Chapter XVII

. Thus on the François vase the three-handled pitcher used by Polyxena is inscribed [ΥΔΡΙΑ], or “water-pot,” and enables us to apply the name hydria with certainty to a three-handled vase, of which many black- and red-figured specimens exist.[495] Then we have the _lekythos_ of Tataie, and the _kylikes_ of Philto and Kephisophon,[496] which testify by inscriptions to the name by which they were known. The names incised in _graffito_ on the feet of vases[497] are a more doubtful source of evidence, inasmuch as they may refer either to mixed batches of vases or to the names of measures of capacity.

Examples of cursory mention of names in the ancient writers, such as Aristophanes, are innumerable, but seldom explicit, and the scholia on these writers are hardly more useful, inasmuch as the grammarians probably knew little more about obsolete shapes than we do ourselves, and their commentaries have little critical weight. The _loci classici_ on the subject are the book of Athenaeus already referred to,[498] in which he gives a list of over one hundred names, with more or less full explanation and commentary, most of the forms being apparently varieties of drinking-cups, and the _Onomasticon_ of Pollux.[499] Notices of vases are also to be found in the lexicographers, such as Hesychius and Suidas, and the _Etymologicum Magnum_.

In the early days of modern archaeology the first to propose an identification of the shapes of vases was Panofka,[500] whose fanciful and uncritical lucubrations were shortly afterwards combated by Letronne[501] and Gerhard,[502] the latter of whom introduced a more scientific method of criticism and classification, though his results cannot be considered as final. Other writers were Müller,[503] Thiersch,[504] Ussing,[505] Krause,[506] and Jahn,[507] of whom Ussing followed practically on Gerhard’s lines but with more success; Krause, though exhaustive, is on the whole uncritical; and Jahn has treated the subject with his wonted conciseness and sobriety. Of late years little attention has been paid to it, principally, no doubt, for the reason that so many conventional names have been generally accepted for the ordinary shapes by archaeologists, who have recognised the fact that it will never be possible to treat the subject with scientific accuracy.[508]

The classification of the shapes of vases has usually been undertaken on the lines of distinguishing their main uses, such as (1) those in which food or liquids were preserved; (2) those in which liquids were mixed or cooked; (3) those by means of which liquids were poured out or food distributed; (4) drinking-cups; (5) other vases for the use of the table or toilet. Thus we have the pithos and amphora for storing wine, the krater for mixing it, the psykter for cooling it, the kyathos for ladling it out, and the oinochoë or prochoos for pouring it out; the hydria was used for fetching water from the well. Of smaller vases, the names for drinking-cups are innumerable, but the phiale, for instance, was employed chiefly for pouring libations; while dishes and plates are represented by the lekane, tryblion, pinax, and so on. The pyxis was used by women at their toilet, and the lekythos, alabastron, and askos for holding oil and unguents. There is an interesting passage in Athenaeus (iv. 142 D)[509] which gives a list of the vases required for use at a banquet: “And on the tripod was placed a bronze wine-cooler (ψυκτήρ) and a κάδος (bucket) and a silver σκαφίον holding two kotylae (one pint), and a ladle (κύαθος); and the wine-jug (ἐπίχυσις) was of bronze, but nobody was offered drink unless he asked for it; and one ladleful was given out before the meal.”

* * * * *

For the purposes of this work it is hoped that the usual method of classification indicated above will be found sufficient, supplemented by the descriptions of Athenaeus and other writers, where any details can be obtained; but it is obvious that a really critical treatment of the subject should be chronological, with endeavours to trace the first appearance and development of each type. In the present state of our knowledge, however, it would seem impossible to do so with success.

We begin our description of the vases of the Greeks with an account of the large vases of rough manufacture calculated to hold great quantities of wine, water, or food. The chief vase of this class is the =Pithos= or cask (Lat. _dolium_), a vase of gigantic size, found both in Italy and Greece.[510] They are shaped like enormous barrels, with bulging bodies and wide mouths, and answer to the modern hogshead or pipe. When full, the casks were closed with a circular stone, or with a cover of clay. They were used to hold honey, wine, and figs, and were usually kept half-buried in the earth.[511] They were sufficiently capacious to hold a man, and the famous “tub” of Diogenes was of this form. On a lamp in the British Museum and other monuments[512] he is represented appearing from one, presumably on the occasion of his interview with Alexander. In the vase-paintings Eurystheus takes refuge in a pithos from Herakles when he brings the Erymanthian boar,[513] and the same shape of vase is represented as holding the wine of the Centaurs and the water drawn by the Danaids.[514] The “box” of Pandora was in reality a large jar of this kind, as we learn from Hesiod.[515] It required great skill to make these vases, whence a Greek proverb characterised an ambitious but inexperienced man as “one who began with a cask” (ἐν πίθῳ τὴν κεραμείαν μανθάνειν).[516] They were not made on the wheel but by a peculiar process, which is described as plastering the clay round a framework of wood, called κάνναβος[517]; it appears to have been made of vertical boards ranged in a circle, like a tub.

