Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Amphora

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

AM'PHORA (ἀμφορεύς). A large earthenware vessel, with a handle on each side of its neck, and terminating in a point at bottom, so that it would stand upright if planted in the ground, or remain stationary if merely leaned against a wall; chiefly used for containing wine in store, for which the smallness of its diameter, as compared with the height, shows it was invented, in order to contain a large quantity, and only occupy a small space. The illustration (Amphora/1.1) represents two amphorae of the most usual form, the one stuck in the ground, and the other leaning against a wall, as they were found at Pompeii, and also shows the manner in which they were transported from place to place, from a terra-cotta bas-relief, which formed the sign of a wine shop in the same town.

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  Amphora/1.1