Athenian painters adopted this black-figure pottery style around 630 bce because it emphasized human figures rather than Oriental animal figures as pictorial themes. The superior quality of their clay, and decoration quickly began to prepare the Athenian artists to overtake the Corinth. From 600 bce and forward, Athens became the ruler of Greek pottery. They eventually send out its ware throughout the Mediterranean world. During this time period pottery started to become more popular. Athenian pottery of 6th century bce often features narrative scenes composed of black figures painted on a light inset background panel, while the surrounding vase surface is a deep, lustrous black. The method by which this distinctive color was achieved, involving
