It was exactly this kind of villa that I stumbled upon completely by accident on Google Maps while looking for nearby towns I could explore on a day trip.

A little bit of history

Pompejanum is a villa in Aschaffenburg, built between 1840 and 1848 by order of the Bavarian king Ludwig I of Bavaria. It is an idealized replica of the “Casa dei Dioscuri” in Pompeii, famous for its frescoes in the Third and Fourth Pompeian styles.

The Pompejanum was designed by Friedrich von Gärtner together with the architect Carl Louis. The villa was intended to introduce the people of Bavaria to classical heritage and was never meant to serve as a residence.

During the Second World War, the Pompejanum was heavily damaged by bombing, but restoration began in 1960, and since 1994, the villa has been operating as a museum.

What have I explored

From the train station, signs lead you through a dense, wild green park and across a small bridge to a platform overlooking the Main River. From the outside, the villa feels less impressive than the nearby arch covered in hyacinths.

Inside, however, it’s a completely different story. Right from the entrance, I stepped into a red-and-white atrium with a pool surrounded by twelve columns.

I can’t tell you how happy - and at the same time surprised - I was to find myself surrounded by ancient decor in the middle of a typical German town. It was incredibly easy to pretend that I was actually visiting the villa of some Roman commander. The colors, the frescoes, the atmosphere - I still can’t believe that this kind of treasure was just two hours away from me.

The villa displays artifacts brought from the antiquities museum in Munich. In the room to the left, you can learn about the history of the villa and the people involved in its creation.

There was also a display case with real fragments of frescoes found in Pompeii. I also liked that not all of the frescoes on the walls had been fully restored, so some of them looked as if they had come straight from the real Pompeii.

The marble altar, discovered in Rome, is dedicated to Hermes and decorated with griffins and sphinxes.

The so-called winter triclinium overlooking the garden:

The summer triclinium opening onto the garden:

The statue of a drunken satyr is a copy of a bronze sculpture found at a villa near Herculaneum:

My personal favorite is the statue of Bacchus. It’s probably also a copy of one of the sculptures that were found, but I stood there looking at it for so long that a queue formed behind me, and I didn’t have time to take a photo of the description.

I like that Dionysus here is not a carefree boy, and not a drunken, jolly man with a big belly, but rather a Dionysus who could gather frenzied women around him and lead mysterious cults. The dark colors of the room’s design and the lighting created the impression of a moonlit night.

On the second floor of the villa, there was an exhibition of artifacts from the antiquities museum in Munich titled “Antic Troublemaker,” dedicated to fantastic creatures: Medusa, the Minotaur, the Chimera, centaurs, and the Sphinx.

Afterword

If you ever find yourself anywhere near Aschaffenburg, I beg you to visit this villa. The best €6 I’ve ever spent. I got so much aesthetic pleasure from this place that the moment I walked out, I was already thinking about when I could come back again. Even if you’re not into ancient history, I’m sure you’ll still enjoy being here.

I also hope that my next destination will not be a German dupe, but the real Pompeii.

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But for me, the collection of Greek vases (about 1500 pieces!!!) was far more attractive. Although I was a little disappointed by the lack of information about the vessels in the museum. There were only labels with the date and the place where each vessel was found, but no explanation of what was depicted on it. I know, I know - that’s a lot of information, but maybe a catalog for those obsessed geeks who are interested (me)?

But the biggest disappointment was my own shocking ignorance when it came to the names of ancient Greek vessels and their functions. Of course, I knew kylix, amphora, and krater - but who doesn’t, right? The other 30 (or more) names were a complete mystery to me.

So I decided to fix this unfortunate gap and figure out the types of vessels, their purposes, and their features. And today I want to talk about storage vessels.

My previous post about Awe-Inspiring Ancient Greek Ritual Vessels

1. Pandora’s Pithos

Let’s start with the most interesting story associated with a vessel. Everyone more or less knows the myth of Pandora (so deeply misogynistic that I physically struggle every time I read or even think about it), and the even more popular phrase “open Pandora’s box” which usually means to unleash a chain of troubles, disasters, or unpredictable consequences that are very hard (or impossible) to stop.

