pa n dor a 165
detail reinforces the idea that Pandora was made, not born. The same
tool motif also appears prominently in the border around the top of the
great vase of about 440 BC that depicts the death of the bronze robot
Talos— who was also crafted by Hephaestus (see fig 1.3). 21
In the Niobid Painter’s vase scene, Pandora stands like a motionless
wooden xoanon idol or a marble statue with her arms at her sides, looking
straight ahead. The vase scholar H. A. Shapiro likens her to a “wind- up
doll” waiting to be wound up. There is a flurry of activity around Pandora.
Athena approaches from one side holding out a wreath, with Poseidon,
Zeus, and Iris lined up behind her. On Pandora’s other side we see Ares,
Hermes, and Hera (or Aphrodite). The lineup includes some gods not
Fig. 8.6. Pandora admired by gods and goddesses, on the magnificent red- figure calyx krater,
by the Niobid Painter, about 460 BC, inv. 1856,1213.1. © The Trustees of the British Museum.