The Evolution of Greek Vases
An illustrated history of Greek vases and their changing styles.
From: 1000 B.C.E. To: 300 B.C.E.
Location: Athens, Greece
Origins of Ancient Greek Pottery
Few artistic styles are so iconic as the black-and-orange paintings of Ancient Greek pottery. Their flat, relief-style depictions of people and animals immediately call to mind mythical heroes, great athletes, and a long-lost civilization.
These vases offer some of our only glimpses into Ancient Greek painting—most pigments on wood or fabric fade quickly. So why have the vases survived? Besides the stability of ceramics, the answer appears to be sheer quantity. Vases were not just decorations in the Greek world; they also powered Mediterranean trade. Bulk exports like wine, olive oil, and grains were all stored in amphora vessels, produced in large numbers by pottery workshops. Discarded pottery shards found throughout Europe and the Mediterranean have given archaeologists physical proof of the extent of Greek trade.
The majority of these vases were not painted ornately, but the workshops also turned out hundreds of thousands of vases for display in the home or as funerary goods. These vases show us not only how people lived and saw the world in Ancient Greece, but also the progress of its artists. They carried on pottery traditions from older civilizations like the Mycenaeans and Phoenicians and soon made the craft their own.
Eras of Ancient Greek Pottery
The height of Greek pottery stretched from around 1000 to 300 BCE, led mainly by Athenian artists. Works from this time are notable for their black and orange color palette, produced either by black paint on reddish pottery, or vice-versa. This time is generally divided into three periods: Geometric, Archaic, and Classical. Pottery produced after 300 BCE falls into the Hellenistic style ushered in by Alexander the Great. Later, Roman artists would also adopt and mimic Greek styles in ceramics.
The Geometric Period
The Geometric Period in Ancient Greek Art took place between around 1000 and 700 BCE. It coincides with a time known as the ‘Greek Dark Ages,’ a somewhat poorly documented transition between the fall of the Mycenaeans (among other major civilizations like the Hittites) and the rise of the Greek city-states. The beginnings of the familiar Greek pottery style can be seen in examples like the vase above. But rather than realistic depictions of people, as we see later, these vases tended to sport intricate, abstract patterns.
The Archaic Period
The Archaic Period saw the Ancient Greek city-states flourish into seafaring trading, colonizing, and cultural powers. It’s important to remember that the poleis, or city-states, were never politically or culturally unified. Hundreds of independent cities traded and warred with each other. The two most dominant powers, Athens and Sparta, came to embody ideals of diplomacy and warfare, respectively. Much of the pottery associated with Ancient Greece today was developed and produced by Athenian artists, though Corinth also maintained a competitive industry. The Etruscans, a heavily Greek-influenced civilization in Italy, also produced and imported large amounts of pottery in these styles.
During the Archaic Period, vase paintings began to emphasize humans, mythical heroes, and gods. Most vases kept the reddish background of their clay, with figures painted in black and white. These are known as black-figure pottery. The alternative, red-figure pottery, grew extremely popular toward the end of the 6th century BCE. Improving techniques, such as making small cuts in the clay before firing, allowed finer details.
The Archaic Period lasted from about 700 to 500 BCE. It ended with the increasing threat of the Persian Empire and the founding of the Hellenic League to fight against it.
The Classical Period
The Classical Period, as its name suggests, represents Ancient Greece at the high point of its philosophy, arts, and cultural influence. Athens in particular thrived during this time, establishing the brief but much-studied Athenian democracy. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle set the foundations for later ‘Western’ thought. Athens and Sparta, once allies against Persia, turned against each other in a series of costly wars. And, to the north, the powerful Kingdom of Macedon would eventually produce a conqueror to unite the Greek world at last.
In the realm of ceramics, red-figure pottery came to dominate the market. Classical Greek pottery focused on nude human forms, especially male, and perfected the fine details of the Archaic. But it was also the last hurrah for this style of pottery, save for later imitations and reproductions. After Alexander shook the world and Rome rose in the West, new pottery styles began to replace the Greek archetype. Ceramic vessels gave way to metal among the elites, creating less demand for the workshops of the poleis. The red-figure and black-figure pottery became antiques, rather than the daily tools of a living society.
Today, we can still admire the surviving vases of Ancient Greece for their beauty, technical skill, and the organization needed to produce them in such large numbers. They reveal fine details of life in the Mediterranean region during a key period of history. But we should never forget that they were once also a common part of daily life, much like you might keep cabinets, drawers, and plastic totes in your own home. What will museums of the future say about our own storage solutions?
Further Reading:
Bundrick, Sheramy D. Athens, Etruria, and the Many Lives of Greek Figured Pottery. University of Wisconsin Press, 2019.
Rasmussen, Tom B. and Nigel Spivey, eds. Looking at Greek Vases. Cambridge University Press, 1991.
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