CHAPTER IV

_USES AND SHAPES OF GREEK VASES_

Mention of painted vases in literature—Civil and domestic use of pottery—Measures of capacity—Use in daily life—Decorative use—Religious and votive uses—Use in funeral ceremonies—Shapes and their names—Ancient and modern classifications—Vases for storage—Pithos—Wine-amphora—Amphora—Stamnos—Hydria—Vases for mixing—Krater—Deinos or Lebes—Cooking-vessels—Vases for pouring wine—Oinochoe and variants—Ladles—Drinking-cups—Names recorded by Athenaeus—Kotyle—Skyphos—Kantharos—Kylix—Phiale—Rhyton— Dishes—Oil-vases—Lekythos—Alabastron—Pyxis—Askos—Moulded vases.

Those who are acquainted with the enormous number of painted vases now gathered together in our Museums, showing the important part they must have played in the daily life of the Greeks and the high estimation in which they were clearly held, as evidenced by the great care bestowed on their decoration and the pride exhibited by artists in their signed productions, may feel some surprise that so few allusions to them can be traced in classical literature. Such passages as can be interpreted as referring to them may actually be counted on the fingers of one hand, and even these are but passing allusions; while any full descriptions of vases, such as that in Theocritus' first Idyll or some of those in Athenaeus’ Book XI., almost invariably refer to metal vases with chased designs. Nor can we trace any reference to known potters or artists in literature or documents, save in a few inscriptions recently found at Athens, which are, of course, of secondary importance for literary history.

More general allusions to pottery and its use in daily life are common enough, and it would hardly be profitable to quote all such passages in detail; many indeed, such as the early allusion to the potter’s wheel in the _Iliad_ (see p. 207), have found a place elsewhere in this work. The passage of Homer at all events supplies proof, if such were needed, that the use of the wheel was known in early times in Greece.

Of undoubted references to painted vases there are but two, though both of them are particularly interesting, as they refer to well-known special classes of Attic vases. The earlier of the two is in Pindar’s tenth Nemean Ode,[447] in which he celebrates the victory of Thiaios of Argos, who had twice been successful in the Panathenaic games at Athens. He says:

γαία δὲ καυθείσα πυρὶ καρπος ἐλαίας ἔμολεν Ἤρας τὸν ευάνορα λαόν, ἐν ἀγγέων ἔρκεσι παμποικίλοις.[448]

These prize-vases are also mentioned by Simonides of Keos:

καὶ Παναθηναίοις στεφάνους λάβε πέντ’ ἐπ’ ἀέθλοις ἑξῆς ἀμφιφορεῖς ἐλαίου.[449]

The other passage, from the _Ecclesiazusae_ of Aristophanes (l. 996), is equally well known. One speaker, in somewhat contemptuous terms, alludes to “the fellow who paints the lekythi for the dead”:

ὃς τοῖς νεκροῖσι ζωγραφεῖ τοὺς ληκύθους.[450]

These lekythi may with certainty be identified with the white Athenian variety decorated with appropriate subjects and made specially for funerals (see