Purpose
Because the primary use for the kylix was at a symposium - a "drinking party" - in the ancient Greek world, they are often decorated with scenes of a humorous, light-hearted, or sexual nature that would only become visible when the cup was drained. Dionysos, the god of wine, and his satyrs or related komastic scenes, are common subjects. The shape of the kylix enabled the drinker to drink whilst recumbent, as was the case in the symposia.
Read more about this topic: Kylix (drinking Cup)
Famous quotes containing the word purpose:
“If God bestowed immortality on every man then when he made him, and he made many to whom he never purposed to give his saving grace, what did his Lordship think that God gave any man immortality with purpose only to make him capable of immortal torments? It is a hard saying, and I think cannot piously be believed. I am sure it can never be proved by the canonical Scripture.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)
“Rule of criticism: only attend to the shape, and the purpose will manifest itself.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Most Americans are born drunk, and really require a little wine or beer to sober them. They have a sort of permanent intoxication from within, a sort of invisible champagne.... Americans do not need to drink to inspire them to do anything, though they do sometimes, I think, need a little for the deeper and more delicate purpose of teaching them how to do nothing.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)