Kylix

Phrynos Painter
black-figure painted cup
Athens, late 4th century B.C.

The Little Masters were a group of potters and vase painters who produced vases of the Attic black-figure style featuring well-executed figures in miniature on Kylix, a common type of wine-drinking cup. They were active in Athens in approximately 560 - 530 B.C. Phrynos Painter is the best known of this group, signing his name “Phrynos mi fece, sii lieto” [Phrynos made me, be of good cheer] and two similar cups of his are on display in The British Museum (London) and The Museum of Fine Arts (Boston). Wine-drinking rituals during a feast in Ancient Greece featured a series of preordained steps: wine was first drawn from a large cratere (vat) placed in the centre of the room with a ladle-like simpulum to fill oinochoai (pouring jugs) which were then used to fill the kylixes (chalices).

A drinking party, known as a symposium, followed strict rules on when and how to drink; epitomising a wise person’s mastery of moderation. However, when the practice was exported to Rome, this moderation gradually gave way to excess and the symposium lost its traditional characteristics; ritual carmina convivalia (drinking songs) became more bawdy and participants would get up and stumble around.