Greek Vases : An Introduction

A discussion of painted vases. This book uses examples to explore the archaeological use of vases as chronological indicators, the use of the various shapes, their scenes of myth and everyday life and what these tell us, the way in which we think about their makers, and how they are treated as museum objects and archaeological evidence.

Greek Vases is a discussion of the painted vases which were an ever-present but understated feature of life in the Greek world between the end of the Bronze Age and the rise of Rome, and, in the modern world, an important component of museum collections since the eighteenth century. The book uses specific illustrated examples to explore the archaeological use of vases as chronological indicators, the use of the various shapes, their scenes of myth and everyday life and what these tell us, the way in which we think about their makers, and how they are treated today as museum objects and archaeological evidence.

Key features of the text include a brief, accessible introduction to the vases with school and university students in mind, discussion of the different approaches to vases adopted by their very different groups of users, and an approach designed to help viewers understand how to look at these fascinating objects for themselves.