AMPHORA (a Latin word from Gr. aµdopeus, derived from

See also:

• AWL (0. Eng. ael; at one time spelt nawl by a confusion with the indefinite article before it)

awl* on both sides, and OpeLv, to

See also:

• BEAR
• BEAR, BLACK
• BEAR, BROWN
• BEAR, GRIZZLY
• BEAR, ISABELLINE
• BEAR, WHITE

bear)  , a large big-bellied vessel used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for preserving wine, oil, honey, and fruits; and in later times as a cinerary urn . It was so named from usually having an ear or handle on each side of the neck (diota) . It was commonly made of earthenware, but sometimes of stone, glass or even more costly materials . Amphorae either rested on a foot, or ended in a point so that they had to be fixed in the ground . The older amphorae were oval-shaped, such as the vases filled with oil for prizes at the Panathenaic festival, having on one side a figure of Athena, on the other a representation of the contest; the latter were tall and slender, with voluted handles . The first class exhibits black figures on a reddish background, the second red figures on a black ground . The amphora was a standard measure of capacity among both Greeks and Romans, the Attic containing nearly nine gallons, and the Roman about six . In modern botany it is aexpressed in the form f 0s/iN2 sine cb d4 . The hyperbolic or Gudermannian amplitude of the quantity x is tan (sinh x) . In mechanics, the amplitude of a wave is the maximum ordinate .