Krater. A krater or crater was a large vase in Ancient Greece, particularly used for watering down wine.
Further information: Ancient Greek vase painting and Pottery of ancient Greece 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Thus, the wine-water mixture would be withdrawn from the krater with other vessels, such as a kyathos, an amphora, or a kylix. 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, originates from the krasis of wine and water in kraters. Kraters were glazed on the interior to make the surface of the clay more impervious for holding water, and possibly for aesthetic reasons, since the interior could easily be seen.
The exterior of kraters often depicted scenes from Greek life, such as the Attic Late 1 Krater, which was made between 760 and 735 B.C.E. This object was found among other funeral objects, and its exterior depicted a funeral procession to the gravesite. At the beginning of each symposium a symposiarch, 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
Further information: Ancient Greek vase painting and Pottery of ancient Greece 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Thus, the wine-water mixture would be withdrawn from the krater with other vessels, such as a kyathos, an amphora, or a kylix. 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, originates from the krasis of wine and water in kraters. Kraters were glazed on the interior to make the surface of the clay more impervious for holding water, and possibly for aesthetic reasons, since the interior could easily be seen.
The exterior of kraters often depicted scenes from Greek life, such as the Attic Late 1 Krater, which was made between 760 and 735 B.C.E. This object was found among other funeral objects, and its exterior depicted a funeral procession to the gravesite. At the beginning of each symposium a symposiarch, 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
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