FIG. 22. GREEK WINE-JARS (BRITISH MUSEUM).
Remains of these amphorae have been discovered not only in Greece itself, but also wherever the Greek commerce and settlements extended, as in Alexandria, Kertch (Panticapaeum), Corfu, Rhodes, Sicily, and Asia Minor. They appear to have been used at a very early period, plain specimens of red ware being found not only in the early Greek tombs, like that of Menekrates in Corfu (p. [54]), but even in tombs of the Bronze Age period, as in Cyprus. The typical long shape, however, did not come into fashion until about 300 B.C., when the island of Rhodes was a great trading centre, carrying on an active commerce all over the Mediterranean. Amphorae of this form are represented on the coins of Chios and Thasos with reference to their trade in wine, and on the Athenian silver tetradrachms which belong to the period subsequent to about 220 B.C.; they are shown on the reverse, lying horizontally, with an owl above. In this case the reference may be either to the large Attic trade in oil or to the use of the amphora for voting at the election of magistrates (see p. [167]).
The most interesting feature of the wine-amphorae is the device or impression stamped on the handles either in a circular medallion or an oblong depression. This was done by means of a stone or bronze stamp, while the clay was still moist. They are found in all parts of the ancient world, but the greater number can be traced to a few places of origin, of which the most important are: Rhodes, Knidos, Thasos, Paros, and Olbia in Southern Russia. As regards the stamps, the usage differs at each centre; but apart from them the handles can be distinguished by their shapes and material, as will be seen in the subsequent description.
The Rhodian amphorae, of which large numbers have been found at Alexandria as well as in the island itself, were of a very pure and tenacious clay, with a fracture as sharp as that of delf. The colour is pale, deepening to a salmon hue. The numerous separate handles which have also been found have all belonged to the same form of amphora, with long square-shouldered handles, as on the Athenian and Chian coins. An entire vase, but without a stamp,[[524]] which was brought from Rhodes, was 40 in. in height, and the height of the handles alone was 10 in., the upper part attached to the top of the mouth being 3 in. long. This is a typical instance for the shape. The seal when found is impressed on the upper part of the handle, the size of the label being generally about 1½ in. or 1¾ in. long, by ⅝ in. wide, except when they are oval or circular. At Alexandria eight distinct varieties of handles were found, broken from amphorae of different countries, but only one inscribed; the base also assumed various forms.
In the Rhodian amphorae two stamps are in use, a principal and an accessory one (Fig. [23].a).[[525]] The former has a device of the head of Helios, the Sun-God, or the emblematic rose, both of which types occur on the coins; it is accompanied by an inscription, in the form ἐπὶ τοῦ δεῖνος, sometimes explicitly described as ἱερέως, i.e. in the year of the eponymous priest of the Sun. This is followed by the name of a Rhodian month. The accessory stamp contains the name of a person, usually in the genitive. The months belong to the Doric calendar, and are as follows: Thesmophorios, Theudaisios, Pedageitnyos, Diosthyos, Badromios, Sminthios, Artamitios, Agrianios, Hyakinthios, Panamos, Dalios, Karneios, and the second Panamos, an intercalary month.[[526]] The object of the stamps is involved in obscurity, but they were probably intended to certify that the amphora (which was also a measure) held the proper quantity. It is clear that they could not have been intended to attest the age of the wine, as the vessel might be used for any sort, and the stamps bear the name of every month in the year.
From Dumont.
FIG. 23. AMPHORA-STAMPS FROM RHODES.
Other handles of Rhodian amphorae, stamped with an oblong cartouche or label, may be divided into two classes: (1) Those inscribed with the name of a magistrate and an emblem. The latter resembled the “adjuncts” found on the coins of some Greek cities, but it is uncertain whether they were selected on any fixed principle, or merely adopted from caprice. They may perhaps allude to the deity whom the magistrate particularly honoured as the patron god of his tribe or village. The same symbol was, however, often used by many individuals, and on the whole the number known is not large. (2) Those bearing the name of a magistrate, accompanied by that of a month of the Doric calendar, but without any emblem (Fig. [23].b).
Many handles of amphorae from Knidos have been found on different sites. Their clay is coarser than the Rhodian, its colour darker and duller, and the amphorae differ also somewhat in form, nor are they of so early a date, being mostly as late as the Roman Empire. The stamps on the Cnidian amphorae, like those of Rhodes, are inscribed with the name of the eponymous magistrate, and also with that of the wine-grower or exporter of the produce, which is always marked as Cnidian. The stamps show a great variety in the matter of emblems. Remains of Cnidian amphorae have been found in Sicily, at Athens, Alexandria, and Olbia. The palaeography of the inscriptions covers a period of two centuries, from Augustus to Marcus Aurelius, or even later.
Numerous examples have been found of handles of amphorae, in which the celebrated wine of Thasos was exported to places such as Thasos and Olbia. The stamps are nearly square, with a device in the middle, the inscription