Oenochoe

There are many different forms of ; Sir John Beazley distinguished ten types. The earliest is the olpe (), with no distinct shoulder and usually a handle rising above the lip. The "type 8 oenochoe" is what one would call a mug, with no single pouring point and a slightly curved profile. The chous (; : , choes) was a squat rounded form, with trefoil mouth. Small examples with scenes of children, as in the example illustrated, were placed in the graves of children. ==Characteristics of oenochoae==

Oenochoae may be decorated or undecorated. They typically have only one handle, which may be opposite a trefoil mouth and pouring spout. At its most distinct development, the trefoil mouth offers three alternative directions of pouring, one opposite the handle, and two to the side, an advantage at a crowded table not afforded by English pitchers. Their size also varies considerably; most, at up to tall, could be comfortably held and poured with one hand, but there are much larger examples. Most Greek oenochoae were in terracotta, but oenochoae of precious metals were not unknown, presumably among elements of society that could afford them, though but few have survived. Large versions in stone were sometimes used as grave markers, often carved with reliefs. In pottery, some oinochoai are "plastic", with the body formed as sculpture, usually one or more human heads. Prehistoric oenochoae were at first hand-made, unpolished, and undecorated. Low-economy oenochoae remained so, but gradually incised bands with simple motifs such as zig-zags and spirals, or burnished, monochrome surfaces, became common. In the Late Bronze Age the incised bands were painted for a more striking surface, and from then on the Greek oinochoai followed the traditional course of development for Greek decoration. Among the higher-quality pots, quite a few masterpieces have survived. ==Gallery of oenochoae==

Image:Tithonos_Eos_Louvre_G438.jpg|Oinochoe Shape 1, H. , diam. , Eos (Dawn) pursuing Tithonus. Attic red-figure, 470–460 BC. Image:Lampadedromia Louvre N3357.jpg|Oinochoe Shape 2, H. , diam. , Attic, 4th century Image:Oinoche_Anthesteria_Louvre_L71.jpg|Oinochoe Shape 3, H. , diam. Image:Javelin thrower Louvre G243.jpg|Oinochoe Shape 7, H. , diam. , Javelin thrower. Attic red-figured, . File:Geometric jug Antikensammlung Kiel B 21.jpg|Oinochoe Shape 8, 8th century BC Image:Olpe riders Louvre E647.jpg|Oinochoe Olpe, Corinthian, – BC, H. , diam. File:Greek - Wine Jug with Boy Riding Goat - Walters 4895.jpg|Oinochoe Chous, last decade of the 5th century BC, . Probably used in a child's grave. File:Attic vase in the shape of female head.jpg|Plastic version with woman's head File:7248 - Piraeus Arch. Museum, Athens - Funerary oinochoe - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 14 2009.jpg|Funerary oinochoe, with "farewell" scene with a deceased woman, third quarter of the 4th century BC File:Nova-Zagora-history-museum-oinochoe-1.jpg|Bronze oenochoe, Nova Zagora, Bulgaria, with a trefoil spout File:LMM - Oinochoe.jpg|Archaic period, 750–600 BC File:Berlín oinochoe erótico 01.JPG|Oinochoe by the Shuvalov Painter (Berlin F2414) with famous erotic scene File:Dipylon Inscription.JPG|The Dipylon inscription, BC, perhaps the earliest datable Greek writing File:Oinochoe, ibex lions, Otterlo Painter, late 7th c BC, Prague Kinsky, NM-H10 4794, 140818.jpg|Squat oinochoe, with ibex and lions, Otterlo Painter, late 7th c. BC File:Apulian red-figure Oinochoe by the White Saccos Workshop Antikensammlung Kiel B 904.jpg|Apulian red-figure oinochoe by the White Saccos Workshop File:Oinochoe Odysseus Ajax Louvre F340.jpg|Dispute between Ajax and Odysseus for Achilles' armour. Attic black-figure oinochoe, . Kalos inscription. H. , diam. . Oinochoe iberico cartagena.jpg|Iberian oinochoe with vegetal decoration, Cartagena, Spain ==See also==