The lydion (Greek λύδιον; plural ''lydia'') was an ancient Greek vase shape. The shape may have been of Egyptian derivation.
As indicated by its name, the ''lydion'' originated in
Lydia, but was also adopted by potters in Greece. A small spherical perfume container, lacking handles, it was especially popular in
East Greece
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
. The vessel stood on a narrow, relatively high foot, cylindrical or conical in shape. The neck could be of varying length; it met the body at an acute angle. The lip was horizontal. Usually, the ''lydion'' was decorated with stripes. In
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, it was only produced rarely; figural decoration was even rarer.
Bibliography
* Wolfgang Schiering: ''Die griechischen Tongefässe. Gestalt, Bestimmung und Formenwandel''. 2. edn. Mann, Berlin 1983, S. 151 (Gebr.-Mann-Studio-Reihe).
References
Archaeological artefact types
Containers
Ancient Greek pot shapes
{{Ceramics-stub