The kanthoros was a distinctive cup, used for wine. It was used both for drinking from and for ceremonial purposes. The shape is often depicted on black-figure and red-figure pottery in scenes associated with Dionysus and Herakles. The two gods frequently depicted reclining, perhaps at a symposium, holding a kantharos in their hands. The bilingual belly amphora by the Andokides painter shows such a scene and is one of the prime examples of such iconography.
Examples of kantharoi have survived in pottery form, however as is typical with many Greek vases, their form most likely originated in metal.
To find out more about different types of Greek vessel please see our relevant blog post: Collecting Greek Vases.