Honor Outside Battle — 3D Virtual Gallery by Jaden Appel

Artworks in this gallery

• Honor Outside Battle (2026) — I wanted to showcase a variety of ancient Greek and Roman depictions of military honor and pride while not in the conflict of a battle. To further show the idea of being outside of battle, I wanted to show artworks that were in the forms of non-war related objects from ancient Greek and Roman times. I found this quote from this era of ancient Greece to represent this concept: “The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.” ― Thucydides Thucydides was an ancient Greek historian that lived in the 5th century BCE and wrote History of the Peloponnesian War. In this quote, he states that bravery requires intention and risk, facing combat. This goes with my concept showcasing honor outside of battle, where battle is avoided but the honor is retained. This creates ignorance about the reality of war and that combined with the avoidance of battle would create unbrave yet glory-seeking soldiers according to Thucydides’ quote. I wanted this sequence to be a progression and narrative from stages before the battle to after the battle. The Niobid Painter contains a lot of different elements that will get expanded on in later sections like the desire of heroism, so this art piece acts as a thesis for the rest of the exhibition. Terracotta kylix (drinking cup) is a piece that best shows the preparation before a battle, giving the viewer a taste of battle being on the horizon. Bronze plaque of Mithras slaying the bull makes for a good context art piece, where it delves into the belief system Roman soldiers had which still apply and tie into the beliefs and seeking of honor of the Greeks shown before and even of some today. I chose Late Geometric Attic spouted krater to be the fourth as it shows a moment just before battle and a moment presumably after the battle, skipping over the actual battle which fits into my concept nicely. Then to end it off, Rufus Sita Tombstone is the death of a horseman after the battle which ends the narrative with the resolution and thoughts of legacy. Niobid Painter - I chose Niobid Painter because the soldiers are wishing for luck and heroism from a Heracles statue for an upcoming battle, which relates to anticipated honor before the battle. Terracotta kylix (drinking cup) - I chose this kylix as the concept of war is distorted here with smiles and excitement, this brings the honor sought very far away from the actual conflict. Bronze plaque of Mithras slaying the bull - I chose this plaque to understand the beliefs and a peek into the discipline, honor, and contract that Roman soldiers had to uphold by showing a cult many of them were part of. Late Geometric Attic spouted krater - I chose this krater to show the sacrifice of battle and the honor that can come with it, as things such as sacrifice relate to military discipline. It also doesn’t show armor or any weapons, with the man not even looking like a soldier. Rufus Sita Tombstone - I chose this tombstone to show honor preceding a life in a war, where the honor is carried through a legacy.
• Niobid Painter, Niobid Krater, Attic red-figure calyx-krater, c. 460–50 B.C.E., 54 x 56 cm (Musée du Louvre, Paris; photo: Steven Zucker (2026) — This krater for wine creates two scenes, the first is of Niobe’s children that litter the ground getting killed by Apollo and Artemis, along with the group of soldiers surrounding a statue of Heracles while Athena stands off to the side. The way Artemis and Apollo along with Heracles’ statue are surrounded by a circle of empty space creates emphasis on the movement of Apollo and the attention the Heracles’ statue holds. The Persian Wars that occurred 20-30 years prior to this being made, and this romanticizes the period as a time of war and heroism for the attention of Heracles rather than peace as for Athena standing off to the side. This piece’s focus on war rather than peace along with the punishment of mortals for their hubris put their gods at the center of their source of honor, discipline, and victories. This krater fits into the concept “Honor Outside Battle”, where the battle is yearned for rather than being experienced. All that is seen is the honor of war, not the battle.
• Terracotta kylix (drinking cup), Archaic ca. 540 BC, attributed to the Amasis Painter, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. (2026) — Terracotta kylix (drinking cup) creates an illustration of the Iliad where the Achaeans are readying their horses and the soldiers are strolling with Poseidon as he helps. The use of symmetry in this work creates organization and compliments the Archaeans’ Poseidon assisted preparation in later battling the Trojans again. The repetition of the figures creates a motion and unity with Poseidon against the common enemy of Zeus who had been playing favorites with the Trojans and unfairly bombarding the Achaeans. This piece allows its observers to not only see it, but use it. This kylix is specifically meant to be filled with water or other liquids that relates back to Poseidon’s presence in this work upholding fairness and military honor. This piece fits into the “Honor Outside Battle” exhibition by completely distorting the reality of war by acting as if it’s an exciting, fun event encouraged by the gods. That brings Terracotta kylix to be the furthest from the actual battle by completely distorting the weight of war and being ignorant of the risks that come with it.
• Bronze plaque of Mithras slaying the bull, mid-2nd–early 3rd century CE, Overall: 14 x 11 5/8 x 1 3/4 in. (35.6 x 29.5 x 4.4 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, USA. (2026) — Bronze plaque of Mithras slaying the bull displays Mithras half-straddling a bull and stabbing it alongside a scorpion, dog, and snake as the sun and moon watch over them. The tauroctony, which is the slaying of a bull, represented life and death in the cult of Mithras. The star shape that the figures in the scene form creates a symmetry that unites the nature of the image along with Mithras for the cycle of life and death. The strength and idealization of Mithras’ features are seen in the flow of his cloth that intensifies the action and makes it seem swift. The cult of Mithras was followed by many soldiers that found a place in its all-male hierarchical society. This piece gives us a glimpse into the beliefs of Roman soldiers and how their beliefs strongly correlated to what was already familiar to them in codes of honor, hierarchy, and masculinity. The concept of “Honor Outside Battle” is seen mostly through the context of this plaque, but nevertheless this figure represents honor for the Mithraists yet the belief system it portrays isn’t overtly militaristic and the art piece itself has no resemblance of the battle.
• Late Geometric Attic spouted krater (vessel for mixing water and wine), possibly from Thebes, c. 730 B.C.E., 30.5 cm high (The British Museum, London), photo: Egisto Sani (2026) — Late Geometric Attic spouted krater shows a man leaving a woman to board a crowded bireme and on the other side, three horses stand with only one rider. The man and woman stand in harmony that is anticipated to be broken from the moving bireme that will journey to war. The imbalance of the three horses with only one of them having a rider creates a sense of incompleteness and loss, where the rider is the last of his cavalry. These pictures of sacrifice for the military create a special sense of honor and code that these men must follow. Despite it not making it entirely clear whether the man is capturing the woman or leaving his wife, the meaning found connects with the isolation seen on the opposing side. This piece uses imbalance to show what’s missing which ties to the sacrifice of the military and the honor that comes with it. This tombstone fits with my concept of “Honor Outside Battle” by having a lack of conflict and weapons, yet emphasizing what is lost in war. This piece is much more realistic than the other art pieces in this exhibit because of the honorable sacrifice for war.

About the creator

Jaden Appel on Galerra