This Mycenaean Krater is a ceramic vase used for watering down wine dated to the 13th-century BCE.
It is an example of Late Helladic ceremonial ware used as a mixing bowl for the dilution of wine with water, a custom which the ancient Greeks believed to be a sign of civilized behavior.
This Mycenaean Krater is decorated with representational floral motifs.
Wine Dilution
Drinking undiluted wine was considered inappropriate in ancient Greece, and drinkers of undiluted wine characterize the drinker as a drunkard and someone who lacked restraint and character.
Ancient writers prescribed that a mixing ratio of 1:3 wine to water was ideal for a long conversation. A ratio of 1:2 was used for entertaining celebrations.
A ratio of 1:1 was only suited for occasions of uninhibited behavior and to be rarely indulged. This practice of the ancient Greeks indicates that ancient wines were produced to a high alcoholic degree by using dehydrated grapes.
Such wines would have been able to withstand the effects of aging and the vagaries of transportation better than modern wines, which have a lower alcoholic percentage.
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Greece, spanning about 1600–1100 BC.
It represented the first advanced civilization in mainland Greece, with its palatial states.
Mycenaean Greece perished with the collapse of Bronze Age culture in the eastern Mediterranean, followed by the Greek Dark Ages, a transitional period leading to Archaic Greece.
The Mycenaean period became the historical setting of much ancient Greek literature and mythology, including the Trojan Epic Cycle.
Mycenaean Krater
- Title: Mycenaean Krater
- Date: 13th century BC
- Culture: Mycenaean
- Period: Late Helladic II B period
- Geography: Greece
- Museum: Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens
History of Wine: Ancient Greece
A brief history of alcohol
Explore the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art
- Mycenaean Krater
- Phi-type and Psi-type Mycenaean Female Figurines
- Corinthian Helmets
- “Stargazer” Figurine – Kilia-type
History of Wine and Art Series: Greek Vase Paintings
A Tour of Museums in Athens
- Acropolis Museum
- National Archaeological Museum
- Benaki Museum
- Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art
- Byzantine and Christian Museum
- Hellenic Motor Museum
- National Historical Museum, Athens
- Museum of the Ancient Agora
- Syntagma Metro Station Archaeological Collection
- Numismatic Museum of Athens
- Athens War Museum
- Jewish Museum of Greece
- Athens University Museum
Dionysis, Wine, and Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece Symposium – A Thirst For Art
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“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom.”
– Greek Proverb
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Photo Credit: 1) JOM
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