Lakaina
Encyclopedia
The term Lakaina is used in Classical archaeology
to describe a specific form of ancient Greek
pottery vessel.
The lakaina was a drinking vessel. It is a high, two-part cup with a very high added rim. Two horizontal handles are affixed to the lower part of thr cylindrical bowl. The term is preserved through the Deipnosophistai by Athenaios. He explains the term is being based on the shape's origin in Sparta
, in the region of Laconia
. Modern research supports this view. On average, the cups have a height of about 10 cm. Unlike in most parts of the rest of Greece, in Laconia the rather beaker-like lakaina was preferred to simpler and shallower cup types. Such shallow cups were, however, produced in Sparta for export. Lakainai decorated by the Naukratis Painter and the Hunt Painter survive.
Classical archaeology
Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the great Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about in Latin and Greek texts...
to describe a specific form of ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
pottery vessel.
The lakaina was a drinking vessel. It is a high, two-part cup with a very high added rim. Two horizontal handles are affixed to the lower part of thr cylindrical bowl. The term is preserved through the Deipnosophistai by Athenaios. He explains the term is being based on the shape's origin in Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, in the region of Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
. Modern research supports this view. On average, the cups have a height of about 10 cm. Unlike in most parts of the rest of Greece, in Laconia the rather beaker-like lakaina was preferred to simpler and shallower cup types. Such shallow cups were, however, produced in Sparta for export. Lakainai decorated by the Naukratis Painter and the Hunt Painter survive.
