athenian painted pottery

panathenaic amphoras

A special type of vase was the Panathenaic Amphora. They are large - standing about 3 ft high - and the shape is characteristic - and they were always made using the Black Figure technique - even after Red Figure had completely taken over for everything else. They were awarded as prizes in the All-Athenian Games - a winner would take home several, filled with best Attic olive-oil. They were kept as souvenirs long after the use had been used: many have been carefully repaired.

All have a representation of the event on one side, with Athena on the other. Frequently they bear the legend "I am one of the prizes from Athens", and the archon's name enables them to be dated accurately.

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