Achilles Fresco Print

CHIRON & ACHILLES

Kithara Lesson

IV Style, Basilica, Herculaneum

This is a closeup of Achilles in a scene where the centaur Chiron, who was the teacher of Achilles as well as many other famous personalities like Asklepios, the healing god, is showing Achilles a musical passage on the lyre. This masterpiece focuses on the tender relationship between master and pupil. Its psychological intimacy is reinforced by the gaze and placement of the figures, by the figural contrasts between Chiron and Achilles, and by the music-lesson theme.