The
pottery of ancient Greece
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has ex ...
has a long history and the form of Greek vase shapes has had a continuous evolution from
Minoan pottery
Minoan pottery has been used as a tool for dating the mute Minoan civilization. Its restless sequence of quirky maturing artistic styles reveals something of Minoan patrons' pleasure in novelty while they assist archaeologists in assigning rela ...
down to the
Hellenistic period
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
. As
Gisela Richter puts it, the forms of these vases find their "happiest expression" in the 5th and 6th centuries BC, yet it has been possible to date vases thanks to the variation in a form’s shape over time, a fact particularly useful when dating unpainted or plain black-gloss ware.
The task of naming Greek vase shapes is by no means a straightforward one (by convention the term "vase" has a very broad meaning in the field, covering anything that is a vessel of some sort). The endeavour by archaeologists to match vase forms with those names that have come down to us from Greek literature began with
Theodor Panofka’s 1829 book ''Recherches sur les veritables noms des vases grecs'', whose confident assertion that he had rediscovered the ancient nomenclature was quickly disputed by Gerhard and Letronne.
A few surviving vases were labelled with their names in antiquity; these included a
hydria depicted on the
François Vase and a
kylix that declares, “I am the decorated kylix of lovely Phito” (BM, B450). Vases in use are sometimes depicted in paintings on vases, which can help scholars interpret written descriptions. Much of our written information about Greek pots come from such late writers as
Athenaios and
Pollux and other lexicographers who described vases unknown to them, and their accounts are often contradictory or confused. With those caveats, the names of Greek vases are fairly well settled, even if such names are a matter of convention rather than historical fact.
The following vases are mostly Attic, from the 5th and 6th centuries, and follow the
Beazley
Beazley is a surname, and may refer to
* Charles Raymond Beazley, British historian
* Christopher Beazley, British politician
* David M. Beazley, American software engineer
* John Beazley, British classical scholar
* Kim Beazley, current Austral ...
naming convention. Many shapes derive from metal vessels, especially in silver, which survive in far smaller numbers. Some pottery vases were probably intended as cheaper substitutes for these, either for use or to be placed as
grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.
They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
. Some terms, especially among the types of kylix or drinking cup, combine a shape and a type or location of decoration, as in the
band cup,
eye cup and others. Some terms are defined by function as much as shape, such as the
aryballos, which later potters turned into all sorts of fancy novelty shapes.
Overview
Greek pottery may be divided into four broad categories, given here with common types:
* storage and transport vessels, including the
amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
,
pithos
Pithos (, grc-gre, πίθος, plural: ' ) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and ...
,
pelike,
hydria,
stamnos
A stamnos (plural stamnoi) is a type of Greek pottery
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases ar ...
,
pyxis,
* mixing vessels, mainly for ''
symposia'' or male drinking parties, including the
krater,
dinos, and
kyathos,
* jugs and cups, several types of
kylix also just called cups,
kantharos,
phiale,
skyphos
A ''skyphos'' ( grc, σκύφος; plural ''skyphoi'') is a two-handled deep wine-cup on a low flanged base or none. The handles may be horizontal ear-shaped thumbholds that project from the rim (in both Corinthian and Athenian shapes), or they m ...
,
rhyton
A rhyton (plural rhytons or, following the Greek plural, rhyta) is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. A rhyton is typically formed in t ...
,
mastos, and jug-types
oinochoe
An oenochoe, also spelled oinochoe ( grc, οἰνοχόη; from grc, οἶνος ''oînos'', "wine" and grc, χέω ''khéō'', "I pour," sense "wine-pourer"; plural ''oinochoai''; New Latin ''oenochoë,'' plural ''oenochoae,'' English plura ...
and
loutrophoros
A loutrophoros ( Ancient Greek: λουτροφόρος; Greek etymology: λουτρόν/loutron and φέρω/pherō, English translation: "bathwater" and "carry") is a distinctive type of Greek pottery vessel characterized by an elongated neck ...
,
* vases for oils, perfumes and cosmetics, including the large
lekythos
A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditiona ...
, and the small
aryballos,
alabastron, and
askos.
In addition, various standard types might be used as external grave-markers (in extra-large versions, sometimes in stone), funerary
urns containing ashes, or as
grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.
