Ancient Greek funerary vases

Famous centers of vase styles include Corinth, Lakonia, Ionia, South Italy, and Athens.

[1] One major type of funerary vase was the krater, a mixing bowl for wine and water used by elite Greek males at symposiums.

Symposiums were an eastern influence[2] in which the aristocracy would lie down and drink; many Greek painters referenced this lifestyle in their art.

[4] The amphora was a tall, slender pot that often held oil, wine, milk, or grain.

Amphorae filled with oil were awarded to victorious athletes during Panathenaic games, with the winner painted on it.

[5] An oenochoe was a stout wine jug with a distinct pouring lip, and a large handle.

[1] Archived 2017-04-23 at the Wayback Machine The hydria was a water-containing vessel with three handles; two for carrying, and another for pouring.

[9] In the 600s B.C., Athens moved away from abstract geometric patterns, and toward more natural art, influenced by the Near East.

[10] Images from vases can provide information about religion, beliefs, and how people lived, including burial rites.

The body would then be laid upon a bier, or funeral bed, which gives form to the Greeks' association between sleep and death.

[11] Thanatos, the god of gentle death, can be seen on Greek funerary vases taking away the body of the deceased to the underworld.

[2] Greek tragedies were a popular motif on funeral vases which often contained the death of someone close to the main character within the play.