Comparing and Contrasting Ancient Greek Drinking Vessels and the Present Day Starbucks Cup

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There are a handful of differences and similarities from an Ancient Greek drinking vessel and a Starbucks cup some people may not take into consideration. While comparing and contrasting a Starbucks coffee cup and Ancient Greek drinking vessels I will take careful notation into the differences and similarities of their form, function and decoration of the artifacts. I will go into careful detail of what the ancient Greeks used to create their drinking vessels. Also, I will elaborate the functions that the Ancient Greeks first had in mind and what uses they had during the different time periods. Another important aspect of the ancient Greek drinking vessels and Starbucks cup are the decorations and logos. This plays an important role in describing stories with historical significance.

In ancient Greece, vessels were made in large quantities and in various materials, including terracotta, glass, ivory, stone, wood, leather, bronze, silver and gold. Many of these vases have disappeared because some were recycled, but ancient literature and inscriptions give proof to their existence. More bronze vessels exist because they were cheaper than silver and gold, most of these have been buried in tombs beneath the ground. The bronze vessels were the most popular. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin, sometimes combined with small amounts of other materials, such as lead.

Many of these vessels came in various shapes and forms over a long period of time. Some of the earliest vessels, dating to the ninth and eighth centuries B.C., were tripods, which are three-legged stands that supported large cauldrons; sometimes the two parts were made together in one piece. The cauldrons were originally used as cooking pots, but the tripods also were...

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...is that of a split-tailed sea creature, it is a siren. More specifically, it is a double-tailed siren, a baubo siren, which The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects points out, is “a cross between a mermaid and a sheila-na-gig” and is found as a decorative motif in many European churches and cathedrals. (Fenkl) In Greek mythology, the Sirens were portrayed as seductresses and sometimes in later folklore as mermaid-like. (Wikipedia)

In conclusion, both of these drinking cups have logos or some sort of iconic image on them that depicts history using mythological figures. They were both used for drinking, made of different materials and had various decorations on them. Most importantly the differences between Greek drinking vessels and a Starbucks cup differ merely because of the changes that have taken place over the use of technology and better living.

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