Greek+Pottery+text

Just take a moment to think about all the different containers you have at home. A 21st century kitchen will probably have stainless steel saucepans and cutlery, a collection of glassware, and lots of plastic containers. It will also have plates, mugs and jugs, and although these won't look like the pots of Ancient Greece they are made from the same raw material - clay. Clay was vitally important in Ancient Greece. It was used to make all sorts of domestic vessels; cups, jars, wine bottles, buckets and vases. Many beautiful pots have survived in good condition and we can still see them in collections in museums. Some are decorated with scenes from the Greek myths whilst others have pictures of everyday life and can tell us about the way ordinary people lived. So what would have happened in an Athenian Greek pottery all those years ago? The master potter would have worked with several assistants who helped him in all the stages of transforming a lump of clay into a beautiful pot.
 * __ Greek Pottery __**

First of all the clay was dug out of the ground. Back at the workshop it was mixed with water and left to settle. Lumps of rock and shells sank to the bottom of the mixture and the finest particles of clay rose to the top. All the excess water was removed from the clay by evaporation. It was then stored in a dark room until it reached the right consistency for the potter to work with. The potter took a chunk of clay and centred it on the wheel. As the assistant steadily turned the wheel, the potter would work the clay with his hands gradually pulling it into shape. He would make the foot and handle for the pot separately. Part of the skill was to attach these in such a way that no one could see the join. The pot would be left in the sun to dry until it was leather hard.
 * __Preparing the clay__**
 * __Shaping the pot__**

After a while the painter would be called in to decorate the pots, probably with a favourite story. It might be a scene from the Odyssey, or feature one of the gods such as Apollo, or a hero like Achilles or Heracles. First the painter drew the outline in charcoal Then he used a 'slip' (a clay solution), to paint the silhouettes. Next he cut into the clay with a sharp tool to add more detail to his drawing. The pots were carefully stacked inside the kiln. A fire blazed away until the temperature reached about 950 degrees centigrade. The deep colours would show as the pots hardened in the fire. The potter placed a piece of silver next to the pots and this melted when the kiln had reached the right temperature. Did you know that the Greeks used to describe the different parts of the pots with names of parts of the human body? For example - handles were called ears and bases were called feet. We still use some of the terms today like mouth, lip, neck, shoulder, and body. The mouth is the opening at the top. The lip is the edge of the pot right around the mouth. Below the lip is the neck. The shoulder is where the neck expands to the size of the body and the body is the main part of the pot.
 * __Firing the pot__**
 * __Picking up a pot by its ears__**