Pottery.

Greek vases have become an important piece of material culture, offering countless keys to information about the past. Vases were generally sculpted using a wheel, and the separate pieces were pieced together once dry using wet clay. The handles were always placed last. After the time consuming firing process, the pottery was painted in several different fashions, sometimes depicting the vase's purpose, others showing mythological stories or historical references. Some vases were used for drawing or drinking water, while others were used to hold oil, among many other uses.

Black figure vase painting was the first style to bring many artists to fame. Figures appear almost as silhouettes typically on a red background. This style is also often indicated by scoring, however many pieces do without. Red figure vase painting developed around 530 BC, replacing black figure pottery within the a few decades. Unlike black figure vase painting, red figure pottery features red figures on a black background. This technique allowed painters to use more detail in their work. However, the black background also made it difficult to use some older techniques, bringing more difficulty into the style and transforming the process to create the works of art that have taught so much about Greek culture to subsequent generations.