Lekythos | ANCIENT GREEK POTTERY FORM

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LYKYTHOS | ANCIENT GREEK POTTERY FORM The lykythos (or lykythion) was a vessel with a single handle, a narrow neck, a deep mouth and usually a cylindrical body. It was mainly used to store the perfume oils of women and athletes. They were also used as vessels for offering oil to the dead (white lekyths) or as markers on graves. "Lykythos, plural lykythoi, in ancient Greek pottery, oil flask used at baths and gymnasiums and for funerary offerings, characterized by a long cylindrical body gracefully tapered to the base and a narrow neck with a loop-shaped handle. The word lekythos (as well as its plural form, lekythoi) is known from ancient sources. The Athenians seem to have used the term generically to mean any small oil flask. The lekythos appeared about 590 BCE decorated in the black-figure technique." - Britannica, 09/06/20