Lebes Greek Pottery

Key Highlights

• The lebes is a form of ancient Greek pottery defined by its deep, rounded bowl shape.
• It was originally made of bronze and used as a cooking cauldron, often on a tripod stand.
• A special ceramic version, the lebes gamikos, was a key part of marriage ceremonies.
• These vessels were highly valued and even used as a reference for payment before coins.
• The two main types are the functional tripod lebes and the ceremonial lebetes gamikoi.
• Decorations on these pots often show wedding scenes from myth and daily life.

The lebes is an old Greek pot with an interesting story. This bowl is deep and has a round bottom. People in ancient Greek times did not use it just for cooking. The lebes played a part in both daily life and big events. At first, it was used as a simple pot for food. Later, it became known as the lebes gamikos and was used in weddings as a special vessel. The lebes shows us how the Greek people used the same objects for normal days and important moments. When you learn about the lebes, you see how much daily things and special traditions mean in Greek culture. This helps us all get a better feel for the world of ancient Greek life and their pottery.

Image by: National Museum in Warsaw

What is a Lebes in Greek Pottery?

A lebes is a type of ancient Greek pottery that has a deep bowl and a rounded bottom. Unlike many other Greek pots, this one does not have a foot. Instead, the lebes sits on a stand, often with three legs, called a tripod. This simple style has been around for a long time. It was used for many things in ancient Greek life.

There are a few shapes the lebes can take. You may see a plain bowl for cooking. Sometimes, you find a bronze cauldron set on a fancy stand. Some lebetes, called lebetes gamikoi, are highly decorated for use at weddings. These different forms of ancient Greek pottery all show something about life in ancient Greece and help us understand the main ancient Greek pottery types used in homes and sanctuaries.The next parts will talk more about the shape, what it is made from, and the many types of lebetes.

Definition of the Lebes

The lebes is a Greek pottery vase with a deep bowl that is shaped like a ball. It has a rounded bottom, so it cannot stand alone. People used a stand or a tripod to hold it up the right way. The lebes usually has a wide opening and a short neck that is easy to miss or see. This makes it easy to get what is in the vase.

This shape is one of the oldest that you will find in Athenian pottery and it appears often in collections of attic pottery from the Geometric and Archaic periods. There are examples of the lebes that go back as far as the eighth century BC. People kept making the lebes up to at least the fifth century BC. That shows the vase was popular and useful for a long time. While the look of the lebes changed a little over the years, the basic idea stayed the same—a deep bowl without a foot.

The size of the lebes could be different from one vase to another. Still, the diameter of the opening was often wide compared to how tall the vase is. Because of this simple shape and design, the vase could be used for many things, like holding food or liquid. The lebes was a good and useful vase in every greek home.

Materials and Construction Techniques

There be two main materials used to make lebetes in ancient Greek pottery. Bronze lebetes are strong and last a long time. You often find these in old greek places. Ceramic lebetes, on the other hand, have good detailed designs and nice soft shapes. Many lebetes come with tripod legs. This helps to keep the pottery up and gives it a nice look. Some have stands or feet that hold the vessel steady and help show off its greek style.

Understanding how these are made shows the work and beauty put into ancient Greek pottery, from shaping the clay to firing the vessels in an ancient pottery kiln. These old pots are not just for looks, but also show a mix of art and use.

Lebes, Cauldrons and other Cookware

At first, the lebes was just a cauldron and a basic cooking tool in the greek world. Its deep bowl helped with simmering stews or heating water. Later on, the lebes became a mixing bowl too, much like the krater, and people used it to mix wine and water for gatherings.

The lebes is different from other greek vessels that were made for liquids. The way it looks and what people used it for is unique.

• A hydria is a water jar that you can spot by looking for its three handles. Two handles help with carrying, and the other one is for pouring.
• A loutrophoros is slim, with a tall neck. It is made for carrying water at weddings and funerals for ritual baths.
• The lebes, unlike these, is a mixing bowl or cauldron with no foot, so you need a stand for it.

The hydria, lebes, and loutrophoros can all hold liquids. But the lebes is not made to carry water far or to keep it for long. Instead, people used it in one place for mixing drinks or preparing food at events. Its shape and use set it apart from other pots you could find in a greek home.

Image by: Dosseman

Main Types of Lebetes in Greek Pottery

There are several kinds of lebes in Greek pottery and each one adds a different piece to the wider picture of ancient Greek vase shapes used in daily life and ritual. The lebes gamikos is one of the best known. It is a bowl with handles and is very important in marriage ceremonies. Some other types you can find are the lebetes gamikoi and the tripod lebes. These come in different sizes and have various uses.

These special terracotta items are made with great care. They are used for both decoration and daily life. You can see the skill of ancient Greek people in them. They played a big part in many old Greek rituals.

