There is another consideration. Even if, from our modern point of view, we may hesitate to believe that a beautiful cup of Euphronios was used merely as a drinking vessel, where are we to draw the line? Any one who has worked in a museum or has excavated on fifth-century sites knows that besides the selected specimens exhibited in museum cases there are a large number of inferior examples, hastily decorated, which could hardly have been displayed as ornaments, but which are open to the same objections raised against the vases of better workmanship.
And now let us examine these objections. First, the vases are supposed to be too porous to contain liquid. The fineness of the clay, the polish which was imparted to it, and perhaps the application of the ochre tended to reduce this porosity somewhat. In the course of time the deposit left by wine and oil would still further close the pores. In any case, experiments show that Athenian vases do hold liquids without any difficulty. The unglazed portions become damp, and a damp mark is left on the table if the foot is not glazed; but in the days before highly polished furniture there was no strong objection to that, and there was on the other hand a very real advantage. For it allows a certain amount of evaporation which would tend to cool the liquid—a very desirable thing in a warm climate without a regulated ice supply. Any one who has tried the experiment of keeping water in an unglazed jar in a warm room has found that the evaporation keeps it delightfully cool. In southern Europe today liquids are kept in that manner during the summer. We must also remember that a large number of the early wares from the Bronze Age down, as well as the commoner wares at all times, are either wholly unglazed or have unglazed portions. And surely nobody wants to contend that these vases were not manufactured for use.
The objection that Athenian pottery is fragile is easily disposed of. Actual handling of the vases will show that they are anything but fragile, in fact that they are remarkably strong. All those portions which would get special wear, such as handles and rims, are almost always stoutly made, more so than much of the china and earthenware and glass we use today. Occasionally, of course, we get a very thin and delicate example; and that would have to be handled with special care.