Glossary Pottery and vessels
Rhyton
Also called: rhyta
A vessel with an opening at both ends, often in the form of an animal head or horn, thought to have been used for pouring liquid offerings.
A rhyton is filled at the top and empties through a second, smaller hole, often in the muzzle of an animal. The shape is common in the Aegean and Near East and is usually linked to ritual pouring, though some may simply have been used to serve drink.
Cypriot examples include Late Bronze Age Base Ring bull vessels, sometimes called bull rhyta, and a faience rhyton from Kition. The second opening is the test: animal-headed faience head-cups without one are better described as cups.