Greek Mythology on Pottery

Greek pottery often featured Greek myths.

Ancient art shows what was important to early humans. In the case of the Greeks, their surviving artwork -- pottery -- show scenes from daily life, but also from Greek mythology. Sometimes, the themes even intertwined on the same pot.

Geography

The decorations on the pottery from two cities, Athens and Corinth, particularly stand out. In Corinth, the pottery was influenced by travelers from West Asia. However, the Athenians were not as interested in the West Asian style of pottery as the Corinthians were, so the Athenians created scenes taken from mythology.

Primary Themes

Greek myths began appearing on pottery during the Geometric age. The age was given this name, according to Lois Fichner-Rathus, because of the geometric designs on the pottery. Scenes from Homer's Iliad and Greek mythology appeared on Athenian pottery.

Daily Life and Mythology

According to Lois Fichner-Rathus in "Understanding Art," scenes of mythology and daily life sometimes blended on the pottery. Figures of women weavers from the Iliad and the Odyssey are shown on the pottery, and according to Fichner, this not only showed the role of women in society, but also that women had a creative outlet -- weaving.

Types

Most of the scenes of mythology appear on pottery from the Geometric, Black-Figure and Red-Figure ages.

Other Myths

In addition to the Iliad and the Odyssey, other myths show up on Greek pottery, including Niobe's slain children, Artemis and Actaeon and Aias and Achilleus, according to the University of South Florida Web site.

References

• History for Kids: Greek Pottery
• Encyclopedia Britannica
• University of South Florida: Greek Pottery

Resources

• Hellenic Art