February 1, 1896.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



37 



meant to be seen. Another use of vases was as prizes in 

 the games held at Athens in honour of Athena ; this 

 extremely interesting class will be described more at 

 length later. 



It will be necessary to say a few words on the 

 methods of construction and decoration, and the materials 

 used therein. 



Of the processes adopted for the preparation of the clay 

 we have little information. It was largely obtained from 

 the neighbourhood of Athens and Corinth, which places 

 may be regarded as the centres of vase-making in Greece 

 proper. At Athens there was a regular potters' quarter, 

 known as the Ceramicus ; it adjoined the chief burying- 

 place, and was, therefore, convenient for the manufacture 

 of vases for funeral purposes. 



The use of the potter's wheel for modelling the clay was 

 known in Egypt iu very remote times, and even in Greece 

 was credited with a legendary origin. There are several 

 references to it in Homer, and the vases which are usually 

 referred to his period are certainly wheel-made. It is, 

 however, possible to point to many specimens, especially 

 those of abnormal size, which must have been hand-made. 

 As to whether the wheel was turned by the hand or the 

 foot there seems to be some little uncertainty, but probably 

 the hand was mostly employed. 



When the clay had received the required form the 

 surface was carefully smoothed and the vase placed iu the 

 air to dry ; the handles, which had been made independently, 

 were now attached. The vase was now ready for the 

 baking, one of the most critical processes in the potter's 

 art, owing to the necessity of adjusting accurately the 

 amount of heat required. Frequent instances have come 

 down to us of discoloured vases, which have been subjected 

 to too much or too little heat. Mishaps during the firing 

 were attributed to the malicious influence of evil spirits, 

 and various methods wero resorted to to counteract this 

 influence, as we read in a poem attributed to Homer, 

 where the aid of the goddess Athena is invoked against a 

 long list of evil spirits. The ovens for baking seem to 

 have differed Uttle from those in use at the present day. 

 The remains of several such ovens have been foimd in 

 Italy, Germany, France, and England. 



The vase having passed successfully through the process 

 of baking, the next thing was the decoration. As this 

 varied so much in method and extent at the various periods, 

 it will be impossible to give here a general description of 

 the painting processes, which must be treated of later on 

 under the different headings. In most cases a further 

 firing was necessitated to fix the colours, and, this having 

 been done, the vase was regarded as completed. 



The r.tudy of Greek vases is of little use until the various 

 shapes and the purposes for which each was employed are 

 mastered. Unfortunately, with the space at our disposal, 

 it is impossible to give a complete list of the forms with 

 the illustration of each which would be necessary : but 

 it is to be hoped that a brief description of a few of the 

 principal ones may be of some assistance. 



The purposes for which vases were employed by the 

 Greeks may be roughly divided into — (1) for storing liquids 

 or food ; (2) for drawing or pouring out liquids ; [H) for 

 drinking-vessels ; ti) for the toilet, games, or other occa- 

 sional uses. 



Of those included under (1), the cw/j/iora is the most 

 important and continuously popular : a large jar with two 

 handles and a rather narrow neck ; it was used for storing 

 wine in cellars, and also for funeral purposes. The xtamnos 

 is another variety, with a very short neck and stout body, 

 used for storing wine or food, such as sweetmeats. The 

 cratn- was a vase more especially in demand at banquets, 



as it was used for mixing wine and water in large quantities ; 

 it is a large bowl with wide neck and two vertical handles. 

 The lel/es is a large bowl without foot or handles, and was 

 placed on a stand or tripod ; metal vases of this shape were 

 specially used for boiling liquids. 



(2) The hijdria, or pitcher, is a vase with three handles, 

 generally of considerable size ; its use for fetching water 

 from a well is often depicted on vases. The oinochoe is in 

 shape equivalent to the modern beer -jug, and was used for 

 carrying round wine at banquets ; it was filled from the 

 crater. It was also used in oft'ering libations to the gods. 

 It has many beautiful varieties of form, each with its 

 separate name. 



(3) The favourite drinking-cup among the Greeks was 

 known as the ki/tix — a large shallow bowl on a high stem, 

 with two graceful handles. It is, perhaps, the most beau- 

 tiful shape of all Greek vases, and all the masterpieces of 

 the greatest vase-painters take this form. Other drinking- 

 cups are the cotyle, a deep cup with two flat handles ; the 

 ccintharus, a beautiful form of cup with a high stem and 

 two graceful handles; and the rhyton. a drinking-horn, 

 the lower end of which was always moulded into the 

 head of an animal or some other form. 



(4) Many vases were used for holding oil, whether for 

 the use of athletes in the games or for general purposes ; 

 the chief form is the lekijthos, a straight, slim vase with a 

 very long narrow neck, the object of which was that the 

 oil might pour out slowly. This shape was especially impor- 

 tant for use at funerals. The ahwastr'in (so called because 

 originally made of that material) and (injliUns are varieties 

 of the Ukythos . the latter was used more especially by 

 athletes. Another very common form is the askos, so 

 named as being originally imitated from a wine-skin — a 

 small vase, generally supplied with a spout as well as a 

 mouth. The pij.ris, or toilet-box, should also be mentioned 



Flu. 2 —Vase from lalvso*. 



here ; it was generally of cylindrical fo.'m with a olosely- 

 fitting cover, and contained various objects connected with 

 a lady's toilet. 



Thus much having been said by way of introduction to 

 the subject, we will now proceed to treat of it from a 



