Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Peirithous.
The gallery
Theseus and Pirithous Clearing the Earth of Brigands
Angélique Mongez, 1806
Angélique Mongez's 1806 oil (Arkhangelskoye Palace Museum) shows Theseus and Pirithous as twin civilisers — the sworn friends delivering two women from abductors while they purge the land of brigands. Davidian anatomy and stormy sky cast the Lapith king as Theseus's equal in heroic friendship, years before their disastrous descent to Hades. The canvas is a rare Neoclassical monument that names Pirithous beside Athens' hero rather than dissolving him into the Centauromachy crowd.
Theseus and Peirithoos Abducting Helen (Amasis Painter amphora)
Amasis Painter, c. 550–530 BC
On this Attic black-figure amphora by the Amasis Painter (Athens, National Archaeological Museum, inv. 404), Theseus and Peirithoos seize the young Helen — the partnership of the two heroes before the Centauromachy and the chair of forgetfulness. Bold silhouette and incision fix Peirithoos as Theseus's comrade in a deed that later myth would call reckless. The vase is among the earliest clear images of the Lapith king named beside his Athenian friend.
Peirithoos, Hippodameia, and the Centaur Eurytion
Laodameia Painter, c. 350–340 BC
Detail from an Apulian red-figure calyx-krater in the British Museum (reg. 1870,0710.2): the centaur Eurytion tries to carry off Peirithoos's bride Hippodameia (here named Laodameia) while Peirithoos and Theseus resist — the outbreak of the Centauromachy at the Lapith wedding. Painted about 350–340 BC and attributed to the Laodameia Painter, the scene is the name-piece for that artist. It remains the classic South Italian image of Peirithoos defending his own marriage feast.
Theseus and Peirithoos (Penthesilea Painter kylix tondo)
Penthesilea Painter, c. 460–450 BC
In the tondo of the great Attic red-figure kylix by the Penthesilea Painter (Ferrara, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, inv. 44885), Theseus on horseback and Peirithoos with spears stand at an altar — the two friends paired at the heart of the largest known cup of its kind. Around them run the deeds of Theseus; the interior names Peirithoos as the constant companion, not a side figure. Found at Spina and dated about 460–450 BC, the cup is a Classical document of their sworn brotherhood.