Kalos inscription

Favorite inscriptions are to be found especially on painted Greek vases and praise a person, usually a young man, as "beautiful " ( kalós ).

Another term for these inscriptions is Kalos inscription ( ΚΑΛΟΣ, ancient Greek for beautiful, sometimes kalé also the feminine form ). This applied even before the fire of the vessels inscriptions to the beauty of certain persons praise. In addition to fixed inscriptions and graffiti could have been subsequently carved into the vases.

Origins

Favorite inscriptions resulted from the interest already known since the early Greek poetry at the youthful beauty. Similarly, the inscriptions reflect the current pederastic social conventions; the pedagogical eros, which for example is discussed in Plato's Symposium, is certainly in the background of Kalós inscriptions.

In addition, the general stands ideal of aristocratic youth is praised. The temporal use of such inscriptions on vases and the depiction of gambling in palaestrae scenes overlap, so that the assumption is justified that the praise mainly refers to the physical beauty and athletic ability of boys and young men. The favorite inscriptions surely give a particular focus praised and celebrated "stars " of this world again.

Some of the inscriptions known as ephebes Leagros, Miltiades, Diotimus or Glaucon may be equated with the later Athenian strategists, but this is rare indeed to clarify ambiguous. In research, it is discussed whether the effects of certain artists or workshops recurring Kalós names are not attributable to contract work.

The surviving evidence, painter and motifs

Today, about 300 favorite inscriptions on Attic vases are known, two thirds of them on vessels in rotfigurigem style. The first inscriptions created around 550/540 BC, the painter Exekias or another artist from the group E for Stesias and Onetorides. Later is a Memnos preferred Éphèbe of Oltos while Euphronios and his circle Leagros prefer. Epiktetos boasts a Hipparchus, Epikylos the Skythes.

During the early days of red-figure vase-painters painting, individual dive as kalós to their colleagues. In the 5th century BC favored Onesimus Athenodotos and Panaitos, Duris the Chairestratos and Hippodamas, the macron also praises. To 470 BC the Pistoxenos painter praised the son of Leagros, Glaucon, ten years later, the Achilles Painter Diphilus, son of Melanopos. Shortly afterwards praised even more Euaion painter, the son of Aeschylus. Towards the end of the 5th century BC ended the custom of favorite inscriptions. One of the last representative was the several times the younger Callias honorable Eretria Painter.

The present research has several anonymous painters given name from the Kalós inscriptions used by them. Among them are the Antimenes painter who Lysippides Painter, Antiphon Painter, the Painter and the Euaion Kleophon painter. The longer work hours some painters are divided into according to their ephebes named periods, such as Duris and the Achilles Painter.