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, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish provin ...

, but was also adopted by potters in Greece. A small spherical perfume container, lacking handles, it was especially popular in

East Greece East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...

. The vessel stood on a narrow, relatively high foot, cylindrical or conical in shape. The neck could be of varying length; it met the body at an acute angle. The lip was horizontal. Usually, the ''lydion'' was decorated with stripes. In

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, it was only produced rarely; figural decoration was even rarer.

Bibliography

* Wolfgang Schiering: ''Die griechischen Tongefässe. Gestalt, Bestimmung und Formenwandel''. 2. edn. Mann, Berlin 1983, S. 151 (Gebr.-Mann-Studio-Reihe).

References

Archaeological artefact types Containers Ancient Greek pot shapes {{Ceramics-stub