The Ancient Greeks: From Red Figure to the Rise of Rome

The story of Greek ceramics continues with a revolution in pottery. Around 530 BC, Athenian potters began turning the familiar world of black-figure decoration on its head, creating the extraordinary red-figure vessels that would come to define Classical Greek ceramics.

Stephanie Rozene and Paul Greenhalgh explore the potters, workshops and innovations behind this transformation, and discover how ceramics became part of everyday Greek life – from wine-drinking symposia to sporting prizes and simple household wares. As Greek influence spreads across the Mediterranean, so too do its ceramic traditions, before a new power emerges: Rome. Yet conquest would not bring the story to an end. The Romans absorbed and reinvented Greek forms, ensuring their influence would survive for centuries.

Please switch to video in your podcasting app, to see the pots being spoken about in this episode.

Featured Artworks:

Black Figure Amphore, Attributed to Group E (British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Red Figure amphora, signed by Andokides, c.530 BCE

Terracotta amphora (jar)

Red Figure bell krater, Anonymous, often referred to as by the Berlin Painter, Greek, c.480 BCE, Louvre Museum.

Anonymous, possibly Apulian, possibly Boeotian, 480 BCE

Francois Vase, Black Figure krater, decorated by Kleitias, made by Ergotimos, Greek, 570-560 BCE, Archaeological Museum, Florence. (CC 3.0)

Terracotta kyathos (cup-shaped ladle), Attributed to the Group of Berlin 2095, c. 530–500 BCE

Terracotta amphora (jar), Attributed to the Orvieto Painter, c. 540 BCE

Small terracotta amphora (jar), Greek, Attic, c. 800–750 BCE

Terracotta neck-amphora (storage jar), Greek, Corinthian, c. 620–590 BCE

Terracotta neck-amphora (jar), Attributed to the Edinburgh Painter, c. 500 BCE

Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with lid and knob (27.16), Attributed to Exekias, c. 540 BCE

Terracotta lekythos (oil flask), Attributed to the Amasis Painter, c. 550–530 BCE

Terracotta column-krater (bowl for mixing wine and water), Attributed to Lydos, c. 550 BCE

Terracotta Nolan neck-amphora (jar), Attributed to the Ethiop Painter, c. 450 BCE

Terracotta neck-amphora (jar) with twisted handles, Attributed to the Lykaon Painter, c. 440 BCE 

Terracotta amphora (jar), Attributed to the Berlin Painter, c. 490 BCE

Terracotta skyphos (deep drinking cup), Greek, Attic mid-5th century BCE

Chapters

• 00:00:00 Introduction: The Ancient Greeks - From Red Figure to the Rise of Rome
• 00:01:29 Recap: From Geometric to Black Figure Pottery
• 00:02:49 The Potters: Immigrant Makers and Family Workshops
• 00:04:52 The Red Figure Revolution: A Technical Breakthrough
• 00:06:45 Andokides and Bilingual Pottery
• 00:09:18 Pattern Bands and Workshop Signatures
• 00:11:33 Sophistication and Space: The Classical Aesthetic
• 00:14:13 The Berlin Painter: Minimalist Mastery
• 00:16:37 Shapes and Function: The Symposium Culture
• 00:18:54 Slavery, Democracy, and Greek Society
• 00:22:06 The Value Question: Cheap Plastic or Precious Art?
• 00:25:43 Production and Economics: From Souvenir Cups to Masterworks
• 00:28:01 Greeks Had No Word for Art
• 00:29:14 Legacy and Permanence: Objects That Tell Stories
• 00:31:40 The Hellenistic Expansion: Red Figure Goes Global
• 00:33:36 The Roman Conquest: 146 BC and the End of Greek Independence
• 00:37:20 Ceramic Memory: How Clay Survives Empire

Credits:
Hosts: Paul Greenhalgh & Stephanie Rozene
Editor: Sam Bond
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac