Calyx krater (mixing bowl) depicting Bellerophon killing the Chimaera (A); Dionysos and satyrs (B),

ca. 370–360 BCE

Ceramics, such as this vase, that were made in the Falerii workshops were highly regarded in the ancient world and generally exhibit a clear relationship with earlier Athenian vessels in both their shape and subject matter. This calyx krater was originally intended to be used for mixing water and wine in the symposium, the elite male drinking contest the Etruscans adapted from the Greeks. The subject matter is also Greek: the vessel depicts a scene from myth in which Bellerophon, the son of the god Poseidon and the princess Eurynome, rides Pegasus while attempting to kill the Chimaera—a fire-breathing hybrid creature. On the other side of the vase, the god Dionysos drinks wine, dances, and plays music with satyrs, his mythical followers. The adaptation of Greek myths and forms within a local ceramic production suggests the network of trade routes that connected communities living across the Mediterranean.