Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Scyphus

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rich, Anthony (1849). The illustrated companion to the Latin dictionary, and Greek lexicon. p. vi. OCLC 894670115. https://archive.org/details/illustratedcompa00rich. 

SCYPH'US (σκύφος). A cup for drinking wine out of, very commonly used at convivial parties. (Hor. Od. i. 27. 1. Id. Epod. ix. 33.) It was sometimes of beech wood (Tibull. i. 10. 8.), or of silver (Varro ap. Gell. iii. 14. 1.), or of earthenware, the material used for the original from which the annexed example (Scypthus/1.1) is copied. The figure conceived under our term cup affords a very true and accurate notion of its form, which was circular and deep, so as to be adapted for holding a large measure; whence it is the vessel commonly given to Hercules by the poets and artists (Val. Flacc. ii. 272. Virg. Aen. viii. 278. Serv. ad l.); whereas the calix, patera, and others, which were of a more open and shallow form, have a closer affinity to the figure of our saucers.

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  Scypthus/1.1