Although descended from the long-established traditional forms of vase painting of mainland Greece, vessels such as this impressive wine vessel from the Greek colony of Apulia show that red-figure vases of southern Italy differ from those of Athens. With superb creative skill the artist has captured the climactic moment described in Homer's Iliad (Book 18) when Iris, the winged messenger of the gods, has come to the sulking Achilles with news that the Trojan prince Hektor may seize the body of his fallen friend Patroklos. The Greek hero is seated on a couch in his tent, leaning on his staff. The deceased in the naiskos is a popular motif for reverses on large Apulian vases. It is likely that the mythological subject on the front of this vase was chosen to connect with the funerary scene on the back—a link between the dead warrior and a Greek hero's bravery, as exemplified by Achilles.