Terracotta bell-krater (vase for mixing wine and water) 390 BC

This terracotta bell-krater, or vase for mixing wine and water, was made in ancient Greece by an anonymous artist. The scene depicts Dionysus, the god of wine and theatre, surrounded by revellers. Wine played an important part in ancient Greek culture as a key feature of the symposium. A symposium was a drinking party for upper-class men, where wine was mixed with water in a krater like this one. These events had strict rules and rituals, with a ‘symposiarch’ elected to decide the strength of the wine and the entertainment. The symposium was a key site for the creation of social bonds, but it also excluded women and slaves. Historians use material culture and social rituals to shed light on the social structures of ancient Greece. By looking at objects like this krater, as well as texts, we can understand more about the values and beliefs of the people who made and used them. Art like this is therefore contingent on its social and institutional context.