Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Timandra.
The gallery
Kylix of Hieron and Makron: the Judgement of Paris and the Abduction of Helen
Makron (painter) and Hieron (potter), c. 490–480 BC
On this Attic red-figure drinking cup, painted by Makron and signed by the potter Hieron and found at Vulci, the exterior unfolds the prelude to the Trojan War. One frieze shows the Judgement of Paris; the other shows Paris leading Helen away from Sparta. It is in this abduction scene that Timandra, sister of Helen and daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, makes one of her only securely identified appearances in ancient art: an accompanying inscription names her, and she is shown — in a chiton, mantle and fillet, arms flung outstretched — rushing forward to intervene as her sister is carried off, only to be held back by one of Paris's companions. The cup is one of the masterpieces of early-classical Athenian vase painting and is held in the Antikensammlung, Berlin (inv. F 2291).