In reality, it was not a box at all, but a pithos (πίθος) - a large storage container used primarily for bulk goods: liquids, vegetables, salted fish, and grain.

According to the most common version, the misunderstanding dates back to the 16th century, when the Dutch humanist scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam translated Hesiod’s Theogony from Ancient Greek into Latin. He accidentally mistranslated the word pithos (“a large storage jar”) as pyxis (“box”). And that’s how “Pandora’s Box” stuck.

A pithos could reach human height or even exceed it and hold up to about one ton of liquid. So you can imagine how many “troubles” could fit into such a massive container.

In shape, the pithos resembled an amphora, but it usually had a flat bottom so it could stand upright, and multiple small handles through which ropes were threaded for transportation.

In the pithos, the king Eurystheus hid from Heracles, after he got back and brought him the dead Erymanthian boar.

It is also believed that the famous philosopher Diogenes lived not in a barrel, but in a pithos - so yes, they were that big.

2. Amphora

Probably the most well-known type of vessel and one of the symbols of ancient Greece. Amphorae were usually made of clay, although examples in glass and silver also exist.

There are two main types of amphorae:

• Neck amphora (c. 6th–5th century BCE)
  The handles were attached to the neck and were clearly separated from the body.

• Belly amphora (c. 640–450 BCE)
  These lacked a distinct, narrow neck, and the body curved smoothly upward.

So-called “transporting amphorae” were not as decorative and usually had pointed bottoms. It is believed that they were secured in sand. Their shape allowed them to be tightly packed and fastened by ropes through their handles for sea transport.

A special type is the Panathenaic prize amphora. These were produced as prizes for athletic competitions held in honor of Athena. They were filled with olive oil from the sacred olive tree of the goddess Athena. Their decoration was highly standardized: Athena on one side and a scene of athletic competition on the other.

3. Hydria

As the name suggests, the hydria was used for storing and transporting water. It had three handles: two horizontal ones on the sides (for lifting and carrying) and one vertical handle (for pouring and easier handling).

The hydria had a flat base, and women carried it on their shoulders or on their heads, supporting it with one hand.

The earliest form of the hydria was a large, round-shouldered, full-bodied vessel, about 33–50 cm in height. It was glazed on the outside but not on the inside.

Miniature versions were called hydriskai.

4. Pelike

A vessel with two handles and a low ring foot, used for storing oil or wine.

Unlike the amphora, it had a wider lower body, which made it more stable. Because of its broad surface, it was often used for painted decoration. I took the most interesting as an example:

A girl, with long sleeved chiton, himation knotted around her waist, and hair looped up with fillet, leans forward to right, holding in her left a rectangular box; with her right she sprinkles with seed (?) four objects in the form of phalli set upright in the ground, around which are leaves (?) springing up. Above her on left hangs a sash, on right a looped fillet.

This scene may have reference to one of the mystic ceremonies of Athenian women, such as the Thesmophoria, or to a fertility ritual associated with festivals such as the Haloa, if indeed it is related to ritual at all.

From description on British Museum

5. Stamnos

The stamnos is a Laconian and Etruscan analogue of the pelike. It had two handles, often a lid, and a body that widened toward the bottom.

Stamnoi are often depicted on vases as vessels used to mix wine and water or to store and serve liquids.

When I started this article half a year ago, I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to classify vessels according to their purpose.

If a vessel is used to carry and store water - is it for storage or transportation? If a vessel is used to serve and store liquids - is it for serving or storing?

Not to mention that many of them could also function as ritual vessels.

While questioning the purpose of vessels, I gave up on this article four times and started again, I threw my laptop twice (not literally — I’m too pure for that), and ended up having an existential crisis, starting to question my own life purpose (literally).

And Substack is like: 2 min reading 🌚

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I suspected they must have been incredibly beautiful and represented the highest level of craftsmanship, since they were created to show respect and honor to the deities. They were not just ordinary vessels - they were a bridge between mortals and gods, a reflection of faith and morality, a symbol of harmony. And they truly were, as you can see in the photos below.

1. Rhyton

A rhyton is a drinking or ceremonial vessel with a wide, funnel-shaped mouth, most often crafted in the form of an animal’s head (dog, ram, goat, horse, deer) or a human head, usually facing downward.

