🍷 Oinochoe

The oinochoe is an ancient Greek jug for pouring wine. In Greek the word means wine-pourer. It is a small vessel with one handle and a narrow neck, used to scoop wine and pour it into cups.

In ancient Greece wine was drunk diluted. It was mixed with water in a large vessel, the krater. Then the oinochoe was used to take the mixture from the krater and pour it for guests at a feast called a symposium. So the oinochoe was an everyday object used by servants and hosts alike.

Oinochoai were made of clay, sometimes of metal. Clay jugs were painted with patterns and scenes from myth. Today museums keep them, and scholars learn from them about the life of the ancient Greeks. Many had a specially shaped lip so that the wine poured neatly.

The oinochoe belongs to the topic of ancient Greece and wine and stands next to the krater. It is one of the simple objects that show how people drank wine thousands of years ago.