ABSTRACT
What is going on in the scenes on this clay vessel, painted in Athens at the end of the sixth century BC? Taking our cue from the youth with the discus, we don’t find too much difficulty in identifying this as a scene of athletes, in action, preparing for action, or tidying themselves up after action. One youth has apparently got a thorn in his foot and is having it pulled out. Another pours oil from a small flask into the palm of his hand ready to oil himself down. Another folds up his cloak or takes up a cloak he laid down folded earlier.
