Krater (for mixing wine and water)	Kylix (drinking cup)	Amphora (for storing liquids)
Hydria (water pitcher)	Oinochoe (wine jug)	Lekythos (oil jar)

The ancient Greeks produced endless types of pottery. They made bowls, vases, drinking cups, etc.

Here are some types of ancient Greek pottery.

Many of these shapes seem familiar to us today because we see the same shapes in gift shops, pottery shops, and in our own homes.

The Greek potters decorated their pottery in two main styles.

The black-figure style was a method where the design was painted in black over the red natural color of the clay.

The red-figure method of decorating pottery began in the fifth century B.C. and shows figures and scenes left in the natural red of the clay. The background was covered with solid black.

This example of black figure pottery was made by painting black slip onto the red colored clay to make the design. It shows a battle scene, typical of Greek pottery.

This example shows black slip painted over the clay. The design was then scratched through the slip to show the color of the clay beneath.