Rhyton were commonly used in sacrificial rites or in libation rituals - the bloodless offering of liquids such as wine, oil, milk, or honey. The term “rhyton” most likely derives from the Greek word ῥέω - “to flow.” Many rhytons had a wide opening at the top and a small hole at the narrow end below, through which the liquid would flow out. They were used to scoop wine or water, then the rhyton was lifted, the bottom opening was uncovered with a finger, and the liquid was allowed to stream either into the drinker’s mouth or onto the ground as an offering.

Although the word “rhyton” does not appear directly in the earliest known Mycenaean Greek written in Linear B, many bull-headed rhyta were preserved at Knossos.

2. Kernos

One of the most peculiar vessels, in my opinion, used in offering rituals to Demeter, Kore, or Cybele. It consisted of a wide central “trunk” with small cup-like containers attached around it.

The kernos was carried in procession during the Eleusinian Mysteries on top of a priestess’s head, as depicted in art. According to Athenaeus, each small cup contained different offerings:

“a terracotta vessel with many little bowls stuck onto it. In them there is sage, white poppy heads, wheat, barley, peas, vetches, pulses, lentils, beans, spelt, oats, cakes of compressed fruit, honey, olive oil, wine, milk, and unwashed sheep’s wool.”

Not many of these vessels have survived to our time. They were produced in the early periods of the Minoan civilization (around 3000 BC) and during the Cycladic period.

3. Lèbes gamikòs

This is a regular lebes, but with two slender handles, used in wedding ceremonies, which is exactly what the word gamikos means: “wedding.” That is why scenes of marriage were often depicted on it. It is quite unusual in shape and easy to recognize among other vessels. It is believed that this vessel was presented as a gift to brides.

4. Loutrophoros

The loutrophoros differs from an amphora by its tall body, long narrow neck, and wide flaring mouth. The word comes from the ancient Greek λουτρόν - “bath” and φέρω - “to carry.” The term referred to a young man or woman who carried water from a sacred spring on the wedding day for the ritual bath.

In cases of the premature death of an unmarried youth, loutrophoroi were used symbolically in funerary rites. They were placed on graves filled with water so that the deceased could perform ritual purification in the afterlife.

5. Phiale

The phiale was a wide, shallow bowl without handles, with thin walls. For ease of holding, it had a central raised boss called an omphalos. Wine or another liquid was poured into the phiale and, after a prayer, poured out onto the altar. Scenes of offering with a phiale have been preserved on many vases.

I want to point out that in this part I’m going to talk only about flowers. So things like laurel, cypress, and myrtle we’ll leave for another post (or never, knowing my contempt for consistency).

Also, I want to say I haven’t really thought about biology or growing seasons or sowing time, blooming time, and all those totally necessary things you should consider when starting a garden. So basically, this is just a list of flowers that are somehow connected to Ancient Greece.

1. Narcissus

Let’s start with probably the most famous Ancient Greek mythic flower — and my mom’s favorite — Narcissus: a beautiful young man who was also super cruel to people who fell in love with him (nothing new). As punishment, the goddess of retribution, Nemesis, declared that Narcissus would never be able to love someone who loved him back. So when he saw his own reflection in a pond, he immediately fell in love with himself — and burned from the inside because he could never be with himself (hehe, debatable point) — and eventually turned into a golden and white flower.

2. Iris

Ah, my favorite flower — the iris. Not exactly from myths, but hey, we don’t have strict rules here. Iris was named after the goddess of the rainbow and the messenger between the gods and the human world. The word ‘Ἶρις’ literally means ‘rainbow.’ It’s believed the flower got its name because of its variety of colors.
Fun fact: the colored part of our eye is also named after the goddess Iris.

3. Anemone

The "anemone" means “daughter of the wind,” reflecting its delicate petals that easily scatter in the breeze. According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, this flower has a more poetic (and obviously tragic, how else?) story. Aphrodite falls in love with a beautiful young hunter, Adonis. She warned him not to hunt big, scary animals — but when did anyone ever listen to smart women? Certainly not Adonis.
When he was killed by a wild boar, Aphrodite mourned his body. Her tears mixed with Adonis’s blood, and from that sorrowful union, the anemone flower was born.

