Amphora

Attachments at the base of each handle on this tall amphora (storage jar) are fashioned in the shape of a female head wearing a lion’s skin—possibly depicting Omphale, a mythical queen of Lydia (in present-day Turkey), to whom the hero Hercules was enslaved for a time.An amphora of this type could have been used to hold wine at a banquet. Comparable examples have been found in the homes of wealthy Romans, such as those who owned luxurious residences on the Bay of Naples.