Art Institute of Chicago

Column-Krater (Mixing Bowl)

Attributed to a Member of the Earlier Mannerist Group

Date

about 460 BCE

Medium

terracotta, red-figure

Culture

Athens

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The Greeks diluted their wine by blending it with water. The master of ceremonies at the symposium, or drinking party for men, determined the ratio of wine to water, both of which were poured into a large mixing bowl, like this one. This particular shape is called a column krater after its columnar handles. It is decorated with a mythological scene. Salmoneus, king of Elis, pretended to be Zeus by imitating the sound of thunder and the appearance of lightning. Angered at his impudence, here Zeus strikes Salmoneus dead with a real lightning bolt.

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