In ancient Greece people enjoyed chilled wine at social gatherings using a specially designed cooling pot called a psykter. The name comes from the Greek verb “ψύχω” (psycho), meaning to cool or chill.
These vessels (psykters in plural), often made of bronze or ceramic, were filled with cold water and were placed inside the wine containers to maintain a cool temperature. This clever method ensured that wine remained refreshing during symposia—drinking parties where guests would discuss philosophy, politics and the arts.
A psykter typically had an elongated body with a bulbous base and a narrow neck. Its unique design allowed it to float or stand securely in larger containers. It was used to cool wine by either filling the psykter with cold water or ice and placing it inside a larger mixing bowl called a krater that contained wine, or by filling the krater with cold water or ice and placing the psykter containing wine inside the krater.
Psykters for chilling wine in Ancient Greece had elaborate drawings
Greeks typically diluted their wine with water before drinking. Chilling the wine was considered a mark of sophistication and enhanced the drinking experience.
At symposia, drinking wine was an essential ritual, accompanied by music, poetry and philosophical discussions. The psykter was part of this ritual, reflecting the host’s hospitality and refinement.
Many psykteres were elaborately painted, often with scenes of revelry, mythology or daily life, in the red-figure or black-figure pottery styles.
One of the most famous surviving psykters is the Euphronios Psykter made in the late 6th Century BC, which is attributed to the celebrated potter and painter Euphronios.
The psykter features lively depictions of satyrs and maenads (followers of Dionysus) dancing and playing musical instruments—perfect imagery for a symposium setting.
It is displayed at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
History of wine in Greece
The recorded history of wine in Ancient Greece begins around the 15th century BC, while viticulture appears to have existed as early as the Neolithic era, 6,500 years ago.
Ancient Greece is also the place where modern wine culture began, as wine consumption stopped being solely a sacred act, as it had been when priests and rulers controlled the vineyards.
By the early Bronze Age, vineyard cultivation of grapes was widespread in ancient Greece, and by the time of the rise of the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, wine consumption and/or production was part of everyday life.
By that time wine was also an economically important business in Greek society.
Related: The History of Wine in Ancient Greece
