was produced by perioikoi but this is nor certain. Although we know of Spartan citizen families being involved in craft activities of direct importance to warfare, it is unlikely that pottery production was considered among those. Helots worked exclusively in agriculture. Another theory proposes that the potters was made by itinerant potters from East Greece. This would be suggested by the strong East Greek influence on the paintings, especially those by the Boreades Painter. Production was aimed at the local market, and to some export. Cups were mostly made for export, the typical Spartan drinking vessel lakaina was mainly found in Laconia. The work of some of the painters has not so far been found in Laconia at all, indicating that some workshops entirely concentrated on export. It can be assumed that the producers were potter-painters, i.e. that both stages of production were performed by the same individuals, as certain specific features in the vase shapes are only found on works ascribed to a single painter. No workshops have so far been located; perhaps they were in peroikic settlements not yet excavated. Neither potters nor painters signed their vases. In fact, inscriptions are quite rare and only ever used to name painted figures. The painters used additional colours, such as red and white, quite extensively, but also very carefully, thereby increasing the decorative effect. Earlier than other local styles, e.g. those of Corinth, Attica or East Greece, the figurally decorated interior of the cup became the carrier of the main image. Around 570 BC, perhaps under the influence of East Greek plates, the Boreades Painter subdivided the interior image into segments. Such zones were to become typical of Laconian vase painting. He also introduced the typical Laconian tripartite subdivision of the exterior surface of the cup bowl (pomegranates, flames and rays). The painters depicted scenes of everyday life, hunting scenes, symposia and motifs related to warfare. Additionally, mythological imagery was common. Among it, the most popular figure was Herakles, usually shown in combat with animals or monsters. Other motifs include Troilos and Achilles, Atlas, the hunt for the Calydonian boar, the return of Hephaistos to Mount Olympus, Prometheus and the blinding of Polyphemus. The most frequently depicted gods are Zeus and Poseidon. The interior image can also be of a gorgon. Images connected to the Trojan and Theban cycles of myth are also common. Special Laconian features are, for example,