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Hydria
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Hydria by the Meidias Painter, c. 410 bc; in the British Museum Hydria, a large water vessel used in ancient Greece. Boreas abducting Oreithyia, detail of an Attic hydria, 5th century bc; in the Vatican Museum. “Phaon in a Bower with Demonassa,” hydria by the Meidias Painter, c. 410 bc; in the Museo Archeologico, Florence
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Hydria by the Meidias Painter, c. 410 bc; in the British Museum
Hydria by the Meidias Painter, c. 410 bc; in the British Museum

Hydria

water vessel
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Hydria, a large water vessel used in ancient Greece.
Hydria, a large water vessel used in ancient Greece.

Hydria, large water vessel in Greek pottery of the Archaic period (c. 750–c. 480 bc) and the Classical period (c. 480–c. 330 bc). It is found in both the black-figure and the red-figure pottery styles. The hydria is distinctive in having three handles: a pair of small, horizontal handles at the sides for lifting and a large, vertical handle at the neck or shoulder for dipping and pouring.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Chelsey Parrott-Sheffer.