Amphora Pottery

Black-figured amphora, British Museum, London

Amphora Pottery

An Amphora (Greek: amphoreus) is a jar with two vertical handles used in antiquity for the storage and transportation of foodstuffs such as wine and olive oil. The name derives from the Greek amphi-phoreus meaning 'carried on both sides', although the Greeks had adopted the design from the eastern Mediterranean. Used by all the great trading nations from the Phoenicians to the Romans, the sturdy-walled amphora spread throughout the ancient world and they have become an important survivor in the archaeological record providing clues as to dates of sites, trade relations, and everyday diet. 

Terracotta amphora, Metropoiltan Museum of Art (MET), New York 

The almost miraculous Greek victory in 480 B.C. over the invading Persians, who were backed by the resources of a powerful empire, was the theme of much art produced in Greece during the first half of the fifth century B.C. Most images cast the battle in mythological terms; this is one of the few that show a Greek actually fighting a Persian 

(Reverse View)

This amphora would have been filled with wine. 

The vase painter known as "The Affecter" had a long career, beginning before 550 BCE and lasting into the 520s. His style is one of the most easily recognized in all of Greek vase-painting, characterized by thick figures with tiny heads and exaggerated, angular joints. Both sides of the amphora show scenes of the messenger-god Hermes leading the wine-god Dionysus towards a woman (perhaps Ariadne, wife of Dionysus) who welcomes them, in the company of satyrs. 

The Panathenaia was a festival organized in Athens to celebrate the city’s patron goddess, Athena. The prize for winning a competition was a large, black-figure amphora filled with olive oil. 

This example shows a footrace, which is one of the earliest known events in the Panathenaic games.

Information compiled in this site come from the following sources; British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institute, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Acropolis Museum, Encyclopedia Britannica, Egypt Time Travel, Journey to Egypt, Getty Institute, Boston Museum of Fine Art 

If you have edits you would like to suggest, please email Michael.Veley@ship.k12.pa.us