A137a: Two double-levelled ships to the left, in the conventional Dipylon style, with the bow projection of one very close to the stern of the other. The left ship shows the bottom part of the stern with two short plank protrusions and the two steering oars visible. Lines A and B are preserved as well as two stanchions and one tholepin. The right ship preserves the bow projection which overlaps with the lower steering oar of the left ship, as well as a small portion of the eye, which has a reserved line with dots. There are two short plank protrusions from the stempost. Two corpses facing opposite directions are depicted floating below the hull of each ship. The lower part of a leg of another is visible above the second steering oar, touching the upper projecting plank of the right ship's stem.

A137b: Double-levelled ship to the left, in the conventional Dipylon style, with all the verticals and horizontals present, including the tholepins. Only part of the bow and hull remain, including an eight spoked eye, part of the latticed railing of the forecastle, and two tholepins. The lower part of the leg of a warrior standing on deck level (line D) and facing right is preserved, as well as the lower part of a corpse with the feet facing right below the bow.

A137c: Double-levelled ship to the left, in the conventional Dipylon style, with all the verticals and horizontals present, including the tholepins. The section consists of the rear end of the ship near the stern, with four stanchions and three tholepins preserved. This is indicated by the upward curve of lines A and B. Two warriors opposing each other stand on deck level (line D). The left figure appears to have struck the head of his opponent with a sword.

Three fragments from a naval battle scene, two of which (fragment 1, 2) are in the Louvre and another at the National Museum in Athens. Based on the observation by Kunze and Villard, Morrison and Williams conclude that all three fragments belong to the shoulder zone of the same krater. Fragment 2 would thus belong to the left ship on fragment 1, while fragment three to that of the right one.

The attribution of these fragments to the same krater is not entirely secure. The problem raised by Morrison and Williams about fragment 2 having no tholepins is however incorrect. This is evident by the fact that the first vertical is thinner than the subsequent two, and clearly has the tip of the hook still visible. The attribution of the left ship with fragment 2 might thus still be disproven, but not on the basis of the tholepins. Likewise, Mark erroneously reads the lower part of a leg above the bow projection as a hand reaching out to grasp the stempost, and conjectures there must have been a warrior standing there. His drawing is wrong as this part is identical in every respect to the feet of the left corpse below. Fragments 2 and 3 provide nothing novel, but fragment one is significant because of how close the ships are, opening the possibility that the artist may have attempted to depict ramming.

Ahlberg-Cornell, G. 1971. Fighting on Land and Sea in Greek Geometric Art. Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Institutet I Athen 4, XVI. Stockholm.

Basch, L. 1987. Le musée imaginaire de la marine antique. Athens: Institut Hellénique pour la preservation de la tradition nautique.

Christiane, G. 1983. “Frühe attische Kampfdarstellungen,” Acta praehistorica et archaeologica 15: 155-203.

Haug, A. 2012. Die Entdeckung des Körpers:Körper- und Rollenbilder im Athen des 8. Und 7. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. BerlinL De Gruyter.

Kirk, G.S. 1949. “Ships on Geometric Vases.” BSA 44: 93-153, pls. 38-40.

Mark, S. 2005. Homeric Seafaring. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press.

Morrison, J.S. and R.T. Williams. 1968. Greek Oared Ships: 900-322 B.C. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Torr, C. 1894b. “Les navires sur les vases du Dipylon,” RA 25 : 14-27.

Villard, F. (dir.) Union académique internationale. 1954. Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum. France. Fascicule 18, Musée du Louvre. Paris.