1. a mixing vessel , especially a large bowl, in which the wine was mixed with water , and from which the cups were filled, (Homer), etc.; οἶνον δ᾽ ἐκ κρητῆρος ἀφυσσάμενοι δεπάεσσιν ἔκχεον (Iliad by Homer); πίνοντες κρητῆρας drinking bowls of wine , (Iliad by Homer); κρητῆρα στήσασθαι ἐλεύθερον to give a bowl of wine to be drunk in honour of the deliverance, (Iliad by Homer); ἐπιστέψασθαι ποτοῖο, see. ἐπιστέφω. 2. metaphorically, κρατῆρα πλήσας κακῶν having filled a bowl full of woes, (Aeschulus Tragicus) 3. any cup-shaped hollow, a basin in a rock, (Sophocles Tragicus) (ML)