GREEK ART

Prepared by:
Maria Vanessa R. Calantoc
 The history of Greek art is divided into
three principal periods:
• The Archaic Period (800-600 B.C.)
• The Classical Period or Hellenic Period
(500 BC) and
• The Hellenistic Period (400-100 BC)
Archaic Period
In the Archaic Period the arts
manifested the influence of earlier
civilizations, such as those of
Mesopotamia and Egypt, in their linear,
geometric tendency and stylized forms.
 This was seen in pottery with its
variety of geometric designs and highly
stylized human figures.
 In sculpture, there were two important
types, the kouros (pl. kouroi) and the kore
(pl. korai).
 The kouros was a nude male figure, presumably
of an athlete. It showed the influence of Egyptian
sculpture in its frontality and rigidity, one foot
slightly forward, the fists clenched at the sides. It
also had a smiling face, slightly bulging eyes, and
hair arranged in tight, geometric curls. The
treatment of musculature of the body and limbs
was naive and unsure.
 The kore was a fully clad female figure,
the drapery of its robe rendered in
regular, vertical folds. The kouros and the
kore sometimes held an offering of fruit or
an animal to the gods.
 The Kore
The kouros
 Classical or Hellenic Period

It is with the Classical or Hellenic Period that

Greek civilization particularly that of Athens, is
mainly associated. This period marks the
highest point in the remarkable civilization of the
ancient Greeks.
 It is also known as the Golden Age of
Athens or the Age of Pericles, after its
great statesman. As an outstanding
period of cultural achievement, it is a
constant point of reference in the
history of art and philosophy.
 The Period contains the mainsprings of Western
cultural tradition in the philosophy that crystallized
from the works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
This period was preceded by a brief transitional
period in which the arts of the earlier age underwent
a process of maturation until they came into full
flowering in the 5th century BC.
Thank you