Archeonaut - APT Basilicata

etapontoAN ARTISTOF TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDREDYEARS AGOMetapontum had its own craftworkdistrict, which like that of Athens wascalled the Kerameikòs, because it washere, far from the inhabited area, thatfired ceramics were created, shapedand then finely painted, in a specialarea known as an ergasterion (whichwe could consider as their studios).Some of them were not just craftsmen,but genuine artists: the painter ofAmykos (between the 5th and 4thNational Archaeological MuseumInteriorcentury BC) and the famous Pisticcipainter, considered as the leader of the“Lucanian” style of earthenware vesseldecoration. His skill, which perfectlyreproduced details, expressions andgestures with extreme care, was alwaysfocussed on mythological themes (hisdepiction of the birth of Pandora ona bell krater should not be missed)or abduction, like that of Egina byZeus, immortalised on the sides of ahydria (the classic vessel for carryingwater), or the equally touching one ofthe goddess Eos carrying her belovedKephalos up to heaven.“he was not in the habit of portrayingthe human figure, except for thosethat had merited immortality forsome illustrious reason, mainly forvictory in the sacred contests“.(Plynius)PYTHAGORAS, THE MYTHICAL FIGUREOF A STRICT TEACHERHopes of eternal salvation and thesearch for a life beyond this worldin Metapontum were combined withOrphic, Dionysian and Pythagoreantheories, which had made the souland its immortal journey one of thecornerstones of their life and thought.The origins of Pythagoras of Samosare legendary, as is the description ofhis appearance (tall, proud, dressed introusers, quite an unusual outfit amongthe Greeks, and he even had a goldenthigh). What is certain is that ourinformation about him has been handeddown to us by his disciples and greatthinkers such as Plato and Aristotle.He was a mathematician, philosopher,musician, teacher of life and, asLamblichus tells us in his writings, itMarble bust ofthe heroAlexidamosseems he was able to tame wild beasts(he pacified a ravenous bear fromDaunia with sweets and fruit). Thehistorian Porphyrius remembers himas possessing the gift of ubiquity, beingcapable at the same time of speakingwith his disciples in Metapontum andTauromenium “even though these weretwo place separated by a distance ofmany stadia, both by land and by sea”.Pythagoras died in Metapontum in 495BC. It would be useless to dig at the feetof the columns of the Tavole Palatine tolook for his treasure, as people did intimes gone by, or for his tomb, which hasnever been discovered up to now. But toseek for harmony in things, which healways desired, and to discover beautyin nature and forms, can still be donetoday in Metapontum, just as it was twothousand five hundred years ago.40 41