Terracotta column-krater (vase for mixing wine and water) 460 BC

This terracotta column-krater was made in ancient Greece as a vessel for mixing wine and water, a central practice of social and ritual life. Painted vases like this one are a window into the values and social structures of ancient Greece. This krater’s figures, rendered in the red-figure technique, participate in some kind of ritual or ceremony. The clothing and hairstyles suggest these are elite members of society. This vase would have been used at a symposium, an all-male drinking party that served as a key institution in ancient Greece. This is where philosophical ideas were debated, poetry was performed, and political alliances were forged. The symposium was therefore a space where cultural norms were both reinforced and contested. The work of historians helps us understand the cultural context of objects like this one. Through archaeology, ancient literature, and analysis of imagery on vases, we can come to understand the practices and the cultural values that underpinned ancient Greek society. Art like this reminds us that culture is always produced within particular social and institutional contexts.