They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods may be classed as a ...
. Several types of vase, especially the taller ones, could be made in "plastic" forms (also called "figure vases" or "relief vases") where the body was shaped sculpturally (somewhat in the manner of the modern
Toby jug), typically to form a human head.
Vase shapes
Image:Athena Herakles Staatliche Antikensammlungen 2301 B full.jpg, Amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
type A, c. 520 BC.
Image:Amphora_Louvre_F12.jpg, Amphora type B.
Image:Warrior departure Louvre F22.jpg, Amphora type C.
Image:Greek_vase_Dionysos_attica_520_bC.jpg, Neck amphora, c. 520 BC.
File:Exekias - Black-figure Belly Amphora with the Reclamation of Helen and Herakles and Kerberos - Walters 4816 - Side B.jpg, Belly amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
, with hardly a distinct neck
Image:Pederastic courtship Louvre F20.jpg, Ovoid neck amphora
Image:Nikosthenic amphora Louvre F99.jpg, Nikosthenic amphora
A Nikosthenic amphora is a type of Attic vase invented in the late 6th century BC by the potter Nikosthenes, aimed specifically for export to Etruria. Inspired by Etruscan Bucchero types, it is the characteristic product of the Nikosthenes-Pamph ...
, c. 530 BC.
Image:Neck-amphora swordsman Louvre G216.jpg, Nolan amphora
The Nolan amphora is a variant style of the amphora jar, a common artifact of Greek and Roman pottery. Nolan amphorae are characterized by a neck that is longer and narrower than in traditional neck amphorae, along with ribbed handles or straps t ...
Image:Panathenaic_amphora_BM_B137.jpg, Panathenaic amphora
Panathenaic amphorae were the amphorae, large ceramic vessels, that contained the olive oil given as prizes in the Panathenaic Games. Some were and high. This oil came from the sacred grove of Athena at Akademia. The amphorae which held it h ...
, always large
Image:Chariot_terma_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_1452.jpg, Pseudo-panathenaic amphora, c. 500 BC.
Image:Pointed amphora Louvre G30.jpg, Pointed amphora
Image:Amphorae.jpg, Transport amphorae
Image:Hydria Louvre F43.jpg, Hydria-black figure type
Image:Hydria_Python_Louvre_K287.jpg, Hydria-red figure type or Kalpis
The hydria ( el, ὑδρία; plural hydriai) is a form of Greek pottery from between the late Geometric period (7th century BC) and the Hellenistic period (3rd century BC). The etymology of the word hydria was first noted when it was stamped o ...
Image:Women bath Asteas Lebes gamikos MAN Inv11445 n1.jpg, Lebes Gamikos
The lebes gamikos, or "nuptial lebes," (plural lebetes gamikoi) is a form of ancient Greek pottery used in marriage ceremonies (literally, it means marriage vase). It was probably used in the ritual sprinkling of the bride with water before the we ...
, for weddings, c. 340 BC
Image:Pelike woman youth BM F316.jpg, Pelike
Image:Pithos_Louvre_CA4523.jpg, Pithos
Pithos (, grc-gre, πίθος, plural: ' ) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in the Neolithic, the Bronze Age and ...
Image:Odysseus Sirens BM E440.jpg, Stamnos
A stamnos (plural stamnoi) is a type of Greek pottery
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases ar ...
, c. 480–470 BC.
Image:Dinos animals Louvre Cp11243.jpg, Dinos
Image:Crater_Orestes_Pylades_Louvre_K404.jpg, Bell krater, c 330 BC.
Image:Calyx-krater Kerch Louvre CA1262.jpg, Calyx-krater, c. 510 BC.
Image:Phineus Boreads Louvre G364.jpg, Column krater
Image:Crater_Actaeon_Louvre_CA3482.jpg, Volute krater
Image:Kyathos Dionysos Louvre CA3309.jpg, Kyathos
Image:Psykter warrior Louvre F319.jpg, Psykter
A psykter (in Greek ψυκτήρ "cooler") is a type of Greek vase that is characterized by a bulbous body set on a high, narrow foot. It was used as a wine cooler, and specifically as part of the elite sympotic set in the ancient Greek symposium. ...
