Ancient Greek Pottery Craft | Kids Activities Blog

This ancient Greek pottery craft is great for kids in pre-k, kindergarten, or older! It is also an awesome craft for parents to join in on. Making this craft will allow kids to exercise their fine motor skills and learn about Ancient Greek art. You can either do this craft at home or in the classroom.

Ancient Greek Pottery Craft

Do you want to make your own pottery craft inspired by Ancient Greece? Here’s a super fun Guide that teaches them how to make their very own ancient Greek pottery. Since it uses paint, you may want to lay down a tarp or go outside to avoid messes.

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Supplies Needed To Make Ancient Greek Pottery

You will need:

How to Make your ancient greek pottery

Step 1

Gather your materials as listed above. Start by rolling a portion of the clay into a ball.

Step 3

With your thumb, press a dent into the center of the ball.

Step 4

Pinch along the sides of the dent to make the pot taller and thinner. This is called a pinch pot.

Step 5

Stretch the shape of the pot to make it taller. Towards the top, pinch in a section of the clay inward to make the neck of your pot.

Step 6

After making the neck, make sure some of the clay flares out at the top to form the rim of your pot.

Step 7

Next take some more clay and roll into two snake-like shapes. This will be the handles of your pot.

Step 9

Take the handles and carefully attach it to your pot. Smooth the edges of the handle into the pot to make sure it sticks. Once you are happy with your pots shape, smooth out the clay. Make sure that the bottom is flat so the pot can be set down.

Step 10

Let the clay dry or bake according to package instructions. Once the clay is dry put your paints on a pallet (a paper plate will work just fine).

Step 11

Paint the base of the pot orange, orange was very popular for Ancient Greek pots. Let the orange paint dry.

Step 12

Take your black paint and add details. You can add lines, swirls, or stick figures to mimic the patterns on Ancient Greek pottery. Let the paint dry.

Ta-da, now you have your own Ancient Greek pottery to use for decoration!

Final Ancient Greek Pottery Craft

This craft is awesome as a decoration or a gift for a family member of friend. Though, it should not be used to store food, water, or any other items as it is too small and the clay we used is not suitable for these uses. You could use this item for play with dolls, stuffed animals, or action figures, but I would primarily recommend using it for display since the clay can break relatively easily. If you do use it for play, make sure to handle with care!

Tips when making this craft

• When I was planning out this craft I thought that a coil pot would work best, but I realized it wouldn’t when I couldn’t get the shape I wanted and it kept collapsing in on itself. I tried the pinch pot method, and that worked much better! The pinch pot method can also be used to make bowls, cups, and other dishes out of pottery relatively easily.
• Once I got the painting stage I did run into a minor issue, the only black paint I had was fabric paint. It worked well enough, but it took longer to dry and was kinda sticky after it dried. I would advise using washable or acrylic paint for this project so you don’t run into the same issue.
• Use thinner brushes or paint markers to get smaller details on your pot!

History of Ancient Greek Pottery

In Ancient Greece, pottery was the most popular forms of storage. The Ancient Greeks would use pottery to store food, water, and olive oil. However, pottery wasn’t just used for storage, it was also used for art! Archeologists have found many pottery shards near the cities Athens and Corinth. These shard depict epic scenes from Greek mythology, depictions of the Greek Gods, and scenes from everyday life like farms, ships, animals, and many more. Pottery art was very important to the Ancient Greeks as it was an easy way for them to express themselves, tell stories, and depict everyday life. The Ancient Greeks didn’t have cameras or iPhones, after all! Using this craft you too can express yourself through the art of pottery, just like the Ancient Greeks did!

I am a lover of Ancient Greece, it is one of my favorite time periods so it was super fun for me to make this craft. From researching Greek pottery to making the pot itself, I had a blast. I had used my copy of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece: An Authoritative Account of Greek Military and Political Power, Architecture, Sculpture, Art, Drama, and Philosophy by Nigel Rodgers that my parents had gotten for me a couple Christmases ago. The cover of the encyclopedia is what had inspired me to make this craft in the first place, so all my inspiration goes to this book! If you like Ancient Greece as well, I’d highly recommend the book.

Overall, I found this craft enjoyable, and I can guarantee that you and your kids will enjoy it, too!

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How did your ancient Greek pottery turn out?