pythos

Pythos is a term that can refer to the transliteration variant of the Greek word pithos, meaning a large storage jar. In archaeology and classical studies, pithos denotes a substantial ceramic vessel used to store commodities such as wine, oil, grain, or olives. Pithoi were common in Bronze Age Crete and the Mycenaean mainland, and continued into later Greek periods. They were typically large, globular to ovoid in shape, with a wide mouth and a short neck, and were either buried in storerooms or deposited in walls or floors for easy access during storage. The vessels were often fired in kilns and may bear slips, paints, or incised decoration, although many were plain. Provenance sites include domestic houses, palatial complexes, tombs, and shipwreck contexts, reflecting their central role in the circulation and preservation of everyday resources.

From a linguistic standpoint, pithos is the standard modern transliteration; pythos is encountered as a less common variant in some scholarly texts or older publications. The term is primarily used within archaeology and classical studies; outside these fields, the word “Pythos” may appear as a proper noun in specific names or titles but is not widely recognized as a separate concept.