Ancient Greek Art Old civilization

I. HISTORY
A shared language, religion, and culture

-Ancient Greece From the exploits of Achilles ( a hero in the ancient epic poem by Homer, The Illiad),
about the Trojan War and Odysseus (the hero in Homer's The Odyssey), to the treatises of Aristotle, from
the exacting measurements of the Parthenon (above) to the rhythmic chaos of the Laocoön (below), ancient
Greek culture has shaped our world.

-notable archaeological sites, well-known literary sources, and the impact of Hollywood (Clash of the
Titans, for example),

A. Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes, Laocoön and his Sons, early first century
C.E., marble, 7’10-1/2″ high (Vatican Museum)

-Dispersed around the Mediterranean and divided into self-governing units called poleis or city-states,
the ancient Greeks were united by a shared language, religion, and culture.

- Strengthening these bonds further were the so-called “Panhellenic” sanctuaries and festivals that
embraced “all Greeks” and encouraged interaction, competition, and exchange (for example the Olympics,
which were held at the Panhellenic sanctuary at Olympia).

II. The Dark Ages (c. 1100 – c. 800 B.C.E.) to the Orientalizing Period (c. 700 – 600
B.C.E.)

- Following the collapse of the Mycenaean citadels of the late Bronze Age, the Greek mainland was
traditionally thought to enter a “Dark Age” that lasted from c. 1100 until c. 800 B.C.E.

- a massive network of graves, and two heroic burials replete with gold objects and valuable horse
sacrifices.

A. One of the most interesting artifacts, ritually buried in two separate graves, is a centaur figurine
1. Centaur, c. 900 B.C.E. (Proto-Geometric period), terracotta, 14 inches high, the head was found in
tomb 1 and the body was found in tomb 3 in the cemetery of Toumba, Lefkandi, Greece.
-At fourteen inches high, the terracotta creature is composed of a equine (horse) torso made on a potter’s
wheel and hand-formed human limbs and features.

2. Late Geometric Attic spouted krater (vessel for mixing water and wine), possibly from Thebes, c. 730
B.C.E., 30.5 cm high (The British Museum, London)

-narrative elements is a vase-painting likely from Thebes dating to c. 730 B.C.E. Fully ensconced in the
Geometric Period (c. 800-700 B.C.E.),

-the imagery on the vase reflects other eighth-century artifacts, such as the Dipylon Amphora, with its
geometric patterning and silhouetted human forms.

3. Fragment showing Perseus with the head of Medusa likely from a metope from the Temple of
Apollo at Thermon, c. 630 B.C.E., painted terracotta, 87.8 cm high (National Archaeological Museum,
Athens)

- In the Orientalizing Period (700-600 B.C.E.), alongside Near Eastern motifs and animal processions,
craftsmen produced more nuanced figural forms and intelligible illustrations.
For example, terracotta painted plaques from the Temple of Apollo at Thermon (c. 625 B.C.E.) are
some of the earliest evidence for architectural decoration in Iron Age Greece. Once ornamenting the surface
of this Doric temple

III. The Archaic Period (c. 600-480/479 B.C.E.)

- Greek artisans continued to develop their individual crafts, storytelling ability, and more realistic
portrayals of human figures throughout the Archaic Period, the city of Athens witnessed the rise and fall of
tyrants and the introduction of democracy by the statesman Kleisthenes in the years 508 and 507 B.C.E.

A. Showing the influence of ancient Egyptian sculpture (like this example of the Pharaoh Menkaure and his
wife in the MFA, Boston),

For example : Left: Anavysos (Kroisos) Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6′ 4″ (National Archaeological
Museum, Athens), photo: Steven Zucker Right: Aristion of Paros, Phrasikleia Kore, c. 550 – 540 B.C.E.
Parian marble with traces of pigment, 211 cm high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

B. Mural in the Tomb of the Diver

-The Archaic age also witnessed the rise of Greek wall painting, which (during the Archaic period) featured
a flat, sharply outlined .

-Greek mural painting was adopted by the Etruscans of central Italy, who used it to decorate the walls of
their own rock-cut tombs.
IV. The Classical Period (480/479-323 B.C.E.)
A. The “Early Classical Period” (480/479 – 450 B.C.E.) was a period of transition when some sculptural
work displayed archaizing holdovers alongside the so-called “Severe Style.”

For example compositions, as can be seen on the Niobid Painter’s vase in the Louvre.

B. During the “High Classical Period” (450-400 B.C.E.),

there was great artistic success:

-the innovative structures on the Acropolis to Polykleitos’ visual and cerebral manifestation of

idealization in his sculpture of a young man holding a spear, the Doryphoros or “Canon”.

C. military activity throughout the “Late Classical Period” (400-323 B.C.E.), artistic production and
development continued apace.

- a new figural aesthetic in the fourth century known for its longer torsos and limbs, and smaller heads.

(for example, the Apoxyomenos),the first female nude was produced. Known as the Aphrodite of
Knidos, c. 350 B.C.E.

Greek architectural orders

-An architectural order describes a style of building. In Classical architecture, each order is readily
identifiable by means of its proportions and profiles as well as by various aesthetic details.

A. The classical orders described by the labels Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

1. The Doric order

-The Doric order is the earliest of the three Classical orders of architecture and represents an important
moment in Mediterranean architecture when monumental construction made the transition from
impermanent materials like wood to permanent materials, namely stone.

2.
The Ionic order

-Ionic capital, north porch of the Erechtheion, 421-407 BCE, marble, Acropolis, Athens, Ionic order
originated in Ionia.

-Volutes, scroll-like ornaments, characterize the Ionic capital, and a base supports the column, unlike the
Doric order.

-The Ionic order is notable for its graceful proportions, which produce a more slender and elegant profile
than the Doric order.

For example The North porch of the Erechtheion, 421-407 BCE, marble, Acropolis, Athens
3.The Corinthian order

A. Corinthian capital

-The Corinthian order is both the latest and the most elaborate of the Classical orders of architecture.

-This order was employed in both Greek and Roman architecture.

Legacy of the Greek architectural canon

The canonical Greek architectural orders have exerted influence on architects and their imaginations for
thousands of years. While Greek architecture played a key role in inspiring the Romans, its legacy also
stretches far beyond antiquity.

V.The Hellenistic Period and Beyond (323 B.C.E. – 31 B.C.E.)

-Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. (one of the most successful conquerers in
history his empire stretched from Greece and Egypt to the Indus valley and Afghanistan).

-The Greeks and their influence stretched as far east as modern India.

- The other artists were more interested in capturing motion and emotion. Like the Great Altar of Zeus
from Pergamon.

For example Athena defeats Alkyoneus), The Pergamon Altar, c. 200-150 B.C.E. (Hellenistic Period),
35.64 x 33.4 meters, marble (Pergamon Museum, Berlin)

A. Classical/Hellenistic Age
-Starting in the Archaic period, panel painting also flourished in ancient Greece, in both tempera (water-
based paint) and encaustic (wax-based paint).

1. The style of Greek panel painting mirrored that of murals: 

-. flat during the Archaic period, realistic during the Classical/Hellenistic age.