For centuries, mankind has honored their ancestors through rituals, memorials, and celebrations, different cultures expressing the practice in their own way: Dia de los Muertos (Mexico), Obon (Japan), Pchum Ben (Cambodia). We light lanterns, leave offerings, and give all to the death, in a way to honor their spirit and soul in the afterlife–in short, death culture is held on a throne for many. In fact, the Novel Aspects of Death in Early Greek Art and Poetry declares “Most people preserve the dead and learn from them. We like to distinguish ourselves from the simpler beasts by declaring that we are the only animals to bury our dead and so to rescue the past” (Vermerule, 5). Now, though Ancient Greece did practice memorials and burials, Athens–specifically– found death, important, but unsettling. They respected the dead through funerary practices, while still making sure to separate themselves, not wanting to contaminate themselves with those who have passed on. For most Greeks in the classical period, death came of its own accord, and too soon rather than too late. “What cultured Greek individuals really thought about death is hidden from us except through literary interpretation…. Poetry or song” (Vermerule, 3). But, unlike the time of Athenian democracy, the deaths were not treated with indifference. For instance the very young, the death rituals were elaborate, and the attitude a person took towards the dead was an important indication of their moral status. The desire for proper burial at the hands of relatives and in one's native land was extremely strong. (196) IN addition, the Athenians were extremely careful to leave a good name among the living in order to honor a death with vivid memory. Hence the conventional stress on honour and glory in the funeral speeches, especially for those who perished fighting for Athens. It was not until later years [around 500 BC) when Athens developed heedful contempt for those in passing. This transition is posed as pollution for both house and mourners. A vessel containing spring water was placed outside the entrance of the home in order to warn others of the pollution, and to enable visitors to purify themselves before they departed. They held only small funerals where the corpse is covered in a cloak and buried in a graveyard distanced from the town or home. This complex culture was the creation of Athenian pottery called: white-ground lekythos, an offering jar that allowed the people to respect the dead by filling the vase with oil. Projecting the culture and belief of this time, each pot was painted with images of mourning and death, shaped and specifically made for the purpose of memorial. The vessel’s shape, form and purpose lectures us on how the Athenians saw the afterlife and their way of communicating to the dead through art.
To start, the history of Athenian pottery is displayed with a long neck, painted embodiment, and white base; it’s official title being White-Ground Lekythos. This vessel holds an abundance of the Athenian culture within its mold and is said to be prized by the painters of this time. In Ancient Greek the word lekythos, or lekythion, had a broader meaning than the more modern or recognizable archaeological term, "Lekythos.” Lekythion was a vessel used specifically as an offering to the dead at tombs or memorial. On the other hand, “Lekythos” was a generic term for an oil or perfume jug that could take various forms. Because of the similarity, archaeologists interlocked the definitions in order to convey its use and the basic shape/form. The earliest use of the world is said to be Homer's Odyssey. There, the young Phaeacian princess, Nausicaa, is given "soft olive oil in a golden lekythos" (VI. 79) by her mother, Arete, as part of the preparations for the young girl's departure to do the wash; the performance of this chore will lead to her encounter with the epic's hero, Odysseus (Oakley, 4). In this instance, there is no indication of the vessel's shape, only that a lekythos as an oil container which could ultimately be made of metal. Found in Athens, a painter by the name of Douris had signed what is known today as the Attic red-figure aryballos (490-480 B.C.). This artifact provides even more evidence that even though we call vase to be a aryballos, named by archaeologists of today, this vase, lekythos of Asopodorosthe, has given us undeniable proof that the small, round-bodied oil bottle used by ancient athletes was called by fifth-century Athenians a lekythos–not originally used for funerary offerings. This just indicates how art has changed throughout the years, especially with modern understanding.
In the book, The World of Athens: An Introduction to Classical Athenian Culture, it tells us that the memory of the dead was preserved by the “performance of the annual rites,” one of these rites was that of the lekythos. This vessel was created by a specific potter and painter, who by which use a special techinique called: white-ground, which further explains the title. “By convention, the term white or white-ground lekythos normally means one with polychrome painting on a background of white slip.” explains Oakley, writer of Picturing Death in Classical Athens” (6). The earlier white lekythoi played a role in the development of iconography (visual images and symbols) with polychrome decoration (styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors). The use of an added light slip as a surface for decoration on terracotta vases is known already in various parts of Greece from the Geometric period, but it does not appear in Athens until the seventh century on some Proto-Attic vases. With small steps toward understanding this skill, we can see that this was a time of experimentation in Athenian vase-painting, when various techniques were tried and invented, red-figure being the most important and longest lasting. Which painter was responsible for the introduction of the white-ground technique is uncertain: Nikosthenes, the Andokides Painter, Psiax, and the Antimenes Painter have all been suggested. However, it is said that Psiax (510 B.C.), nonetheless, painted the earliest white-ground lekythos preserved: a black figure shoulder lekythos with a thin disc foot (foundation). It was not until slightly later, around 510-500 B.C., that black-figure artist, Edinburgh Painter, became the first consistent artist. This techinique became prominent for the offering vessels insomuch that was very expensive for families. In addition to the creation of the artifact, each vessel held a special oil which was used as an offering for the dead. In an article named Thanatos Painter's Death, it describes that because oil was a “precious commodity,” many would make sure that the vessel only appeared full because though the funerary rites were important, it was considered wasteful to dedicate so much to the dead. So, in order to accommodate, Athenian potters made secret container inside the upper body which only needed a few spoonfuls of oil to fill it. The resulting illusion was that the graveside lekythos always appeared to be brimming with oil. And, although there was no orthodox Athenian view on the afterlife, according to The World of Athens: An Introduction to Classical Athenian Culture, there was a belief that unless the dead were properly respected, their resentful spirits would escape and haunt the living. In addition to the vessel, riches also came into play with the gravestones/grave marker helping us understand that all in all the tomb’s elaboration depend on the family's wealth. Funerals of the rich were a more pretentious outlay rather than a form of respect. Because of this a law was made in order to limit the amount that could be spent on mourners in attendance or public demonstration of grief. In the end, only the house and the graveside were allowed to attend.
An example of a white-ground lekythos found in 1968, dating from about (430 B.C.), is displayed in the ANU Classics Museum at the Australian National University in Canberra. The vessel’s body is covered with a slip of white clay with a fragile shell which shows a gravestone with red sashes tied around it. With faded paint, you can barely make out a boy and girl standing on either side of the stone. The artist has been identified as Thanatos Painter. Because art was commissioned and based on the wealth of the families, many of the artists were, in modern terms, famous and had recognizable art. The Thanatos Painter, specifically, specialised in illustrating themes associated with death (for which the Greek word is thanatos). He made a speciality of painting lekythoi for gravesites, leaving us some fine scenes depicting death and sleep carrying off the body of a dead man. This aspect projects the pathos or grief and death giving us a clear vision on the contrast between the indifferent Athenian view of the afterlife and an emotional, artistic representation.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the way of the Athenian’s is somewhat of a mystery to scholars even today. Our only glimpse into their culture is represented by their art and literature. However, though we are unable to understand many of the day to day practices, through the potters and painters that created Lekythos, we are able to see the influence the afterlife had on Athenian people. The polluting thought that the dead must be separated from the living gives us a more cautious perspective, but also, an extraordinary introduction to more traditional forms of burial that are used by you and I today.