“ They were also used as dedicatory offerings to the gods, and in the dramatic contests at the Dionysia the victorious choregus (a wealthy citizen who bore the expense of equipping and training the chorus) received a crown and a tripod, which he either dedicated to some god or set upon the top of a marble structure erected in the form of a small circular temple in a street in Athens, called the “street of tripods,” from the large number of memorials of this kind. ”

“ Another well-known tripod was the “Plataean,” made from a tenth part of the spoils taken from the Persian army after the battle of Plataea. This consisted of a golden basin, supported by a bronze serpent with three heads (or three serpents intertwined) , with a list of the states that had taken part in the war inscribed on the coils of the serpent. The golden bowl was carried off by the Phocians during the Sacred War ”

“ They also frequently had a central upright as support in addition to the three legs. Tripods are frequently 'mentioned in Homer as prizes in athletic games and as complimentary gifts, and in later times, highly decorated and bearing inscriptions, they served the same purpose. ”