Tripod Lebes

The tripod lebes is a special object. It is usually made from bronze, with the lebes part, which is a bowl, sitting on a stand with three legs. This bowl has two round handles that stand straight up. The legs connect to the stand with some extra pieces for support. Altogether, people called it a sacrificial tripod. This type of lebes started in early Greek times, during the Iron Age. Pottery versions of the lebes were made as early as the eighth century BCE and appear alongside early proto attic pottery in archaeological finds from sanctuaries and graves.

To make a tripod lebes, skilled workers used a tricky casting process. They made the bowl, the handles, and the legs one by one. Then, these parts had to be put together using rivets. This way of making the tripod shows the great skill of people who worked with metal back then. It also shows how much people cared about these objects.

At first, the lebes was just a cooking pot. Later, its use changed. Over time, there is proof that a tripod lebes was not used as a mixing bowl. These items were seen as so important that they were sometimes given as prizes in religious contests. When a person won, they were expected to give the tripod lebes to the god of that place instead of taking it back home.

Lebes Gamikos

The lebes gamikos has a special look. It is shaped like a bowl and has a wide stand, with nice handles on each side. You used to see this lebes in marriage ceremonies. It showed love and the bond that starts when two people get married. The bride would put it outside her door. It was not just for decoration but also carried holy things for the ceremony. The lebes helped make the day joyful. It brought family members and friends together. Everyone came to give their support and happiness to the bride and groom.

Lebes or Dinos? Names and terminology

When you study Greek pottery, you may notice that people use the words “lebes” and “dinos.” Some experts now use “dinos” for the lebes bowl that has no handles and no foot, and sits on a stand. However, there is no proof that ancient Greek people called the bowl by that name.

“Lebes” is the real word from ancient Greek for this bowl shape. It was a word for a deep bowl or cauldron. Now, experts make different labels for these bowls. This helps tell simple lebes bowls apart from the special ones used in rituals or big events.

The “stemmed lebes” shows this new way of naming ancient greek pots. It means the lebes gamikos is made so that the bowl and the stand are fused as one piece. The bowl has a stem or foot built into it. This is what makes it different from the usual lebes bowl, which must have a tripod to hold it up.

Image by: Zde

Lebes in Everyday Life and Ritual Practice

The lebes was an important pot in ancient Greek life. People used it for many things. It went from being a cooking pot to a symbol in rituals. This shows how daily items could take on deeper meaning. The lebes could be a mixing bowl one time, and the center of a wedding the next.

The ancient Greeks used the lebes for food in the kitchen. They used it to mix wine when friends got together. It held holy water for weddings. The lebes was around for big moments in people’s lives. The gamikos lebes vessel is one example of how special it was during celebrations. Let’s take a closer look at what this pot could do.

From Cooking Pot to Mixing Bowl

The lebes was first used as a cooking pot. In the beginning, people made this Greek vessel out of bronze. It worked well as a cauldron for cooking food, with its deep round body making it good for heating liquids and simmering meals over fire.

Greek culture changed over time, and the lebes did too. By the classical period, people started using it as a mixing bowl during symposiums. These were Greek parties for men where guests drank together. Vase paintings show the lebes sitting on its stand, being used to mix wine and water for their guests. This was when the lebes changed from just being a simple tool to something used for social events.

The lebes was not built for carrying things like hydria or amphora vessels were. Its design, which did not have a foot, made it best as a stationary service piece. People would put it in the middle of the room, and it became the center of attention at these gatherings. What made the lebes special was how it was used as a mixing bowl, which was different from pots that people used to carry liquids.

The Lebes in Wedding Ceremonies

During wedding ceremonies in ancient Greek times, the lebes gamikos is very important. Family members often fill it with water for purification. This shows that the bride is getting ready for a new life with the groom. When all the family comes together, they take part in a ritual sprinkle, using the lebes to bless the bride and her future. This unique terracotta piece is more than just useful. It stands for love and a promise between two people. That is why it is a big part of Greek marriage traditions.

Religious and Funerary Contexts

Religious traditions in ancient Greece often used pottery, and the lebes was an important part of many rituals and offerings. You could find these vessels in places dedicated to the gods. The lebes played a big part in key events and was linked to the ceremonies held for different deities. People in Greece also used the lebes along with other special pottery, like the loutrophoros. This one was for holding water and used for libations. These links show just how important the lebes was in ancient greek culture. It was not only a piece of art but was also useful and played a real part in the spiritual life in ancient greek and ancient greece.

Image by: Cincinnati Art Museum

Parting Thoughts

The lebes is a good example of how one object can link many parts of a culture. In ancient Greece, people used a bronze lebes like a cauldron that was worth many oxen. Later, they made lebes with careful paintings and used them for weddings. The lebes shows us about the economy, how people lived, and their special practices in the greek world. The change from the basic lebes to the lebes gamikos tells how simple things can mean more over time. This shape from greece still helps us learn about ancient greek pottery and the people who made and used it adding one more layer to the long history of Greek pottery.

Feature Image by: Zde