A kantharos /ˈkænθəˌrɒs/ (Ancient Greek: κάνθαρος) or cantharus /ˈkænθərəs/ is a type of ancient Greek cup used for drinking. Although almost all surviving examples are in Greek pottery, the shape, like many Greek vessel types, probably originates in metalwork. In its iconic "Type A" form, it is characterized by its deep bowl, tall pedestal foot, and pair of high-swung handles which extend above the lip of the pot. The Greek words kotylos (κότῦλος, masculine) and kotyle (κοτύλη, feminine) are other ancient names for this same shape.^[1]

The kantharos is a cup used to hold wine, possibly for drinking or for ritual use or offerings. The kantharos seems to be an attribute of Dionysos, the god of wine, who was associated with vegetation and fertility.^[2]

As well as a banqueting cup, they could be used in pagan rituals as a symbol of rebirth or resurrection, the immortality offered by wine, "removing in moments of ecstasy the burden of self-consciousness and elevating man to the rank of deity".^[3]

Gallery

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  Bucchero kantharos (Latial culture, 830–730 BC)
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  Geometric funerary kantharos (Attica, c. 780 BC)
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  Black-figure kantharos with sphinxes (Boeotia, c. 550 BC)
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  Black-glaze kantharos with Boeotian inscription (Thespiae, 450–425 BC)
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  Side view of janiform kantharos with Heracles and woman (480–460 BC)
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  Satyr side of a janiform kantharos by Aison (420 BC)
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  Silver cantharus (Gaul, present-day Alise-Sainte-Reine, latter 1st century BC)
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  Iliupersis Painter (South Italy, active 375–350 BC), Head-Kantharos of a Female Faun or Io (?), red-figure pottery
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  Janiform kantharos, Etruscan pottery, second half of the 4th century BC
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  Kantharos Janus. Kantharos plastic double head: satyr head (shown here) and female head, group Chiusi, 2nd half of the fourth century BC. BC, terracotta.
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  kantharos, made in Athens, about 470 BC, British Museum