[Illustration: FIG. 21. PITHOS FROM KNOSSOS.]

The British Museum possesses two or three πίθοι of exceptional size, ornamented with bands of geometrical patterns in relief, which were obtained from Mr. (now Sir A.) Biliotti’s excavations at Ialysos in Rhodes, and belong to the Mycenaean period. In 1900 Mr. Arthur Evans, among the remains of the Minoan palace at Knossos in Crete, came upon a courtyard round which stood a number of similar πίθοι, with decorations of a Mycenaean character (see Fig. 21).[518] These may be considered to belong to the middle of the second millennium B.C., and it is therefore evident that the πίθος may claim an antiquity second to none among forms of Greek vases.

Among examples of later date may be mentioned the large series recently found in Thera by German explorers, some plain, others with painted geometrical decoration; they are partly of native make, partly importations from Crete, and date from the seventh century B.C.[519] Dr. Dörpfeld found examples of πίθοι in the remains of the earlier cities at Hissarlik, from the second to the seventh layers. These were used for keeping all sorts of liquids and solids, and also apparently formed part of the cooking apparatus.[520] Others were found in the excavations of Mr. J. Brunton on the site of Dardanus in the Troad; they were of pale red clay, with a stone cover. In excavating between Balaclava and Sevastopol Colonel Munroe discovered no less than sixteen, about 4 ft. 4 in. in height, within a circular building, apparently a storehouse; they were also of pale red ware. One had incised upon its lip [ΔΔΠΠ ΠΙΙΙ], apparently indicating its price. Similar πίθοι have been found in Athens, some having fractures joined by leaden rivets. Large πίθοι with archaic reliefs have been found in Crete, Rhodes, Sicily, and Etruria (at Cervetri); they are imitated from metal vases, with designs of Oriental character.[521]

Perhaps of all the ancient vases the best known is the =Amphora= (ἀμφορεύς or ἀμφιφορεύς), which was used for a variety of domestic and commercial purposes. So numerous are the vases of this form, found all over the Greek world, that they merit a lengthy description. They were principally used for wine, but also for corn, honey, oil, and other substances,[522] and to the use of the word as a measure of capacity we have already alluded. It should be borne in mind that the conventional use of the word _amphora_ in speaking of the painted Greek vases implies a quite different form from the plain wine-amphorae, which were neither painted nor varnished; the type of vase is the same, but the painted examples are smaller and stouter, with a proper foot. For the present we confine our description to the unadorned amphora of commerce.

Besides the two handles from which the word derives its name,[523] the wine-amphora (Fig. 22.) is distinguished by its long egg-shaped body, narrow cylindrical neck, and pointed base; this form is often known as _diota_ (the Latin equivalent). The base is sometimes supplied with a ring to stand on, but is more usually pointed, in order to be easily fixed in the earth in cellars. The mouth was sealed by means of a conical cover terminating in a boss.

[Illustration: FIG. 22. GREEK WINE-JARS (BRITISH MUSEUM).]

Remains of these amphorae have been discovered not only in Greece itself, but also wherever the Greek commerce and settlements extended, as in Alexandria, Kertch (Panticapaeum), Corfu, Rhodes, Sicily, and Asia Minor. They appear to have been used at a very early period, plain specimens of red ware being found not only in the early Greek tombs, like that of Menekrates in Corfu (p. 54), but even in tombs of the Bronze Age period, as in Cyprus. The typical long shape, however, did not come into fashion until about 300 B.C., when the island of Rhodes was a great trading centre, carrying on an active commerce all over the Mediterranean. Amphorae of this form are represented on the coins of Chios and Thasos with reference to their trade in wine, and on the Athenian silver tetradrachms which belong to the period subsequent to about 220 B.C.; they are shown on the reverse, lying horizontally, with an owl above. In this case the reference may be either to the large Attic trade in oil or to the use of the amphora for voting at the election of magistrates (see p. 167).

The most interesting feature of the wine-amphorae is the device or impression stamped on the handles either in a circular medallion or an oblong depression. This was done by means of a stone or bronze stamp, while the clay was still moist. They are found in all parts of the ancient world, but the greater number can be traced to a few places of origin, of which the most important are: Rhodes, Knidos, Thasos, Paros, and Olbia in Southern Russia. As regards the stamps, the usage differs at each centre; but apart from them the handles can be distinguished by their shapes and material, as will be seen in the subsequent description.

The Rhodian amphorae, of which large numbers have been found at Alexandria as well as in the island itself, were of a very pure and tenacious clay, with a fracture as sharp as that of delf. The colour is pale, deepening to a salmon hue. The numerous separate handles which have also been found have all belonged to the same form of amphora, with long square-shouldered handles, as on the Athenian and Chian coins. An entire vase, but without a stamp,[524] which was brought from Rhodes, was 40 in. in height, and the height of the handles alone was 10 in., the upper part attached to the top of the mouth being 3 in. long. This is a typical instance for the shape. The seal when found is impressed on the upper part of the handle, the size of the label being generally about 1½ in. or 1¾ in. long, by ⅝ in. wide, except when they are oval or circular. At Alexandria eight distinct varieties of handles were found, broken from amphorae of different countries, but only one inscribed; the base also assumed various forms.