Image:Kantharos sphinxes Louvre CA1339.jpg, Kantharos type A
Image:Kantharos_Boeotia_Louvre_CA6121.jpg, Kantharos type B
Image:Type A kylix MOS 1983 1157.JPG, Kylix type A
Image:Triptolemos Painter MOS 1887 213.JPG, Kylix type B
Image:Band cup Louvre F75.jpg, Band cup, with the main painting in a band low on the body. All these "cups" are covered by kylix
Image:Droop_cup_Louvre_CA2512.jpg, Droop cup
Image:Eye-cup kantharos Louvre F144.jpg, Eye-cup
Eye-cup is the term describing a specific cup type in ancient Greek pottery, distinguished by pairs of eyes painted on the external surface.
Description
Classified as '' kylikes'' in terms of shape, eye-cups were especially widespread in Ath ...
, painted with eyes
Image:Kassel_cup_Louvre_E673.jpg, Kassel cup
Image:Komast_cup_Louvre_E742.jpg, Komast cup, Athenian black-figure, with short stem, angled "offset" lip.
Image:Lakonian cup BM GR 1968.2-13.1.jpg, Lakonian cup
File:Lip-Cup sexual intercourse Ialysos black background.jpg, Lip cup, with the main painting just below the lip; the stem and footr are lost in this example
Image:Siana_cup_Louvre_F67.jpg, Siana cup, Similar to Komast, with slightly longer stem, and painted on the inside.Beazley, Cups
/ref>
File:Merrythought Cup Antikensammlung Berlin.jpg, Merrythought cup The term Merrythought cup is used by scholars to describe a specific type of Attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a ''loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''s ...
, with distinctive "wishbone" handles
Image:Mastos riders Louvre E740.jpg, Mastos, breast-shaped cup with pointed nipple base; handles optional
Image:Peleus Thetis Cdm Paris 349.jpg, Mastoid cup, like a mastos but with flat base and often handles
Image:Phiale Louvre L55.jpg, Phiale
Image:Donkey_head_rhyton_Louvre_Cp3555.jpg, Rhyton
A rhyton (plural rhytons or, following the Greek plural, rhyta) is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. A rhyton is typically formed in t ...
, c. 430 BCE.
Image:Skyphos_birds_Louvre_CA3822.jpg, Skyphos
A ''skyphos'' ( grc, σκύφος; plural ''skyphoi'') is a two-handled deep wine-cup on a low flanged base or none. The handles may be horizontal ear-shaped thumbholds that project from the rim (in both Corinthian and Athenian shapes), or they m ...
, c. 740 BC
Image:Black-slip glaux skyphos Louvre ED294.jpg, Glaux skyphos
A ''skyphos'' ( grc, σκύφος; plural ''skyphoi'') is a two-handled deep wine-cup on a low flanged base or none. The handles may be horizontal ear-shaped thumbholds that project from the rim (in both Corinthian and Athenian shapes), or they m ...
Image:Hermogenes_skyphos_Louvre_S1836.jpg, Hermogenes skyphos
Image:Tithonos_Eos_Louvre_G438.jpg, Oenochoe Shape 1
Image:Lampadedromia Louvre N3357.jpg, Oinochoe Shape 2
Image:Oinoche_Anthesteria_Louvre_L71.jpg, Oinochoe Shape 3
Image:Javelin thrower Louvre G243.jpg, Oinochoe Shape 7
Image:Olpe riders Louvre E647.jpg, Olpe
Image:Alabastron Louvre CA1920.jpg, Alabastron, small holders for oil or perfume
Image:Louvre_amphorisque_animaux_sirenes.JPG, Amphoriskos
Image:Protocorinthian aryballos Louvre CA2919.jpg, Pyriform Aryballos
Image:Globular aryballos Louvre Ele357.jpg, Globular aryballos
File:Cockleshells aryballos Met 23.160.33.jpg, Fancy aryballos in the form of three cockle shells, 6th century BC
Image:Acorn-lekythos Louvre MNB1320.jpg, Acorn lekythos
A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditiona ...
Image:KAMA_Guerrier_s'armant.jpg, Deianeira lekythos, c. 550 BC.
Image:NAMA_Thésée_&_taureau.jpg, Shoulder or secondary lekythos, c. 500 BC.
