Attic Red Figure Column Krater
From Conversano near Bari in Puglia, 450-425 BC, attributed to the Naples Painter.
Krater
"Column krater
This form was invented in Corinth, but was taken over by the Athenians, where it is typically black-figure."
"Form and function
At a Greek symposium, kraters were placed in the center of the room. They were quite large, so they were not easily portable when filled. Thus, the wine-water mixture would be withdrawn from the krater with other vessels. In fact, Homer's Odyssey describes a steward drawing wine from a krater at a banquet and then running to and fro pouring the wine into guests' drinking cups. The modern Greek word now used for undiluted wine, krasi (κρασί), originates from the krasis (κράσις, i.e. mixing) of wine and water in kraters. Kraters were glazed on the interior to make the surface of the clay more suitable for holding water, and possibly for aesthetic reasons, since the interior could easily be seen.
Usage
At the beginning of each symposium, a symposiarch (συμποσίαρχος), or "lord of the common drink", was elected by the participants. He would then assume control of the wine servants, and thus of the degree of wine dilution and how it changed during the party, and the rate of cup refills. The krater and how it was filled and emptied was thus the centerpiece of the symposiarch's authority. An astute symposiarch should be able to diagnose the degree of inebriation of his fellow symposiasts and make sure that the symposium progressed smoothly and without drunken excess.
Wine dilution
Drinking ákratos (undiluted) wine was considered a severe faux pas in ancient Greece, enough to characterize the drinker as a drunkard and someone who lacked restraint and principle. Ancient writers prescribed that a mixing ratio of 1:3 (wine to water) was optimal for long conversation, a ratio of 1:2 when fun was to be had, and 1:1 was really only suited for orgiastic revelry, to be indulged in very rarely, if at all. Since such mixtures would produce an unpalatable and watery drink if applied to most wines made in the modern style, this practice of the ancients has led to speculation that ancient wines might have been vinified to a high alcoholic degree and sugar content, e.g. by using dehydrated grapes, and could withstand dilution with water better. Such wines would have also withstood time and the vagaries of transportation much better. Nevertheless the ancient writers offer scant details of ancient vinification methods, and therefore this theory, though plausible, remains unsupported by evidence." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krater
"Apulia is one of the richest archaeological regions in Italy. It was first settled by Illyric peoples, the best-known of whom were the Messapii. Mycenaean Greeks then colonized the area. In the 8th century BC, the Ancient Greeks expanded until reaching the area of Taranto and Salento in Magna Graecia. In the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the Greek settlement at Taras produced a distinctive style of pottery (Apulian vase painting).
In ancient times only the northern part of the region was called Apulia; the southern peninsula was known as Calabria, a name now used to designate the southwestern tip of the Italian peninsula (the "toe" of the Italian "boot").
Apulia was an important area for the ancient Romans, who conquered it during the course of wars against the Samnites and against Pyrrhus in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC but also suffered a crushing defeat here in the battle of Cannae against Hannibal. However, after the Carthaginians left the region, the Romans captured the ports of Brindisi and Taranto, and established dominion over the region. During the Imperial age Apulia was a flourishing area for production of grain and oil, becoming the most important exporter to the Eastern provinces.
After the fall of Rome, Apulia was held successively by the Goths, the Lombards and, from the 6th century onwards, the Byzantines. Bari became the capital of a province that extended to modern Basilicata, and was ruled by a catepano (governor), hence the name of Capitanata of the Barese neighbourhood. From 800 on, a Saracen presence was intermittent, but Apulia remained under the Byzantine authority, despite the region being mainly inhabited by lombards until the 11th century, when the Normans conquered it with relative ease..." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puglia
Attica (Greek: Αττική, Attikí; [atiˈci]) is an historical region of Greece, which includes Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea. The Attica region, the modern administrative region of Greece, is more extensive than the historical region and includes several islands and part of the Peloponnese.
