d with the
literary descriptions.

We have then two questions to consider in this section: firstly, the
uses to which painted vases were put by the Greeks; secondly, the
classical names of the various forms of plain and painted pottery
which have come down to us.

As we have seen, the majority of painted vases have been discovered in
tombs, which at first sight seems to suggest that they were made
principally for sepulchral purposes; but that they also had their uses
in daily life as much as plain pottery or earthenware cannot be
doubted. They stand, in fact, in the same relation to the commoner
wares of their day as china or porcelain does with us, being largely
ornamental only, but used by wealthy people or on special occasions
for the purposes of daily life, as for instance at banquets or in
religious ceremonies.

Vases were used as measures, as in the case of a small one-handled cup
in the British Museum (see fig. 15), found at Cerigo (_Cythera_) and
inscribed with the word [Greek: hemikotylion] or "half-kotyle,"
equivalent to about one-fourth of a pint. Another vase found at Athens
is supposed to represent the official [Greek: choinix] or quart,
having a capacity of 0.96 litre; it is inscribed [Greek: demosion] or
"official measure," and bears the official stamp of the state.
Conversely many names of vases, such as the _amphora_ or the _kotyle_,
were adopted to indicate measures of capacity for liquid or dry
commodities. Earthenware vessels were used for storing both liquids
and food, for the preparation of foods and liquids, and for the
various uses of the table and the toilet. That the painted ware was
used at banquets or on great occasions we learn from scenes depicted
on the vases themselves, in which vases painted with subjects appear
in use. In connexion with athletics, they were given as prizes, as in
the case of the Panathenaic _amphorae_, a class of vases given for
victories in the games held at Athens at the Panathenaic festivals,
where, however, they do not represent prizes so much as marks of
honour corresponding to modern racing cups. Vases were also used as
toys for children, as is proved by the discovery of many diminutive
specimens, chiefly jugs, in the tombs of children at Athens, on which
are depicted children playing at various games. They also served a
purely decorative use as domestic ornaments, being placed on columns