ANCIENT GREEK VESSEL TYPES

Question 1

Answer 1

alabastron
(ἀλάβαστρον)

a small jar for holding perfume, named after the material the first examples were made from.
They were often carried by a string looped around the neck of the vessel.
- white-ground, 510-500BC, Attic -

Question 2

Answer 2

amphora
(αμφορέας)

Panathenaic prize amphora by Euphiletos Painter
- Attic black figure, 530BC -

Peisistratus died in 527BC

Question 3

Answer 3

aryballos
(ἀρύβαλλος)

Athletes would rub olive oil held in this vessel all over their body and scrape it off with a stlengis.

Question 4

Answer 4

askos
(ἀσκός)

used at table to pour small quantities of liquids such as oil onto food.

Attic red figure askos, 420-410BC

Question 5

Answer 5

dinos (plural dinoi)
(δῖνος)

mixing bowl or cauldron.
Dinos means “drinking cup,”
but in modern typology is used (wrongly) for the same shape as a lebes, that is, a bowl with a spherical body meant to sit on a stand.
It has no handles and no feet.
- Attic, ca. 540 BC -

Question 6

Answer 6

epinetron
(ἐπίνητρον)

half-cyclinder worn over the thigh with the closed end over the knee, used for preparing wool for weaving.
The upper surface was often incised to make a rough surface against which the wool fibres could be rubbed - often with a female head protome at the closed end.

- attributed to Sappho painter, 500-490 BCE -
(National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

Question 7

Answer 7

hydria
(ὑδρία)

- 5th century -

Question 8

Answer 8

kalpis
(κάλπις)

a variant of the hydria - has only two handles
- Attic red figure, 460-450BC -

Question 9

Answer 9

kantharos
(κάνθαρος)

drinking cup
inscribed with a dedication in the Boeotian alphabet
- 450–425 BC, from Thespiae -

Question 10

Answer 10

• *bell krater**
  (κρατήρ)

Attic, 440BC

Question 11

Answer 11

calyx krater
(κρατήρ)

mixing bowl, especially for water and wine

Question 12

Answer 12

column krater
(κρατήρ)

400 to 390BC, from Apulia

Question 13

Answer 13

volute krater
(κρατήρ)

Leaving for war
Attic red figure, 450BC

Question 14

Answer 14

kyathos
(κύαθος)

type of small dipper or ladle, with a single high handle
It seems that the shape was copied from Etruria, and, like the Nikosthenic amphorae,
serves as a likely example for the targeting of
a particular market by Athenian potters.
Perseus chasing Gorgons
- Attic kyathos, ca. 550–540 BC -

Question 15

Answer 15

kylix
(κύλιξ, pl. κύλικες)

drinking cup

Question 16

Answer 16

lebes gamikos
(λέβης γαμικός)

nuptial lebes - the lebes was, initially, a bronze cauldron with a round bottom, which would have been placed on a tripod.
As the lebes gamikos, it became a ritual object used in marriage ceremonies.
- Attic, 430-420BC -

Question 17

Answer 17

lekanis
(λέκανις / λεκάνιδες)

used to hold a range of small objects, also to contain ointments and for use in personal hygiene. They were used in the complicated marriage rituals and formed part of the dowry that the father gave to the bride.
- Attic red-figure, 400-300 BC -
from Spina Necropolis
The woman depicted here holds a tympanon or drum.

Question 18

Answer 18

Lekythos
(λήκυθος)

for holding body oil for athletes; often buried with the dead, with oil offering
- white-ground, 440-430BC, Athens -

Question 19

Answer 19

lip cup

Men and Hetairai in sexual intercourse.
550-540BC

Question 20

Answer 20

loutrophoros
(λουτροφόρος)

for washing hands or ceremonial bath before marriage
- Attic, late 6th BC -

Question 21

Answer 21

oinochoe
(οἰνοχόη)

jug, with a trefoil spout
from Ancient Greek οἰνοχόη
οἶνος oînos, “wine”;
χέω khéō, “I pour”

Question 22

Answer 22

olpe
(ὀλπή)

type of jug, preceding the oinochoe
- This is the Chigi Vase, 640BC -

Question 23

Answer 23

oon

Youth abducting woman
Attributed to the Washing Painter
Eggs are well attested as funerary offerings, whether actual eggs or marble, terracotta…
- Attic red figure, 420-410BC -

Question 24

Answer 24

pelike
(πελίκη)

Storage vessel, similar to an amphora, but more squat and an almost spherical belly.
The shape first appeared at the end of the 6th BC
and continued to the 4th century BC.
- Attic black figure, 480-470BC -
Showing Heracles and Geras, son of Nyx,
and the personification of old age.

