Ode to a Grecian Urn

This week we learned about the different types of Greek pottery in the ancient world. In our modern world we have bowls, jugs, pitchers, cups and tupperware among the many containers that serve these functions for us today. But we thought it would be fun for kids to create their own Ancient Greek black figure vase using rolls of a die to determine the type of vase, decorative designs and figures decorating them. Some parents even got in on the fun! Enjoy the gorgeous works of art below along with an excerpt from John Keats' famous Ode, inspired by these beautiful and timeless ancient vessels.

Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness,

       Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,

Sylvan historian, who canst thus express

       A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:

What leaf-fring'd legend haunts about thy shape

       Of deities or mortals, or of both,

               In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?

       What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?

What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?

               What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

-John Keats (excerpt from Ode to a Grecian Urn)