COLUMBIA, MISSOURI—John Barnes of the University of Missouri suggests that rather than depicting a simple animal scene, a 2,600-year-old skyphos at the Lamia Archaeological Museum in central Greece could portray an early Greek understanding of constellations. Approximately one-third of the wine cup, which was discovered in a trench next to a temple in the acropolis of Halai, is missing, but images of the back half of a bull, a snake, a hare or small dog, a large dog, a scorpion, a dolphin, and the front half of a panther or a lion have been preserved. Barnes spotted the skyphos while visiting the museum. “My dad raised me on astronomy, and to me, the snake, rabbit, and dog together looked like constellations. That group jumped out at me,” he told Live Science. He adds that the decorative images may have been arranged into seasonal groups. To read about a Greek colony established in Italy around this time, see ARCHAEOLOGY’s “Rediscovering Paestum.”
New Thoughts on Ancient Greek Wine Cup
News October 27, 2014
Recommended Articles
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2024
Cosmic Ray Calendar
Features September/October 2024
Hunting for the Lost Temple of Artemis
After a century of searching, a chance discovery led archaeologists to one of the most important sanctuaries in the ancient Greek world
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2024
A Friend for Hercules
Features May/June 2024
Alexander the Great’s Untold Story
Excavations in northern Greece are revealing the world that shaped the future king
-
Features September/October 2014
Erbil Revealed
How the first excavations in an ancient city are supporting its claim as the oldest continuously inhabited place in the world
(Courtesy and Copyright Golden Eagle Global, Kurdistan, Iraq) -
Features September/October 2014
Castaways
Illegally enslaved and then marooned on remote Tromelin Island for fifteen years, with only archaeology to tell their story
(Richard Bouhet/ Getty Images) -
Letter from the Bronx September/October 2014
The Past Becomes Present
A collection of objects left behind in a New York City neighborhood connects students with the lives of people who were contemporary with their great-great-great-grandparents
(Courtesy Celia J. Bergoffen Ph.D. R.P.A.) -
Artifacts September/October 2014
Silver Viking Figurine
(Courtesy Claus Feveile/Østfyns Museum)