In the Rhodian amphorae two stamps are in use, a principal and an accessory one (Fig. 23._a_).[525] The former has a device of the head of Helios, the Sun-God, or the emblematic rose, both of which types occur on the coins; it is accompanied by an inscription, in the form ἐπὶ τοῦ δεῖνος, sometimes explicitly described as ἱερέως, _i.e._ in the year of the eponymous priest of the Sun. This is followed by the name of a Rhodian month. The accessory stamp contains the name of a person, usually in the genitive. The months belong to the Doric calendar, and are as follows: Thesmophorios, Theudaisios, Pedageitnyos, Diosthyos, Badromios, Sminthios, Artamitios, Agrianios, Hyakinthios, Panamos, Dalios, Karneios, and the second Panamos, an intercalary month.[526] The object of the stamps is involved in obscurity, but they were probably intended to certify that the amphora (which was also a measure) held the proper quantity. It is clear that they could not have been intended to attest the age of the wine, as the vessel might be used for any sort, and the stamps bear the name of every month in the year.

[Illustration:

From _Dumont_. FIG. 23. AMPHORA-STAMPS FROM RHODES. ]

Other handles of Rhodian amphorae, stamped with an oblong cartouche or label, may be divided into two classes: (1) Those inscribed with the name of a magistrate and an emblem. The latter resembled the “adjuncts” found on the coins of some Greek cities, but it is uncertain whether they were selected on any fixed principle, or merely adopted from caprice. They may perhaps allude to the deity whom the magistrate

## particularly honoured as the patron god of his tribe or village. The

same symbol was, however, often used by many individuals, and on the whole the number known is not large. (2) Those bearing the name of a magistrate, accompanied by that of a month of the Doric calendar, but without any emblem (Fig. 23._b_).

Many handles of amphorae from Knidos have been found on different sites. Their clay is coarser than the Rhodian, its colour darker and duller, and the amphorae differ also somewhat in form, nor are they of so early a date, being mostly as late as the Roman Empire. The stamps on the Cnidian amphorae, like those of Rhodes, are inscribed with the name of the eponymous magistrate, and also with that of the wine-grower or exporter of the produce, which is always marked as Cnidian. The stamps show a great variety in the matter of emblems. Remains of Cnidian amphorae have been found in Sicily, at Athens, Alexandria, and Olbia. The palaeography of the inscriptions covers a period of two centuries, from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius, or even later.

Numerous examples have been found of handles of amphorae, in which the celebrated wine of Thasos was exported to places such as Thasos and Olbia. The stamps are nearly square, with a device in the middle, the inscription [ΘΑΣΙΩΝ], and the name of an official. The names are usually in the nominative, but in one instance at least the genitive is used. The symbols include an amphora, kneeling archer, cornucopia, dolphin, etc. (Fig. 24).[527] The known stamps of Paros are few in number; they are simply inscribed [ΠΑΡΙΩΝ], which in one instance is written retrograde.[528]

Handles inscribed with the name of an aedile (ἀστυνόμος) and of another person, probably a magistrate, have been found on various sites in the Crimea and Southern Russia, principally at Olbia. At Panticapaeum (Kertch) two amphorae were found with stamps across the neck, thus:

EUARCHO EPI KALLIA ARISTON EOPAMONOS

the upper name being that of the magistrate.[529] These vases appear to have been made on the spot.

[Illustration:

From _Dumont_. FIG. 24. AMPHORA-STAMPS FROM THASOS. ]

Stoddart also mentions amphora-handles as having come from Corinth,[530] with names which can be traced to the time of the Roman dominion. Falkner found at Pompeii an amphora with a Greek inscription of three lines painted in red and black, with the name of Menodotos and the letters KOR. OPT., which _may_ mean “the best Corcyraean brand.”[531] A bibliography of the subject is appended below.[532]

Among painted vases the amphora holds a high place, especially in the black-figure period, during which it was most prominent. It is distinguished from the plain type, as already pointed out, by the proportions of the body, as well as by the graceful curve of the handles and the flat circular foot. The variations in its form at different places and periods are so marked that they have led to the adoption of qualifying adjectives for each kind. Although these names cannot now be accepted in a strict sense, they are sometimes useful as conventional expressions. We proceed to describe these in detail.

(1) The origin of the Greek amphora is clearly to be sought in the pithos of primitive times, as may be seen in the vases of the Melian and Proto-Attic classes, and in the early vases with reliefs from Boeotia, Crete, Thera, and elsewhere. It is not found in the Mycenaean style, the large vases of which come under the heading of the krater (see below); and its appearance in Greece dates from the developed stage of the Geometrical period. The earliest specimens among the painted vases are virtually small pithoi, characterised by a long cylindrical neck, and large elaborate handles obviously imitating metal (see p. 495). Of this type are several of the Boeotian Geometrical and Proto-Attic vases discussed in