Teaching activities: videos, activity ideas and information about objects
The story of an Ancient Greek Pot
Introduction
Discover the journey of a pot: from clay, to a Greek party, to a case in the museum. Find out about the all different people who were involved in making and using the pot.
Prompt questions
- What kinds of things can we learn from looking at Ancient Greek pots?
- Most of these Greek pots were for special occasions or decoration only, not everyday use. How can you tell?
- Can you work out what different pots might have been used for, based on their shape and size?
Activity prompts
- Design your own pot.
Choose the outline of your pot based on an Ancient Greek one. Choose a scene from mythology, and some Ancient Greek-style patterns to decorate your pot. - Retell the story from the pot’s point of view.
Which part of its journey does it enjoy the most? - Clay has been an important material for humans for many thousands of years. What makes it so useful? How many ways can you think of transforming a ball of clay? Can you make it float? Can you make it fragile? Can you make it hollow?
- Imagine that you were one of the people who helped to make this pot.
Which job would you choose? What would a day in your life be like?
Note to teachers
This activity provides an opportunity to highlight some of the members of Ancient Greek society who might be ‘hidden’ in museum displays and history books: the workers & craftsmen who made significant contributions to material culture, while not being represented in it themselves.
You could talk to your class about hierarchies in Ancient Greek society: who is represented in the images around us, and who is missing.