figures are almost always named, such as mythical kings of Athens (e.g., Aigeus, Ainetos, Erechtheus, Codrus, Pallas), Attic and non-Attic heroes (e.g., Aias, Phorbas, Theseus and Phrixos, the Dioskouroi, Thersandros ), and personifications of...

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