Question 25

Answer 25

phiale
(φιάλη)

also called patera.
The phiale is a libation bowl.
Often has a bulbous indentation (omphalos, “bellybutton”) in the center underside to facilitate holding it, in which case it is sometimes called a mesomphalic phiale.
- 360-350BC, Poseidonia -

Question 26

Answer 26

pithos
(πίθος, πίθοι)

Minoan storage jar
Large magazines of pithoi are a typical feature
of Minoan palace complexes.

Question 27

Answer 27

plemochoe
(πλημοχόη)

(vase for perfumes, unguents)
Containers of this type frequently appear
in representations of elite women bathing,
receiving gifts, or bringing offerings to a grave.
(also called exaleiptron or kothon)
- Attic, late 6thC. 15.7cm high -

Question 28

Answer 28

podanipter
(ποδανιπτήρ)

footbath, foot-pan
- Apulian red figure, 360-350BC -
attributed to the Iliupersis Painter

Etymology:

“ποδ-“ (pod-): This prefix means “foot”. It’s found in many other words related to feet, such as “πόδι” (podi, meaning “foot”), “πεδίον” (pedion, meaning “plain”), and “πεζός” (pezos, meaning “walking”).

“νιπτήρ” (nipter): This word means “washer” or “cleanser”. It’s related to verbs like “νίπτω” (nipto, meaning “to wash”) and “νίφω” (nifo, meaning “to snow”).

Therefore, “ποδανιπτήρ” literally translates to “foot washer” and refers to a basin or vessel used for washing one’s feet. This practice was quite common in ancient Greece, as sandals left feet dusty and exposed to the elements.

Question 29

Answer 29

protome
(προτομή)

three-dimensional moulds added to vessels, especially handles.
Often in the form of animals or the human upper body
- Corinthian c. 570 BC -
(Getty Villa, Malibu)

Question 30

Answer 30

psykter
(ψυκτήρ)

wine cooler,
ca. 520–510 B.C.
Attributed to Oltos

Question 31

Answer 31

pyxis
(πυξίς)

Small circular box with a lid, often used for the storage of jewellery and toiletries
- Attic, 465-460BC -
Height: 12.1cm without the lid

Question 32

Answer 32

rhyton
(ῥυτόν)

Used in religious practices for the pouring of libations
Rhytons also come in the shape of animal heads, especially bulls.
- Late Minoan, 1600-1525BC -

Question 33

Answer 33

skyphos
(σκύφος)

drinking cup
- Attic, 520-510BC -

Question 34

Answer 34

stamnos
(σταμνός)

Jar with a wide mouth, often with a lid and two handles, used for mixing wine and water.
- Attic, about 450BC -

Question 35

Answer 35

KOMAST
(κωμαστ)

Early form of Attic drinking cup.
Was widespread especially in Ionia and Corinth.
Name derived from the komos, a ritualistic drunken procession performed by revelers in ancient Greece, whose participants were known as komasts (κωμασταί).
- Attic, 576-565BC -

Question 36

Answer 36

kalathos (also calathus)
(κάλαθος)

a large pottery vessel used as a basket for carrying fruit, wool, or other physical items. Typical kalathoi were woven from reeds and sticks and were used in fields for gathering or in the home for storage or transportation. Pottery versions of the kalathos usually replicated the style of the woven baskets, often including painted or glazed motifs which mimic the weaving as is the case with this example.

Question 37

Answer 37

askos
(ἀσκός)

(classing it as askos is my own hunch - speculation that it was a novelty item used at symposia on account of the supposedly Dyonisiac image I think is far-fetched).

Terracotta vessel in the form of a lobster claw Attributed to the Class of Seven Lobster-Claws ca. 460 BCE

Question 38

Answer 38

kernos
(κέρνος)

Cycladic kernos (2,300-2,200 BCE)

Question 39

basin on a pedestal
While such basins are often imagined as being made of marble, clay ones were common, as marble (and not doubt the stone-cutting job) was expensive.

Answer 39

louterion
λουτήριον