A ''kantharos'' ( grc, κάνθαρος) or cantharus is a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking. Although almost all surviving examples are in
Greek pottery
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...
, the shape, like many Greek vessel types, probably originates in metalwork. In its iconic "Type A" form, it is characterized by its deep bowl, tall pedestal foot, and pair of high-swung handles which extend above the lip of the pot. The Greek words ''kotylos'' (κότῦλος, masculine) and ''kotyle'' (κοτύλη, feminine) are other ancient names for this same shape.
The ''kantharos'' is a cup used to hold
wine, possibly for drinking or for
ritual use or
offerings. The ''kantharos'' seems to be an attribute of
Dionysos, the god of wine, who was associated with
vegetation and
fertility.
As well as a banqueting cup, they could be used in pagan rituals as a symbol of
rebirth or resurrection, the
immortality offered by wine, "removing in moments of ecstasy the burden of self-consciousness and elevating man to the rank of deity."
[Elderkin, Kantharos: Studies in Dionysiac and Kindred Cult, 2-6]
Gallery
File:Bucchero kantharos Terme.jpg, Bucchero
Bucchero () is a class of ceramics produced in central Italy by the region's pre-Roman Etruscan population. This Italian word is derived from the Latin ''poculum'', a drinking-vessel, perhaps through the Spanish ''búcaro'', or the Portuguese ''p ...
''kantharos'' ( Latial culture, 830–730 BC)
Image:Geometric kantharos Staatliche Antikensammlungen 8501.jpg, Geometric
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...
funerary ''kantharos'' ( Attica, ca. 780 BC)
File:Kantharos sphinxes Louvre CA1339.jpg, Black-figure ''kantharos'' with sphinxes
A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon.
In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...
( Boeotia, ca. 550 BC)
File:Boeotian kantharos Louvre MNC670.jpg, Black-glaze ''kantharos'' with Boeotian inscription ( Thespiae, 450–425 BC)
File:Janiform kantharos Louvre H44.jpg, Side view of janiform ''kantharos'' with Herakles and woman (480–460 BC)
File:Satyr kantharos Met 27.122.9.jpg, Satyr side of a janiform ''kantharos'' by Aison (420 BC)
File:Canthare argent MAN St Germain.jpg, Silver cantharus ( Gaul, present-day Alise-Sainte-Reine, latter 1st century BC)
File:Head-Kantharos of a Female Faun or Io (?) LACMA 50.8.25.jpg, Iliupersis Painter (South Italy, active 375-350 B.C.), Head-''Kantharos'' of a Female Faun or Io (?), red-figure pottery
Red-figure vase painting is one of the most important styles of figural Greek vase painting.
It developed in Athens around 520 BCE and remained in use until the late 3rd century BCE. It replaced the previously dominant style of black-figure vas ...
File:Canthare janiforme 01.JPG, Janiform ''kantharos'', Etruscan pottery
Etruscan art was produced by the Etruscan civilization in central Italy between the 10th and 1st centuries BC. From around 750 BC it was heavily influenced by Greek art, which was imported by the Etruscans, but always retained distinct character ...
, second half of the 4th century BC.
File:Canthare janiforme 02.JPG, ''Kantharos'' Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
. ''Kantharos'' plastic double head: satyr head (shown here) and female head, group Chiusi, 2nd half of the fourth century BC. BC, terracotta.
File:Kantharos BM CAT Vases E786.png, ''kantharos'', made in Athens, about 470 BC, British Museum
See also
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Kylix
In the pottery of ancient Greece, a kylix ( , ; grc, κύλιξ, pl. κύλικες; also spelled cylix; pl.: kylikes , ) is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot ...
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Rhyton
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Ancient Greek vase painting
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...
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Pottery of ancient Greece
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...
Notes
References
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{{Greek vase shapes
Ancient Greek pot shapes