Kantharos facts for kids

A kantharos (pronounced KAN-thuh-ross) is a special type of ancient Greek cup. People in ancient Greece used these cups for drinking, especially wine. Most of the kantharos cups we find today are made of pottery. But the original idea for this shape probably came from cups made of metal.

Red-figure Apulian kantharos with a female head, made around 320–310 BC.

The most famous type of kantharos has a deep bowl. It also has a tall base, called a pedestal foot. Its two handles are very tall and stick up above the rim of the cup. Other old Greek names for this same cup shape were kotylos and kotyle.

What was a Kantharos used for?

The kantharos was mainly used to hold wine. People might have used it for drinking at parties. It was also used for special rituals or offerings to the gods.

The kantharos is often seen with Dionysus, who was the Greek god of wine. Dionysus was also connected to plants, nature, and new growth.

Besides being a drinking cup, these vessels had a deeper meaning. In some ancient rituals, they symbolized rebirth or new life. They also represented the idea of everlasting life, especially through the symbolic power of wine. It was believed that using the kantharos could help people feel a special connection to the gods.

Gallery

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  A kantharos made of Bucchero pottery, from 830–730 BC.

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  A Geometric kantharos used for funerals, from Attica, around 780 BC.

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  A Black-figure kantharos decorated with sphinxes, from Boeotia, around 550 BC.

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  A black-glazed kantharos with a Boeotian inscription, from Thespiae, 450–425 BC.

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  Side view of a janiform kantharos showing Herakles and a woman, 480–460 BC.

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  The Satyr side of a janiform kantharos by the artist Aison, 420 BC.

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  A silver cantharus from Gaul, late 1st century BC.

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  A head-kantharos showing a female faun or Io, made by the Iliupersis Painter in South Italy, 375-350 BC.

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  A janiform kantharos made of Etruscan pottery, second half of the 4th century BC.

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  A kantharos with two heads, one of a satyr and one of a woman, from Chiusi, second half of the 4th century BC.

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  A kantharos made in Athens, around 470 BC, now at the British Museum.

See also

In Spanish: Cántaros (cerámica griega) para niños