Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A two-handled jar having a broad round shape, a short neck, and a wide mouth, used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for storing and mixing liquids.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Gr. archæol., a large water- or wine-vase closely resembling the hydria, but generally with a shorter neck, and provided merely with the two small handles on the sides of the paunch, the larger handle behind being absent. Sometimes called olla.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek; see stā- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • Dated to circa 510 B.C., and from the Athenian workshop of the Antimenes Painter, this Greek stamnos (vase) shows the bull-headed beast running from the pursuing Theseus, with Ariadne looking on.

    Home | The New York Observer 2008

  • 'Beautiful Arleades' indicates that the stamnos was almost certainly a gift to a youth from an older man.

    Home | The New York Observer 2008

  • The Minotaur Stamnos was exhibited at the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1980, and published in 1977 by Cornelia Isler-Kerényi, who highlighted the singularity of this particular vase in that 'the three protagonists are placed in such a way that, on turning the stamnos around, only one figure is visible at a time: a threefold grouping made possible through the absence of the handles and which is therefore rare, if not unique'.

    Home | The New York Observer 2008

  • A stamnos was used for storing or serving wine at symposiums (drinking parties).

    Home | The New York Observer 2008

  • The Minotaur Stamnos was exhibited at the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1980, and published in 1977 by Cornelia Isler-Kerényi, who highlighted the singularity of this particular vase in that 'the three protagonists are placed in such a way that, on turning the stamnos around, only one figure is visible at a time: a threefold grouping made possible through the absence of the handles and which is therefore rare, if not unique'.

    Home | The New York Observer 2008

  • A stamnos was used for storing or serving wine at symposiums (drinking parties).

    Home | The New York Observer 2008

  • 'Beautiful Arleades' indicates that the stamnos was almost certainly a gift to a youth from an older man.

    Home | The New York Observer 2008

  • Dated to circa 510 B.C., and from the Athenian workshop of the Antimenes Painter, this Greek stamnos (vase) shows the bull-headed beast running from the pursuing Theseus, with Ariadne looking on.

    Home | The New York Observer 2008

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