AMPHŎRA

( ἀμφορεύς ), a ve el used for holding wine, oil, honey, . The following cut represents amphorae in the British Museum. They are of various forms and sizes; in general they are tall and narrow, with a small neck, and a handle on each side of the neck (whence the name, from ἀμφί , on both sides , and φέρω , to carry), and terminating at the bottom in a point, which was let into a stand or stuck in the ground, so that the ve el stood upright: several amphorae have been found in this position in the cellars at Pompeii. Amphorae were commonly made of earthenware. Homer mentions amphorae of gold and stone, and the Egyptians had them of bra ; gla ve els of this form have been found at Pompeii. The most common use of the amphora, both among the Greeks and the Romans, was for keeping wine. The cork was covered with pitch or gypsum, and (among the Romans) on the outside the title of the wine was painted, the date of the vintage being marked by the names of the consuls then in office; or, when the jars were of gla , little tickets ( pittoria , te erae ) were suspended from them, indicating these particulars.—The Greek amphoreus and the Roman amphora were also names of fixed measures. The amphoreus, which was also called metretes ( μετρητής ) and cad us ( κάδος ), was equal to three Roman urnae = 8 gallons, 7·365 pints, imperial measure. The Roman amphora was two-thirds of the amphoreus, and was equal to 2 urnae = 8 congii = to 5 gallons, 7·577 pints; its solid content was exactly a Roman cubic foot.