Image:NAMA_Circé_&_Ulysse.jpg, Standard or cylinder lekythos
A lekythos (plural lekythoi) is a type of ancient Greek vessel used for storing oil (Greek λήκυθος), especially olive oil
Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditiona ...
c.490 BCE.
Image:Aryballos-shaped_lekythos_Louvre_CA1727.jpg, Squat lekythos
Image:Loutrophoros Louvre CA1960.jpg, Loutrophoros
A loutrophoros ( Ancient Greek: λουτροφόρος; Greek etymology: λουτρόν/loutron and φέρω/pherō, English translation: "bathwater" and "carry") is a distinctive type of Greek pottery vessel characterized by an elongated neck ...
File:Loutrophoros Antikensammlung Kiel B 787 (3).jpg, "Huge" Loutrophoros
A loutrophoros ( Ancient Greek: λουτροφόρος; Greek etymology: λουτρόν/loutron and φέρω/pherō, English translation: "bathwater" and "carry") is a distinctive type of Greek pottery vessel characterized by an elongated neck ...
, 330 BC
Image:Askos Louvre G447.jpg, Askos
Image:Epichysis Louvre ED859.jpg, Epichysis
Image:Tripod_exaleiptron_Louvre_CA927.jpg, Exaleiptron
Image:Kernos Melos Sevres 3552.jpg, Kernos
In the typology of ancient Greek pottery, the kernos ( or , plural ''kernoi'') is a pottery ring or stone tray to which are attached several small vessels for holding offerings. Its unusual design is described in literary sources, which also li ...
Image:Corinthian kothon Louvre CA3352.jpg, Kothon
Image:Music lagynos Louvre M149.jpg, Lagynos
Image:Lekane Louvre CA3059.jpg, Lekane
Image:Lekanis_Louvre_Cp513-Cp202.jpg, Lekanis
Image:Ionian lydion MAR Palermo NI1779.jpg, Lydion
The lydion (Greek λύδιον; plural ''lydia'') was an ancient Greek vase shape. The shape may have been of Egyptian derivation.
As indicated by its name, the ''lydion'' originated in Lydia
Lydia ( Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, '' ...
Image:Nestoris Louvre K534.jpg, Nestoris (Trozella)
Image:Pinax prothesis Louvre MNB905.jpg, Pinax
In the modern study of the culture of ancient Greece and Magna Graecia, a ''pinax'' (πίναξ) (plural ''pinakes'' - πίνακες), meaning "board", is a votive tablet of painted wood, or terracotta, marble or bronze relief that served as a ...
(plaque)
Image:Phormiskos Louvre CA1418.jpg, Phormiskos (here a terracotta model)
Image:Plate Euphorbos BM GR1860.4-4.1.jpg, Plate
Image:Fish plate Louvre K588.jpg, Fish Plate
Image:Black-glaze plemochoe Louvre CA3131.jpg, Plemochoe
Image:Pyxis_Peleus_Thetis_Louvre_L55_by_Wedding_Painter.jpg, Pyxis, c. 470 BC.
Image:Pointed pyxis Louvre CA6020.jpg, Pointed pyxis
Image:Strainer_vase_Herakles_Louvre_CA822.jpg, Strainer vase
Styles of lips and feet
Image:Amphora Louvre F12 detail.jpg, Flaring lip
Image:Pederastic courtship Louvre F20 detail.jpg, Inverted Echinus lip
Image:Stamnos Dionysos Louvre G43 detail.jpg, Lip in several degrees
Image:Warrior departure Louvre F22 detail.jpg, Torus lip
Image:Helen Menelaus Louvre G424 detail.jpg, Disk foot
Image:Warrior youths Louvre F26 detail.jpg, Echinus foot
See also
*
Ancient Greek art
Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...
*
Black-figure pottery
Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic ( grc, , }), is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although there are ...
*
Red-figure pottery
Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting.
It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure va ...
*
Greek terracotta figurines
Terracotta figurines are a mode of artistic and religious expression frequently found in ancient Greece. These figurines abound and provide an invaluable testimony to the everyday life and religion of the ancient Greeks. The so-called Tanagra figu ...
*
List of Greek Vase Painters
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
Notes
References
* Gisela M. A. Richter, Marjorie J. Milne,
Shapes and Names of Athenian Vases', Metropolitan Museum of art, New York, 1935.
Further reading
*
External links
{{Greek Vases