The Archaeologist

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How the Greco-Persian Wars changed the way Athenians drank their wine

The Greco-Persian wars are some of the most famous battles in history. The 300 Spartans at Thermopylae. The Greek phalanx at Marathon. The naval victory at Salamis. The end result? Athenian domination of the eastern Mediterranean, and the end of Persian aspirations to control Greece. But the failed invasion attempt by Persia wasn't entirely unsuccessful. While they didn't politically conquer Greece, culturally they were far more successful.

Join curator Jamie Fraser as he walks you through the Persian way of drinking wine with an Achaemenid rhyton, and how this very eastern way of drinking made it's way into the Athenian symposium (albeit in a different physical form).