Rhyta

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An ancient drinking vessel typically made from ceramic or metal, often shaped with a spout for pouring liquids during rituals or ceremonies ; A historic container used to hold and serve wine or other beverages in cultural or religious contexts ; A traditional cup or horn-shaped vessel from antiquity, designed for drinking or libations in sacred or social practices
2. A ceremonial cup or hollow vessel used in antiquity to pour liquids during rites or feasts ; A ritualistic container, usually crafted from pottery or metal, employed to serve drinks such as wine in ancient cultures ; A decorative drinking implement from historical times, often associated with mythological or cultural significance in ancient ceremonies
3. A polygonal or rounded ancient drinking horn or cup used to hold and dispense liquids in sacred rituals ; An artifact from classical antiquity serving as a vessel for liquids in formal or ceremonial uses ; A traditional container with an opening for pouring, used in various ancient societies for drinking or symbolic acts involving wine or other fluids

Etymology: "Rhyta" is the plural of "rhyton", a word the ancient Greeks took from their verb "rhein", meaning to flow. The vessel was named for what it did: a drinking horn or cup built to pour liquid, often used in religious rites, where the liquid was poured out as an offering rather than simply drunk. Many surviving examples are shaped like animal heads, most famously griffins, lions, bulls and rams, with the liquid poured from a hole in the tip. Some rhyta were made in the form of a horn curving to a point, while others were molded in clay or cast in precious metals, and they appear across the Achaemenid Persian world as well as in Greece and Anatolia.

Synonyms: rhytons, drinking vessels, ancient cups