The Euphronios krater, a sixth-century-B.C.E ceramic vase, was named

Question

The Euphronios krater, a sixth-century-B.C.E ceramic vase, was named for its painter, Euphronios. One side depicts the death of the mythic hero Sarpedon; the other, several anonymous Athenian youths arming themselves for battle. The youths lack Sarpedon's anatomical detail; their limited musculature is portrayed using faint, almost invisible lines and seems unfinished. Scholars have, however, dismissed the idea that Euphronios failed to complete the side depicting the Athenian youths.

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest reason for the scholars position regarding the krater?

A. No other examples of Euphronios work have survived, though descriptions of several work do exisit.
B Other existing krater from the time period depict one scene on one side and a related scene on the other side.
C The mythic hero Sarpedon was a stock figure used by sixth-century painters to comment on the concept of heroism.
D. Euphronios's work is among the first examples of the use of a new technique for depicting the body and its musculature.
E. Euphronios's cotemporaries generally included only minimal detail when painting unheralded characters.

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Official Answer

E

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MartyMurray · Accepted Answer

Explanation

The Euphronios krater, a sixth-century-B.C.E ceramic vase, was named for its painter, Euphronios. One side depicts the death of the mythic hero Sarpedon; the other, several anonymous Athenian youths arming themselves for battle. The youts lack Sarpedon's anatomical detail; their limited musculature is portrayed using faint, almost invisible lines and seems unfinished. Scholars have, however, dismissed the idea that Euphronios failed to complete the side depicting the Athenian youths.

The passage says that scholars have concluded basically the following:

It is not true that "that Euphronios failed to complete the side depicting the Athenian youths."

The passage provides no support for that conclusion. Rather, it provides a reason to believe otherwise:

The youths lack Sarpedon's anatomical detail; their limited musculature is portrayed using faint, almost invisible lines and seems unfinished.

Then, we are asked the following question:

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest reason for the scholars position regarding the krater?

The correct answer will provide support for the scholars' conclusion.

a) No other examples of Euphronios's work have survived, though descriptions of several works do exist.

The fact that no other example of Euphronios's work have survived does not indicate anything about whether this particular work was completed.

Eliminate.

b) Other existing kraters from the time period depict one scene on one side and a related scene on the other side.

This choice's stating that other kraters depict one scene on one side and a related scene on the other side is meant to tempt us to choose this choice because it could be perceived as somehow confirming an aspect of what the passage says about the Euphronios krater, which has one scene on one side and another scene on the other side.

However, we need to confirm one specific idea, that it's not the case that Euphronios failed to complete the side depicting the Athenian youths.

So, since the information in this choice does not indicates anything about what constitutes a completed Krater, it does not do what we need.

Eliminate.

c) The mythic hero Sarpedon was a stock figure used by sixth-century painters to comment on the concept of heroism.

We have to be careful not to run with this choice and create an unsupported story. For example, it would be easy to decide that the fact that Sarpedon was a stock figure used by sixth-century painters somehow explains why Sarpedon has anatomical detail that the youths don't have even though the vase was completed.

The truth is that the fact that Sarpedon was a stock figure used by sixth-century painters doesn't mean anything about whether Euphronios completed the side depicting the Athenian youths. All that information means is that Sarpedon was commonly used for the purpose of commenting on the concept of heroism. The fact that Sarpedon was commonly used doesn't indicate whether Euphronios considered the side depicting the youths complete.

Eliminate.

d) Euphronios's work is among the first examples of the use of a new technique for depicting the body and its musculature.

This choice is tricky to eliminate since we might decide that it means that the portrayal of the youths' musculature using faint, almost invisible lines is complete because it's an example of "a new technique for depicting the body and its musculature."

However, there's a key thing we need to notice, which is that the passage indicates that the musculature of both Sarpedon and the youths was depicted by Euphronios.

So, this "new technique" doesn't refer to how one or the other was depicted. It refers to how Euphronios depicted musculature in general, whether with "Sarpedon's anatomical detail" or "using faint, almost invisible lines."

Thus, we have no reason to believe that this choice is about only the way the youths were depicted, and thus it doesn't indicate anything about whether the side with the depiction of the youths was completed.

If there were no better choice, we still might feel forced to decide that "using faint, almost invisible lines" is the "new technique." However, we aren't forced to do so since (E) is a better choice.

Keep just in case, but look for a better choice.

e) Euphronios's contemporaries generally included only minimal detail when painting unheralded characters.

This choice indicates that "minimal detail," such as "faint, almost invisible lines," was commonly used when painting unheralded characters.

"Anonymous Athenian youths" could be considered "unheralded," meaning "not previously known about or recognized." So, in "using faint, almost invisible lines" to depicts them, Euphronios would have been doing what many artists of the time did when they completed works.

Thus, what this choice says indicates that the work was completed, in a style common at the time.

The correct answer is (E).

Jayam12 · Answer

Can someone help me understand why option D is not correct? What if it was a new technique of having "faint and almost invisible lines..." hence not considered incomplete

sachi-in · Answer

Euphronios painted this : One side depicting death of the mythic hero Sarpedon; the other, several anonymous Athenian youths.
The youts lack Sarpedon's detail; their limited musculature is portrayed using faint, almost invisible lines and seems unfinished. 
Scholars have, however, dismissed the idea that Euphronios failed to complete the side depicting the Athenian youths.

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest reason for the scholars position regarding the krater?

Prethinking : Place yourself in the shoes of the scholars .. why might they have come to this conclusion ?
If they have had some evidience or prior analogous situations etc that led them to conclude this, right ?

a)  No other examples of Euphronios work have survived, though descriptions of several work do exisit. - Reject, doesn't inform the scholar anything
 b)  Other existing krater from the time period depict one scene on one side and a related scene on the other side. - Reject , sheds light on Sarpedon but says nothing about unfinished lines to the the scholars
 c)  The mythic hero Sarpedon was a stock figure used by sixth-century painters to comment on the concept of heroism. - Reject , sheds light on Sarpedon but says nothing about unfinished lines to the the scholars

once the first 3 are quickly eliminated we can focus on d , e

d)  Euphronios's work is among the first examples of the use of a new technique for depicting the body and its musculature.
 This was a new form of painting <-> Dismiss the Idea Euphronios failed to complete the side depicting the Athenian youths
I may possibly have thought 1st one as an evidence and 2nd as the conclusion, BUT : 
These two statements are so related that they can be thought of as like an Conclusion and Extrapolated-Conclusion, 
We need an evidence to prove it ( note the first is not a evidence , it's like a pre-conclusion )
( I kept it as a good option, but got the concept behind the reasoning once I went through E)

e)  Euphronios's cotemporaries generally included only minimal detail when painting unheralded characters.
 Now this obliterates the confusion we had in previous statement. It clearly is an evidence, not a AIR-TIGHT proof but something that proves the possibility that this was an EXISTING art form commonly practiced !

So E is the choice we are looking for ( spent 2:30s in this question resolving this confusion )

Dbrunik · Answer

Imagine you’re studying a famous early photographer, Julia, who’s known for being one of the first to experiment with lighting techniques. One of her most famous portraits, "The Traveler," has intense, shadowy contrasts on the main subject’s face, but there are faint, almost invisible details in the background.

Now, scholars have argued that the faint background was intentional rather than an unfinished part of the photograph. You’re given two pieces of information:

(Similar to D): “Julia’s work is among the first examples of using artificial lighting in portrait photography.”

(Similar to E): “Julia’s contemporaries generally minimized background detail in portraits to focus attention on the subject.”

Why (Similar to D) Doesn't Help Here: Knowing that Julia was a pioneer of artificial lighting doesn’t clarify whether the background was intentionally faint or if it’s incomplete. This fact tells us about a general technique she used in her work, but it doesn’t directly address why the background in this specific portrait looks faint—it could be intentional or unintentional.

