Fig. 100. R.-f. kylix. Munich, 562 A.
Fig. 101. R.-f. kylix. Berlin, 3139 inv.
As the thrower starts to run, he draws his right hand still further backwards, turning his body sideways, and extends his left arm to the front. On a Munich kylix (Fig. [100]) we see two consecutive positions; the youth on the left still steadies the javelin with his left hand, the youth on the right has just let go. The next moment, with the left hand fully extended to the front, is represented on a kylix in Berlin (Fig. [101]). From the position of the head and arm it is obvious that the violent, rapid run, of which some authors speak, is an impossibility. Just as in throwing a cricket ball, the run consists of a few short, springy steps. Immediately before the throw a further turn of the body to the right takes place, the right knee being well bent and the right shoulder dropped, while the hand is turned outwards, so that the shaft almost rests on the palm of the hand. This attitude is vividly depicted on a Torlonia kylix (Fig. [102]).
Fig. 102. R.-f. kylix. Torlonia, 270 (148).
The actual throw is very rarely shown, and the artists who attempt it fall into hopeless confusion. For example, on the Munich kylix (Fig. [100]) the youth in the centre is intended to be throwing a javelin to the right, but the fingering of the right hand is only compatible with a throw to the left. Not much better is the drawing of the javelin thrower on the Panaetius kylix (Fig. [17]). Here, as in a red-figured amphora in Munich (Fig. [103]), though the general attitude is vigorous and lifelike, the position of the hand is hopeless, the wrist being curved over the shaft instead of bent back under it. The amentum too is conspicuous by its absence. The carelessness of the painters of red-figured vases in such details is in marked contrast to the carefulness of the earlier painters. This is partly due to the fact that the athletic types have become conventional, partly to the fact that, whereas in the black-figured vases the amentum was painted black like the spear itself, on the red-figured vases it had to be added in some other colour, usually white or purple, after the rest of the drawing was finished. Hence this detail was often omitted altogether, or if inserted, was the first to be obliterated.
Fig. 103. R.-f. amphora. Munich, 408.