Attic Black-Figure Psykter

Two chariots seen in a frontal view decorate this Athenian black-figure psykter or wine cooler. Each chariot carries a driver and a warrior whose heads are just visible over the edge of the chariot car. On one side Skythian archers, identified by their distinctive tall caps, hold the outside trace horses, and on the other side, fully armed warriors flank the chariot. The Greeks used psykters to chill the wine at a symposium or drinking party. Wine diluted with water was poured into the psykter, whose wide bulbous body was then floated inside a larger vessel filled with snow or cold water. Scholars believe that this is the earliest complete psykter to have survived from antiquity.