Terracotta Nolan amphora (jar)

Obverse, warriors fighting Persian archer

Reverse, warrior

The almost miraculous Greek victory in 480 B.C. over the invading Persians, who were backed by the resources of a powerful empire, was the theme of much art produced in Greece during the first half of the fifth century B.C. Most images cast the battle in mythological terms; this is one of the few that show a Greek actually fighting a Persian.

Credit: Rogers Fund, 1906