Art and Architecture in Ancient Greece

By USHistory.org, adapted by Newsela staff on 08.02.17

Word Count 599
Level 840L

Terracotta bowl from 520–510 B.C. shows the struggle between Herakles and Apollo for the Delphic tripod. The hero Herakles
is trying to take the tripod from the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, Greece. Photo by: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Art can show what a culture or group of people values. For the ancient Greeks,
their art showed that they valued excellence.

Ancient Greek art celebrated the importance and accomplishments of human

beings. Although it was often made to honor the gods, those gods looked very
human.

Many Greek works of art were paid for by the government. These artworks were
meant to be public so everyone could see them, and Greeks were very proud of
their art.

Most cities had a special area for temples or palaces, called an acropolis. This
area was usually on top of a hill. Greeks would use it for important ceremonies,
festivals and meetings.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1

The majestic Parthenon

Pericles was an important politician in Athens about 2,400 years ago. He had
several important temples built on the city's acropolis. One of them was the
Parthenon, which is one of the most famous examples of Greek architecture.

The Parthenon was built to honor Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The city of
Athens itself was named after her. The temple combines big, majestic columns
with smaller details that sometimes go unnoticed.

For example, each column is a bit wider in

the middle than at the bottom and at the
top. This made the columns actually look
straighter when people looked at them from
far away. The columns are closer to each
other at the corners of the temple, and
farther apart in the middle. The temple's
steps are also slightly curved. Each step is
lower on the sides and higher in the middle.
All these effects added to the building's
beauty and balance.

Sadly, the Parthenon has fallen apart over time. In the 1600s, Turkish invaders
used it to store gunpowder. An explosion left the temple with no roof and almost
destroyed it completely. Much later, tourists took away pieces of the building as
vacation souvenirs.

Celebrating the human body

Ancient Greek statues were mostly made of either stone or wood. Very few of
them survive to this day.

Most Greek statues had a human form, and many were nude. The Greeks saw the
human body as beautiful.

Early Greek statues, called kouros, were not realistic. The figures were stiff and
stood up very straight. Over time, Greek statues had a more natural, relaxed look.
Figures stood with their knees and arms slightly bent, and the head turned to one
side.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2

Other statues showed humans in action,
especially athletes. A good example is the
"Discus Thrower" by Myron, a sculptor. The
discus was a flat disk, like a frisbee, that a
person could throw. Ancient Greeks went to
sports games to see who could throw the
discus the farthest.

Famous statues

Another famous statue is "Diana of

Versailles." The statue shows Artemis, the
goddess of the hunt, reaching for an arrow
while a deer leaps next to her.

The "Venus de Milo" is one of the most

famous Greek statues. It was made 2,200
years ago, probably by the sculptor
Praxiteles, and shows how the Greeks
thought about beauty.

The ancient Greeks also painted, but very

few examples of paintings exist. The examples we do have are mostly found on
ceramic pots and plates.

There were two main styles of pottery painting in ancient Greece. One had red
figures on a black background, while the other had black figures on a red
background. Many of the pictures were either taken from history or legendary
stories of the gods.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3