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  Ancient Greek Pottery

  An extremely important and long-standing industry in ancient Greece was the ceramics industry, giving rise to the huge number of pieces of pottery archaeologists and historians pore over. In reality, pottery production can almost be seen as a combination of a natural resources-based economy and a production-based economy,as the primary material-good clay-was a result of the natural geology. However, not all city-states made equal use of their clay resources, and only two-Corinth and Athens-were really active in pottery export in the Archaic Age (750 -500 BC) and following.

  As with weaving,pottery no doubt began as,and in many places remained,a household industry, probably practiced exclusively in the summer when the clay and kindling wood were drier and easier to transport and burn But evidence of a more concentrated effort at production for export appeared already in the Bronze Age(3000-1 100 B c.)and continued in the Dark Ages (1100-800 B c ),as with the copious export of Euboean scyphi (drinking cups) to such locations in the Mediterranean as Cyprus, the Levant, and even Italy. These were followed by the Corinthian cups and scyphi,and finally the Athenian kylix (a shallow type of wine goblet). The demand for Greek vessels to drink out of appears to have stemmed from a desire for Greek things to drink,and amphorae and pithoi (storage vessels), especially from Attica,also proliferated in the Mediterranean.

  This need for commercial production led to the rise of workshops and factories.Such workshops were usually family-owned businesses run by the head of the household,his sons (and possibly daughters), and, depending on the size of the industry,additional servants and/or slaves. The general assumption concerning many professional potters is that they were not citizens of the cities in which they worked. In Athens, these were the metics, or resident aliens, as well as inscribed pottery shard naming the Phoenician goddess Astarte suggests that there were Phoenician immigrants

  Happily for modern researchers, many artisans signed their works.This gives an idea not only of who these ancient ceramicists were, but also of how labor was divided Modern scholars have the names of a few potter-families from sixth-century B c Athens: Nearkhos, who worked with his sons Tleson and Ergoteles: Ergotimos, who was succeeded by his son Eukheiros (literally, "Good Hand" ); and Amasis and his son Kleophrades, who produced pottery from the mid-sixth century B c to the dawn of the fifth.The signatures indicate,however, that although these men fashioned and fired the ceramics, others were employed to paint the more elaborate figural vases.Such artists traveled around to different workshops,like the sixth-century Epictetus,whose name as a painter accompanied about six different names of potters.

  Starting around 550 B.C., numbers were scratched onto the bottoms of some vases,often appearing after the name of the vase in full or abbreviated form. These may have been batch numbers, indicating groups of pots fired together and intended for specific merchants or markets. The merchants were also indicated by markings on some vases, whereby a signature sign or abbreviation indicated to which exporter or importer in the receiving city the pottery was destined In the sixth century B c ., such merchants were frequently lomans (Greeks from cities on the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor), who were responsible for much of the import-export business at Naucratis in the south and Gravisca in the west.

  But the most important markings from the point of view of economics are the actual"price tags" etched into some pots. An important difference in the price occurred between painted and undecorated vases, with a markup of anywhere from 25 to 50 percent for the figural vases. Clearly, this was because the pottery manufacturer had to pay for the additional labor.

  1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is true of Greek pottery?

  A. Pottery was produced only in Corinth and Athens because they were the only areas with the necessary clay resources

  B. The huge number of pottery pieces surviving today indicates that many city-states all over ancient Greece produced pottery for export.

  C. Pottery production in Greece was made possible by the good natural resources of that area

  D. Pottery was not really an important industry in ancient Greece because so few city-states were active in it.

  2. The word "exclusively" in the passage is closest in meaning to

  A. rarely

  B. only

  C. especially

  D. typically

  3. According to paragraph 2, weaving and pottery in ancient Greece were similar in which of the following ways?

  A. Both originally took place in individual households rather than commercial workshops

  B. were probably practiced only during the summer months.

  C. Both produced goods that were used only in the houses in which they were made.

  D. Both produced goods for export from as early as the Bronze and Dark Ages

  4. The word "copious" in the passage is closest in meaning to

  A. Abundant

  B. Occasional

  C. Profitable

  D. Combined

  5. Why does the author mention "the Athenian kylix"?

  A. To give an example of a type of ancient pottery produced for export by Greek potters

  B. To emphasize how great a number of Greek city-states produced pottery for export

  C. To compare the pottery produced in Athens to the pottery made in Corinth

  D. To explain why there was such a demand for Greek drinking vessels

  6. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that amphorae and pithoi were