4. Hyacinth

Another tragic (and a little absurd) love story behind a flower. There are a few different versions of this myth. I picked the one from Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
Apollo, the god of the sun, fell in love with a beautiful young (there’s no space for old love in Greek myths, huh?) Spartan man named Hyacinth. One day, while they were playing a discus game, Apollo threw the discus high and far. Hyacinthus, trying to impress him, ran to catch it — but it struck him in the head and killed him.
According to Euripides, it wasn’t an accident, but the jealousy of the god of the west wind, Zephyrus, who also loved Hyacinth and blew the discus off course.
From Hyacinth’s spilled blood, Apollo made a beautiful flower grow - the hyacinth.

5. Crocus und Smilax

Another somewhat debatable myth with a few different versions. Crocus was in love with a nymph named Smilax. Some versions say she didn’t return his love, and the gods turned him into the crocus flower. Smilax, in turn, is believed to have shared the same fate and became bindweed.

There’s another version of the myth, similar to the one with Apollo and Hyacinth, only this time it’s with Apollo and Crocus — or in some versions, Hermes and Crocus.

6. Poppy

Thanks to its sleep-inducing properties, the poppy was associated with medicine, death, and sleep. It was also linked to Demeter - poppies were planted near her temples, and their petals were used in different rituals and in the Eleusinian mysteries.

7. Rose

A symbol of love and beauty, often linked with Aphrodite (no surprise here).
According to Ovid’s “Fasti”, the nymph Chloris (later Flora) breathed out roses — the flower was said to come from her mouth (don’t repeat my mistakes - do not picture it).
Roses were scattered on graves and used in funeral rites to honor the dead. The rose was also a symbol of the island of Rhodes - the name itself comes from rhodon, which means "rose."

8. Violet

Violets are mentioned in various poems and hymns. They were symbols of modesty, youthful beauty (khm-khm ageism), love, and renewal. Sappho often used violets in her imagery to express feminine beauty, longing, and love. These flowers were also woven into garlands for festivals, symposia, and rituals.
Violets are also in the Homeric “Hymn to Demeter” - it says Persephone was picking flowers (including violets!) right before Hades showed up and kidnapped her.

8. Lily

Lilies were associated with femininity, fertility, and beauty, and were used in weddings and festive events. They were also connected to Hera and often appeared in religious imagery.

10. Asphodel

Even though the flower itself looks cute, festive, and maybe even innocent because of its white color, it has a grim reputation thanks to its connection with the underworld.
Homer describes it as covering the great meadow - the haunt of the dead. In The Odyssey (Book XI.573), it says that the souls of the dead wander across the asphodel field.
In later art, decorations made from asphodel were often linked to Persephone.

11. Heliotrope

Interestingly, it is not entirely clear whether the flower mentioned in the myth was actually a heliotrope or a sunflower, which is heliotropic by nature. To be clear, heliotrope literally means “sun-turning,” so it refers to plants that turn toward the sun. Sunflowers are heliotropic as well, but let’s start from the beginning.

According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Clytie was a water nymph who fell in love with Helios himself. They were lovers until the Sun God found a new object of affection: a Persian mortal princess named Leucothoe. After Leucothoe’s early death (another plant, another story), Clytie tried to win back Helios’s affection. She sat naked on the ground, taking neither food nor water, and watched the god’s chariot from dawn till dusk. Eventually, she became so rooted in the earth that she transformed into a flower. But even in this new form, she continued to turn her face toward the sun.

In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, it is quite clear that the flower was nothing like a sunflower. Instead, Ovid describes a flower with violet blossoms:

but here and there a blushing tinge resolved in violet tint; and something like the blossom of that name a flower concealed her face.

Despite this, modern art often depicts Clytie with a sunflower or even transformed into one. However, according to a very trustworthy source aka Wikipedia, neither the Ancient Greeks nor the Romans were familiar with sunflowers, and they were introduced to Europe many centuries later.

Interesting fact: it is said that heliotrope has a vanilla scent but is very poisonous to people and animals.