This is the lid of a vessel, most likely a container such as a pyxis or a lekanis, decorated in the red-figure technique. It is decorated with the heads of Arimasps placed between griffins, an image inspired from mythology. The Arimasps were a wild warrior clan from the North that threatened the peaceful people of Issidones, which was favored by Apollo. For this reason Apollo sent them the griffins to protect them from the Arimasps. The fight between the Arimasps and the griffins symbolized the fight between Good and Evil and was the subject matter of numerous representations. Subjects with similar symbolisms were used frequently in pottery, especially during the 4th century B.C., a period of intense metaphysical quests.