A kantharos (; ) or cantharus () is a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking. Although almost all surviving examples are in Greek pottery, the shape, like many Greek vessel types, probably originates in metalwork. In its iconic "Type A" form, it is characterized by its deep bowl, tall pedestal foot, and pair of high-swung handles which extend above the lip of the pot. The Greek words kotylos (κότῦλος, masculine) and kotyle (κοτύλη, feminine) are other ancient names for this same shape.[.]
The kantharos is a cup used to hold wine, probably both for drinking and for ritual use in and Sacrifice. The kantharos seems to be an attribute of Dionysus, the god of wine, who was associated with Vegetation deity and fertility.[George W. Elderkin, Kantharos: Studies in Dionysiac and Kindred Cult (Princeton: Princeton University Press 1924):4.]
As well as a banqueting cup, they could be used in pagan rituals as a symbol of rebirth or resurrection, the immortality offered by wine, "removing in moments of ecstasy the burden of self-consciousness and elevating man to the rank of deity".[Elderkin, Kantharos: Studies in Dionysiac and Kindred Cult, 2–6.]
Gallery
File:Bucchero kantharos Terme.jpg|Bucchero kantharos (Latial culture, 830–730 BC)
Image:Geometric kantharos Staatliche Antikensammlungen 8501.jpg|Geometric art funerary kantharos (Attica, BC)
File:Kantharos sphinxes Louvre CA1339.jpg|Black-figure kantharos with Sphinx (Boeotia, BC)
File:Boeotian kantharos Louvre MNC670.jpg|Black-glaze kantharos with Boeotian inscription (Thespiae, 450–425 BC)
File:Janiform kantharos Louvre H44.jpg|Side view of janiform kantharos with Heracles and woman (480–460 BC)
File:Satyr kantharos Met 27.122.9.jpg|Satyr side of a kantharos by Aison (420 BC)
File:Canthare argent MAN St Germain.jpg|Silver kantharos (Gaul, present-day Alise-Sainte-Reine, latter 1st century BC)
File:Head-Kantharos of a Female Faun or Io (?) LACMA 50.8.25.jpg|Iliupersis Painter (Southern Italy, active 375–350 BC), Head-Kantharos of a Female Faun or Io (?), red-figure pottery
File:Canthare janiforme 01.JPG|Janiform kantharos, Etruscan art, second half of the 4th century BC
File:Canthare janiforme 02.JPG|Kantharos Janus. Kantharos plastic double head: satyr head (shown here) and female head, group Chiusi, 2nd half of the fourth century BC. BC, terracotta.
File:Kantharos BM CAT Vases E786.png|kantharos, made in Athens, BC, British Museum
See also
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Kylix
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Rhyton
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Ancient Greek vase painting
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Pottery of ancient Greece
External links
