Images of craftsmen first began to appear on Attic pots around the middle of the sixth century B.C. The craftsman motif became increasingly popular, reaching its peak during the first half of the fifth century - when Athens was one of the most important artistic centres. Scenes depicting craftsmen on Attic vases reflect the artisan's improving social status during this period, and also the new economic conditions in force. From the second half of the century onwards, such scenes were rarer and the range of themes more limited.

Attic red-figured vases, show craftsmen at work: the cobbler, the carpenter, the arms maker, the potter, the sculptor of bronze statues, and the vase-painter. The most common scenes in the Classical period are those of pottery workshops (painters and potters) and metalworkers. The craftsmen are pictured in their workshops (as we can see from the pots or tools hanging on the wall or laid out round them) and are busy making or decorating objects. Very often they are shown holding the tools of their trade, but these are not always easy to make out because of the small scale to which they are drawn.

Other figures depicted in some representations of craftsmen are winged Victories crowning the craftsmen in recognition of their skill, and the goddess Athena - Guardian of the City of Athens - who in her manifestation as Ergane (protector of the crafts) watches over the craftsmen and rewards their work. In Attic vase-painting, craftsmen are pictured either in groups in the workshop, or on their own, in which case they are, as a rule, sitting down and working. In the second case, the scenes are on the inside of the pot, normally a kylix. Although such scenes (usually of five or six figures) can be seen as fragments of larger scenes, it is important to recognise that they show small workshops, very probably family businesses, with people of various ages all working together.

Hephaistos and Athena were the two deities who protected the crafts. In the fifth century B.C. in particular, Attic pots show Hephaistos the craftsman making Achilles' armour in his workshop. Athena, too, is shown not simply supervising the craftsmen's work, but also in a creative role.