Kylix by Peithinos - Altes Museum Berlin.JPG
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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 ...
, 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 and usually two horizontal handles disposed symmetrically. The main alternative wine-cup shape was the '' kantharos'', with a narrower and deeper cup and high vertical handles. The almost flat interior circle of the base of the cup, called the tondo, was generally the primary surface for painted decoration in the black-figure or
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 ...
styles of the 6th and 5th century BC, and the outside was also often painted. As the representations would be covered with wine, the scenes would only be revealed in stages as the wine was drained. They were often designed with this in mind, with scenes created so that they would surprise or titillate the drinker as they were revealed.


Etymology

The word comes from the Greek ''kylix'' ("cup"), which is cognate with Latin ''calix'', the source of the English word " chalice" but not related to the similar Greek word κάλυξ : ''calyx'' which means "husk" or "pod". The term seems to have been rather more generally used in ancient Greece. Individual examples and the many named sub-varieties of kylix are often called names just using "cup". Like all other types of Greek pottery vessels, they are also covered by the general term of "vase".


Purpose

The primary use for the kylix was drinking wine (usually mixed with water, and sometimes other flavourings) at a
symposium In ancient Greece, the symposium ( grc-gre, συμπόσιον ''symposion'' or ''symposio'', from συμπίνειν ''sympinein'', "to drink together") was a part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was acc ...
or male "drinking party" in the ancient Greek world, so they are often decorated with scenes of a humorous, light-hearted, or sexual nature that would only become visible when the cup was drained. Dionysos, the god of wine, and his satyrs or related komastic scenes, are common subjects. On the external surface sometimes, large eyes were depicted, probably also with humorous purposes ( eye-cup). Other humorous purposes would include designs on the base of the cup, such as the male genitals on the ''Bomford Cup'', a late 6th century kylix. The shape of the kylix enabled the drinker to drink whilst recumbent, as was the case in the symposia. It also enabled them to play
kottabos Kottabos ( grc, κότταβος) was a game of skill played at Ancient Greek and Etruscan symposia (drinking parties), especially in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. It involved flinging wine-lees (sediment) at a target in the middle of the roo ...
, a game played by flinging wine lees at targets. A typical bowl held roughly 8 oz/250ml of fluid, though this varied greatly with size and shape.


Sub-types

There are many sub-types of kylix, variously defined by their basic shape, the location or subject of their painting, or their main place of production, or often a combination of these. Several of these are grouped under the term of Little-Master cup. The sub-types include: Image:Type A kylix MOS 1983 1157.JPG, Kylix type A, no turned or "offset" lip; a "fillet" at the top of the short stem. Image:Triptolemos Painter MOS 1887 213.JPG, Kylix type B, no turned or "offset" lip, nor a "fillet", so the profile runs smoothly from lip to foot Image:Band cup Louvre F75.jpg, Band cup, with the main painting in a band low on the body. Image:Droop_cup_Louvre_CA2512.jpg, Droop Cup Image:Eye-cup kantharos Louvre F144.jpg, Eye-cup, painted with eyes Image:Kassel_cup_Louvre_E673.jpg, Kassel Cup Image:Komast_cup_Louvre_E742.jpg, Komast cup, Athenian black-figure, with short stem, angled "offset" lip. Image:Lakonian cup BM GR 1968.2-13.1.jpg, Lakonian cup File:Lip-Cup sexual intercourse Ialysos black background.jpg, Lip cup, with the main painting just below the lip; the stem and foot are lost in this example Image:Siana_cup_Louvre_F67.jpg, Siana cup, Similar to Komast, with slightly longer stem, and painted on the inside. File:Merrythought Cup Antikensammlung Berlin.jpg, Merrythought cup, with distinctive "wishbone" handles File:Boeotian kantharos Louvre MNC670.jpg, For comparison, a black-glaze kantharos with Boeotian inscription ( Thespiae, 450–425 BC)


Decoration

After the kylikes were formed, an artisan drew a depiction of an event from Greek mythology or everyday life with a diluted glaze on the outer surface of the formation. Inside the drinking bowl was often a portrait of dancing and/or festive drinking.Allen, Douglas
Attic Red-Figure Kylix
''Utah Museum of Fine Arts'', 2008-02-19.
Unique compositional skills were necessary for the artisans to attain due to the lack of verticals and horizontals on the surface. Onesimos, Makron, and Douris were famous painters in this field, renowned for their works.


Famous pieces

Individual kylixes with articles include: *
Arkesilas Cup The Arkesilas Cup is a '' kylix'' by the Laconian vase painter known as the Arkesilas Painter, whose name vase it is. It depicts, and is thus named after, Arkesilaos II, king of Kyrene (d. 550 BC) and is dated to about 565–560 BC. The cup w ...
, very unusual because it shows a then-living political figure, Arkesilaos II, king of Kyrene (d. 550 BC). It is dated to about 565/560 BC, and is now in Paris. *
Dionysus Cup The Dionysus Cup is the modern name for one of the best known works of ancient Greek vase painting, a '' kylix'' (drinking cup) dating to 540–530 BC. It is one of the masterpieces of the Attic black-figure potter Exekias and one of the most si ...
, famous for its painting, 540–530 BC. It is one of the masterpieces of the
Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
Black-figure potter
Exekias Exekias ( grc, Ἐξηκίας, ''Exēkías'') was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter who was active in Athens between roughly 545 BC and 530 BC. Exekias worked mainly in the black-figure technique, which involved the painting of scen ...
and one of the most significant works in the
Staatliche Antikensammlungen The Staatliche Antikensammlungen (, ''State Collections of Antiquities'') is a museum in Munich's Kunstareal holding Bavaria's collections of antiquities from Greece, Etruria and Rome, though the sculpture collection is located in the opposite Gly ...
in Munich.Inventory number 8729 (formerly 2044); evaluation of worth by John Boardman, ''Schwarzfigurige Vasen aus Athen.'' Mainz 1977, and Thomas Mannack: ''Griechische Vasenmalerei.'' Stuttgart 2002, *
Berlin Foundry Cup The Berlin Foundry Cup (german: Erzgießerei-Schale) is a red-figure ''kylix'' (drinking cup) from the early 5th century BC. It is the name vase of the Attic vase painter known conventionally as the Foundry Painter. Its most striking feature is t ...
, a red-figure kylix from the early 5th century BC. It is the name vase of the
Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
vase painter known conventionally as the Foundry Painter. Its most striking feature is the exterior depiction of activities in an Athenian
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
workshop or foundry. It is an important source on ancient Greek metal-working technology. *
Brygos Cup of Würzburg Brygos was an ancient Greek potter, active in Athens between 490 and 470 BC. He is known as a producer of excellent drinking cups. About 200 of his pieces are known. The workshop of Brygos employed a red-figure vase painter who is conventionally c ...
, an
Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
red-figure kylix from about 480 BC. It was made by the Brygos potter and painted by the man known as the Brygos Painter. Its symposium scenes are some of the best-known images of Greek pottery.


See also

* Gordion cup


References


External links

{{Authority control Ancient Greek pot shapes Wine accessories Drinkware History of wine