The wedding vases of the Athenians: a view from sanctuaries and houses

This paper discusses the ritual wedding vases (loutrophoros and nuptial lebes) from non-funerary settings, such as Attic sanctuaries and houses. It highlights their function, performative role and meaning in social rituals, such as the loutrophoria procession and looks at patterns of dedication in the various Attic sanctuaries where they were offered. Marriage vessels were unearthed in the Sanctuary of the Nymphe, the Acropolis, the Sanctuary of Nemesis at Rhamnous, the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis, all sanctuaries of Artemis (Brauron, Halai, Mounichia), the cavesshrines for Pan and the Nymphs and the shrine of the Tritopatores. Random examples occur in sanctuaries of goddesses beyond Attica.