Situla (bucket-shaped vessel),

6th century BCE

Linking all of these objects is their depiction of the sea, whether the ship that sails around the rim of the Athenian mixing bowl fragment, the waves that decorate the side of the small Minoan flask shown above, or the bronze vase attachment in the shape of ships. While the ancient cultures that developed around the Mediterranean were distinct in language, social norms, religious practices, and artistic conventions, as a group they nevertheless collectively experienced the prevalence of the sea in their cultural consciousness, as is suggested by the frequent use of maritime imagery. Boats and larger ships were often depicted, and the waves of the sea became decorative ornament, whether as abstracted geometric patterns or gently curving lines. The Mediterranean was also responsible for facilitating contact, trade, and exchange among the diverse populations that lived around the region, further ensuring that ideas, peoples, and objects could move easily across the sea.