Why (Similar to E) Helps: Knowing that photographers in Julia’s era often minimized background details to emphasize the main subject directly supports the argument that the faint background detail in "The Traveler" was an intentional, finished choice. It aligns with common practices of her time, strengthening the scholars’ position that Julia completed her work as intended.

sidvinod69 · Answer

MartyMurray

But,  Euphronios's contemporaries did something doesn't mean Euphronios would also follow it. This neither strengthens it nor weakens it. It is irrelevant
in my opinion.

guddo · Answer

The Euphronios krater, a sixth-century-B.C.E ceramic vase, was named for its painter, Euphronios. One side depicts the death of the mythic hero Sarpedon; the other, several anonymous Athenian youths arming themselves for battle. The youths lack Sarpedon's anatomical detail; their limited musculature is portrayed using faint, almost invisible lines and seems unfinished. Scholars have, however, dismissed the idea that Euphronios failed to complete the side depicting the Athenian youths. 
 
Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest reason for the scholars’ position regarding the krater?

The question asks why scholars would reject the idea that the side with the Athenian youths was unfinished.  The best answer should explain why the youths’ lack of detail may have been intentional , not a sign of  incomplete work .

(A) No other examples of Euphronios’s work have survived, though descriptions of several works do exist.

This does not help. If anything, having no other surviving examples makes it harder to judge whether this side was finished.

(B) Other existing kraters from the time period depict one scene on one side and a related scene on the other side.

This does not explain the lack of anatomical detail on the youths.

(C) The mythic hero Sarpedon was a stock figure used by sixth-century painters to comment on the concept of heroism.

This may explain why Sarpedon is important, but it does not explain why the Athenian youths look less detailed.

(D) Euphronios’s work is among the first examples of the use of a new technique for depicting the body and its musculature.

This does not explain why one side would look unfinished. A new technique could still be used more or less completely.

(E) Euphronios’s contemporaries generally included only minimal detail when painting unheralded characters.

This is correct. The youths are anonymous, unheralded figures. If artists of the time usually gave such figures minimal detail, then the faint and limited musculature is likely a deliberate artistic convention, not evidence that Euphronios failed to finish the scene.

Answer: (E)

egmat · Answer

Hi sidvinod69,

You're holding choice (E) to the wrong standard, and that's the whole issue here.

You're right that "contemporaries did X" does  not prove  Euphronios did X. But notice the question stem: it asks for the  strongest reason  for the scholars' position - not airtight proof. In a strengthen question, we only need a fact that makes the conclusion  more plausible , not one that locks it in  100% .

Now place the conclusion next to (E).  The scholars say the faint youths are  not  unfinished. The puzzle is: why would a painter leave anatomy that "seems unfinished"? (E) answers exactly that:

- The youths are  "anonymous"  - i.e.,  unheralded  characters.
- Painters of that era  "generally included only minimal detail when painting unheralded characters." 
- So faint, minimal musculature on anonymous figures was a  normal convention of the time , not a sign of abandoned work.

And here's the link you're missing: Euphronios is himself a sixth-century painter - he  is  one of these contemporaries. A widespread convention of his own era is precisely the kind of thing that makes "he did this on purpose" the likelier reading. It doesn't have to force the conclusion; it just has to tilt it, and it does.

Quick way to feel the strengthen standard:  suppose a scholar says, "This author left the ending blank on purpose."

- If we learn "writers of that period routinely left endings open" - does that  prove  it? No. Does it make the claim more believable? Clearly yes. That's a strengthener.

That's all (E) is doing. You were testing it for proof; the question only wants support.

Answer: E

The Euphronios krater, a sixth-century-B.C.E ceramic vase, was named

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The Euphronios krater, a sixth-century-B.C.E ceramic vase, was named

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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