  A. not produced by Greek city-states that made cups and goblets

  B. imported by the Greek city-states from other locations in the Mediterranean

  C. used by the Greeks to store and export liquids

  D. not in demand as Greek export products

  7. What is NOT mentioned in paragraph 3 as a characteristic of ancient Greek professional potters?

  A. They were generally not citizens of the city in which they worked

  B. They often worked in workshops and factories run by family-owned businesses.

  C. They were sometimes servants or slaves

  D. They probably had a higher social status in Corinth than in Athens

  8. Why does the author mention "the Phoenician goddess Astarte"?

  A. To contrast the place of origin of professional potters in Corinth and Athens

  B. To provide evidence that suggests that professional potters were often not citizens of the Greek city-states in which they worked

  C. To illustrate the primary purpose for pottery production in Corinth

  D. To provide an example of the type of pots that were produced in the ancient Greek pottery industry

  9. The word "elaborate" in the passage is closest in meaning to

  A. beautiful

  B. expensive

  C. complicated

  D. numerous

  10. According to paragraph 5, numbers scratched on the bottoms of vases probably indicate

  A. the year in which the pottery was made

  B. the importer or exporter to whom the pottery was destined

  C. the group of pots that were fired together and intended for a specific market

  D. the name of the vase in an abbreviated form

  11. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways or leave out essential information

  [ Paragraph 5]Starting around 550 B.C., numbers were scratched onto the bottoms of some vases, often appearing after the name of the vase in full or abbreviated form.These may have been batch numbers, indicating groups of pots fired together and intended for specific merchants or markets. The merchants were also indicated by markings on some vases, whereby a signature sign or abbreviation indicated to which exporter or importer in the receiving city the pottery was destined. In the sixth century BC ., such merchants were frequently lomans (Greeks from cities on the Mediterranean coast of Asia Minor), who were responsible for much of the import-export business at Naucratis in the south and Gravisca in the west.

  A. Merchants signed some vases in order to indicate to which city they intended to export the pottery.

  B. On some vases, the specific merchant receiving the pottery was indicated by a signature marking

  C. The merchants receiving the pottery often added their own signature signs or abbreviations to those already indicated.

  D. On some vases? there were both markings to designate merchants and signature signs to indicate the intended destination for the vase

  12. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 5 about numbers scratched onto the bottom of Greek vases?

  A. The numbers were not found on vases destined for Naucratis and Gravisca.

  B. The numbers do not appear oft vases made before 550 B.C.

  C. The numbers were used only by Ionian merchants.

  D. The numbers scratched on a pot increased the pot' s value.

  13. Look at the four squares [ ] t hat indicate where t he following sentence could be added to the passage

  These artists therefore did not create the ceramics and were not often attached to any one workshop where the pots were being made.

  Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a square [] to add the sentence to the passage.

  [Paragraph 4] Happily for modern researchers,many artisans signed their works.[A]This gives an idea not only of who these ancient ceramicists were,but also of how labor was divided.[B] Modern scholars have the names of a few potter- families from sixth-century B c Athens: Nearkhos, who worked with his sons Tleson and Ergoteles:Ergotimos, who was succeeded by his son Eukheiros (literally, "Good Hand" );and Amasis and his son Kleophrades, who produced pottery from the mid-sixth century B c to the dawn of the fifth. [C] The signatures indicate, however,that although these men fashioned and fired the ceramics, others were employed to paint the more elaborate figural vases. [ D] Such artists traveled around to different workshops,like the sixth-century Epictetus, whose name as a painter accompanied about six different names of potters.

  14. Ceramics was an important industry in ancient Greece that gave rise to the many pieces of pottery that researchers currently study.

  Answer Choices

  A. Though at first a household activity, in some city-states Greek pottery became an industry exporting products all over the Mediterranean.

  B. All of the Greek city-states used their clay resources to build an active pottery production and exporting industry.

  C. Professional potters worked in family-run workshops and factories and were often not citizens of the city in which they worked.

  D. Different markings found on pots have revealed the identity of potters and various economic factors involved in the ancient ceramic industry.

  E. The making of pots originally took place only in the summer because the clay and kindling were drier and easier to transport and burn.

  F. Markings on pottery have shown that elaborately painted vases were made in the Potters' Quarter, the ceramic working area in Corinth

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