lebes gamikos
The lèbes gamikòs or "nuptial lebes" (lèbetes gamikòi) is a form of ancient Greek pottery used in marriage ceremonies (literally, it means marriage vase). It was probably used in the ritual sprinkling of the bride with water before the wedding. In form, it has a large bowl-like body and a stand that can be long or short.
Also recorded as marriage vase
lebes gamikos

Archivo fotográfico MAN (photo) · National Museum of Archaeology · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Field
- pottery of ancient Greece · vase
- Related practice
- clay
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
gnd · 4410340-2 · wikidata · Q1811150
In this article
Overview
Painted scenes are placed on either the body of the vessel or the stand. • Illustration — Lèbes gamikòs by Asteas, c. 340 BC, National Archaeological Museum of Spain One of the earliest lèbetes gamikòi was apparently painted by a follower of Sophilos (c. It was decorated with the wedding procession of Helen and Menelaus. A typical lèbes gamikòs shows wedding scenes (including mythic weddings such as the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, but the iconography can also be related to scenes such as mimes).
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN ATHENIAN MARRIAGE AS DEPICTED IN VASE PAINTING: LEBES GAMIKOS, Second Desk Research Conference, 2024
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2024
authority file
- Gemeinsame Normdatei 4410340-2, Lebes gamikos.
General reference · Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1811150: lebes gamikos
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
Literature
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Lèbes gamikòs, revision 1211009502 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.lebes gamikos.
- 2.Traditionelle Hochzeitsbräuche aus Bulgarien und Griechenland. 8 July 2018.
- 3.Boardman, John. Athenian Black Figure Vases. Thames & Hudson. 19. 1974. 9780500181447.
- 4.Boardman, John. Athenian Black Figure Vases. Thames & Hudson. 190. 1974. 9780500181447.
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN ATHENIAN MARRIAGE AS DEPICTED IN VASE PAINTING: LEBES GAMIKOS, Second Desk Research Conference, 2024Crossref registry
Institutional witnessauthority file
Gemeinsame Normdatei 4410340-2, Lebes gamikos.Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Ceramics
1,104 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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