Flattened unwrapped image from a spouted wine mixing vessel, or krater, on display at the British Museum. In ancient Greece kraters of undiluted wine would typically occupy the centre a room at a symposium. This one is in the Athenian Geometric style and is dates to 735-720 BC. The image shows a man leading a woman aboard a Theban bireme, a two-deck oared warship, or galley. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes, had relatively high speed, meticulous construction, strength, and depending on the number of rows of oars, were called uniremes, biremes, triremes, quadriremes, etc. They were usually fitted with a bronze ram at the bow, designed to punch a hole into an enemy vessel. The scene may depict Theseus and Ariadne fleeing Crete, or Paris abducting Helen and precipitating the Trojan war. |