What is a Greek lekythos?

What is a Greek lekythos?

A lekythos is a vessel used to store oil used for religious or funerary purposes (1). This lekythos is an example of an ancient Greek vase decorated in the black-figure technique (2). The vase is made of a light red clay, with decorative elements, including the figural decoration, added in a black slip.

How did the ancient Greeks mourn their dead?

After 1100 BC, Greeks began to bury their dead in individual graves rather than group tombs. Athens, however, was a major exception; the Athenians normally cremated their dead and placed their ashes in an urn. During the early Archaic period, Greek cemeteries became larger, but grave goods decreased.

What is krater vase?

krater, also spelled crater, ancient Greek vessel used for diluting wine with water. It usually stood on a tripod in the dining room, where wine was mixed. Kraters were made of metal or pottery and were often painted or elaborately ornamented.

What is Ekphora?

The ekphora, or ritual procession of the deceased’s body from where it had been laid out to the place of burial, took place on the third day after death. The body was placed on a cart and was accompanied by mourners and men, often armed.

What were hydria used for?

The hydria, primarily a pot for fetching water, derives its name from the Greek word for water. Hydriai often appear on painted Greek vases in scenes of women carrying water from a fountain (06.1021. 77), one of the duties of women in classical antiquity.

What does a lekythos look like?

lekythos, plural lekythoi, in ancient Greek pottery, oil flask used at baths and gymnasiums and for funerary offerings, characterized by a long cylindrical body gracefully tapered to the base and a narrow neck with a loop-shaped handle. The Athenians seem to have used the term generically to mean any small oil flask.

What did funerary markers or stelae look like in ancient Greece?

Funerary stelae were large and rectangular. They were often topped by pediments that were often, although not always, supported by columns. Funerary stelae of Classical Greece were idealized portraits that attempted to relate the character and social position of the dead through attributes depicted on the grave marker.

What was the purpose of Greek vases?

For the ancient Greeks, vases were mostly functional objects made to be used, not just admired. They used ceramic vessels in every aspect of their daily lives: for storage, carrying, mixing, serving, and drinking, and as cosmetic and perfume containers.

How is death portrayed in Greek mythology?

Hellenic. In Ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, Death (Thanatos) is one of the twin sons of Nyx (night). Like her, he is seldom portrayed directly. He sometimes appears in art as a winged and bearded man, and occasionally as a winged and beardless youth.

Why was it necessary to have a hydria as part of the ceramic vessels used at a symposium?

For example, during a symposium (i.e. a drinking party), a finely decorated hydria would have been used to pour water into a krater in order to dilute wine. Ancient wine was very high in alcohol content; only barbarians were said to drink it pure! This beautiful Attic black-figure hydria from ca.

When was the funeral vessel of funerio made?

Funerary Vessel with an Underworld Scene (body) and a Battle between Greeks and Amazons (neck)(detail, pre-conservation), South Italian, made in Apulia, 360–340 BC; found in Altamura, Italy, in 1847, terracotta. Red-figure volute kraterattributed to the Circle of the Lycurgus Painter. National Archaeological Museum of Naples, 81666

What are the different types of Greek funeral vases?

1 Ancient Greek funerary vases. 2 Funeral oration (ancient Greece) 3 Kerameikos, site of an extensive cemetery at Athens. 4 Lekythos, a type of vessel holding oils or liquids often used in connection with death rites. 5 Seikilos epitaph. 6 Sit tibi terra levis.

What is the connection between Ancient Greek and Roman funerals?

Ancient Greek funerary practices are attested widely in the literature, the archaeological record, and the art of ancient Greece. Finds associated with burials are an important source for ancient Greek culture, though Greek funerals are not as well documented as those of the ancient Romans.

Who built the most lavish funerary monuments in ancient Greece?

The most lavish funerary monuments were erected in the sixth century B.C. by aristocratic families of Attica in private burial grounds along the roadside on the family estate or near Athens.