The history of Attica is tightly linked with that of Athens, which, from the classical period, was one of the most important cities in the ancient world. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attica
Attic Red Figure Column Krater
From Conversano near Bari in Puglia, 450-425 BC, attributed to the Naples Painter.
Krater
"Column krater
This form was invented in Corinth, but was taken over by the Athenians, where it is typically black-figure."
"Form and function
At a Greek symposium, kraters were placed in the center of the room. They were quite large, so they were not easily portable when filled. Thus, the wine-water mixture would be withdrawn from the krater with other vessels. In fact, Homer's Odyssey describes a steward drawing wine from a krater at a banquet and then running to and fro pouring the wine into guests' drinking cups. The modern Greek word now used for undiluted wine, krasi (κρασί), originates from the krasis (κράσις, i.e. mixing) of wine and water in kraters. Kraters were glazed on the interior to make the surface of the clay more suitable for holding water, and possibly for aesthetic reasons, since the interior could easily be seen.
Usage
At the beginning of each symposium, a symposiarch (συμποσίαρχος), or "lord of the common drink", was elected by the participants. He would then assume control of the wine servants, and thus of the degree of wine dilution and how it changed during the party, and the rate of cup refills. The krater and how it was filled and emptied was thus the centerpiece of the symposiarch's authority. An astute symposiarch should be able to diagnose the degree of inebriation of his fellow symposiasts and make sure that the symposium progressed smoothly and without drunken excess.
Wine dilution
Drinking ákratos (undiluted) wine was considered a severe faux pas in ancient Greece, enough to characterize the drinker as a drunkard and someone who lacked restraint and principle. Ancient writers prescribed that a mixing ratio of 1:3 (wine to water) was optimal for long conversation, a ratio of 1:2 when fun was to be had, and 1:1 was really only suited for orgiastic revelry, to be indulged in very rarely, if at all. Since such mixtures would produce an unpalatable and watery drink if applied to most wines made in the modern style, this practice of the ancients has led to speculation that ancient wines might have been vinified to a high alcoholic degree and sugar content, e.g. by using dehydrated grapes, and could withstand dilution with water better. Such wines would have also withstood time and the vagaries of transportation much better. Nevertheless the ancient writers offer scant details of ancient vinification methods, and therefore this theory, though plausible, remains unsupported by evidence." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krater
"Apulia is one of the richest archaeological regions in Italy. It was first settled by Illyric peoples, the best-known of whom were the Messapii. Mycenaean Greeks then colonized the area. In the 8th century BC, the Ancient Greeks expanded until reaching the area of Taranto and Salento in Magna Graecia. In the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the Greek settlement at Taras produced a distinctive style of pottery (Apulian vase painting).
In ancient times only the northern part of the region was called Apulia; the southern peninsula was known as Calabria, a name now used to designate the southwestern tip of the Italian peninsula (the "toe" of the Italian "boot").
Apulia was an important area for the ancient Romans, who conquered it during the course of wars against the Samnites and against Pyrrhus in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC but also suffered a crushing defeat here in the battle of Cannae against Hannibal. However, after the Carthaginians left the region, the Romans captured the ports of Brindisi and Taranto, and established dominion over the region. During the Imperial age Apulia was a flourishing area for production of grain and oil, becoming the most important exporter to the Eastern provinces.
After the fall of Rome, Apulia was held successively by the Goths, the Lombards and, from the 6th century onwards, the Byzantines. Bari became the capital of a province that extended to modern Basilicata, and was ruled by a catepano (governor), hence the name of Capitanata of the Barese neighbourhood. From 800 on, a Saracen presence was intermittent, but Apulia remained under the Byzantine authority, despite the region being mainly inhabited by lombards until the 11th century, when the Normans conquered it with relative ease..." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puglia
Attica (Greek: Αττική, Attikí; [atiˈci]) is an historical region of Greece, which includes Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea. The Attica region, the modern administrative region of Greece, is more extensive than the historical region and includes several islands and part of the Peloponnese.
The history of Attica is tightly linked with that of Athens, which, from the classical period, was one of the most important cities in the ancient world. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attica