AMONG many inventions and discoveries attributed to the Greeks are democracy, architecture, geometry, astrology and coinage. These ancient overachievers obviously worked hard, but they also played hard. A favourite way to spend an evening - among men, anyway, for women were barred from attending - was the symposium, immortalised by Plato in his dialogue of the same name. A symposium was a gathering of friends for the purpose of conversation, poetry, games and music. A relaxed atmosphere was fostered by the presence of servant boys who would ply attendees with copious quantities of wine. So central was the role of wine that, much like the Japanese tea ceremony, a number of specialised ceramic wares were developed. These included wine coolers, jugs, drinking vessels and, most important of all, the krater: a large receptacle in which the wine was mixed with water. Its basic form was variable, sometimes resembling a large bowl, sometimes a squat jug. One of the most ubiquitous shapes resembles an inverted bell on a stand. The common feature shared by all of these variations is the presence of twin handles. Surviving examples - often more than 2,500 years old - tend to feature painted slip decoration with classical motifs such as Greek key and scroll bands coupled with representations of myths. Depictions of Dionysus are especially common as he presided over the symposium in his capacity as god of wine, drunkenness and sex. The very best examples of these ancient proto-punch bowls are snapped up by museums but there is a thriving fraternity of private collectors. Prices start at around £500 but larger examples, with fine figural decoration, can fetch £5,000.