A large, wide-mouthed two-handled Greek or Roman bowl or vase, usually made of pottery or metal. It is characteristic of Greece in the Mycenaean and classical periods and they were used to serve wine, mixed with water in varying proportions, into individual drinking cups, and handed out at banquets and sacrifices. The word is Greek for 'mixing bowl'. There is a classification of four types: column crater, volute crater, calyx crater and bell crater, which take their names from the characteristic shape either of the handle or of the body of the vase.