d private customs; those
representing games, repasts, scenic representations of combats of
animals, hunting and funeral subjects.

Millingen remarks that the subjects of the paintings vary according to
the period and the places in which they have been executed; on the
most ancient vases Dionysiac scenes are frequently seen. As,
originally, the greater number were destined to contain wine, they
were adorned with analogous subjects. Those of the beautiful period of
the art, especially of the manufacture of Nola, a town in which Greek
institutions were observed with extreme care, present the ancient
traditions of mythological episodes in all their purity. Those of a
later period represent subjects taken from the tragic writers. Lastly,
on those of the decline, we see depicted the new ceremonies and
superstitions which were mingled with the ancient and simple religion
of the Greek. Painted vases are, therefore, of the greatest interest
for the study of the manners and customs of ancient Greece, and of
those which the Romans adopted from her in imitation.

[Illustration: VASE. (_Found at Pompeii._)]

As to the uses of these vases, there have been a variety of opinions;
but a careful examination of a great number of vases would lead us to
suppose that many were, doubtless, articles of household furniture,
for use and adornment, such as the larger vases, destined, by their
size, weight, and form, to remain in the same place, while others, of
different sizes and shapes, were made to hold wine and other liquids,
unguents, and perfumes. It is evident that they were more for ornament
than use, and that they were considered as objects of art, for the
paintings seem to have been executed by the best artists of the
period. They were chiefly employed for entertainments, and the
banquets of the wealthy. They are seen in use in scenes painted on the
vases themselves. Many, especially those of the later style, were
solely used for decorative purposes, as is evident from the fact of
one side only being executed with care, while the other has been
neglected, both in the drawing and in the subject. Those with
Panathenaic subjects were probably given full of oil, as prizes at the
national games. These were called _Athla_. Certain vases bearing the
inscription, "From Athens," or "Prize from Athens," seem to have been
given to the victors in the pentathlon, or courses of athletic
exercises in the Panathenaea. Others may have been given