Art of Ancient Greece

Chapter 5

A first century A.D. life-size 61 in. [1.54 m.] marble statue copied

from a bronze statue originally done by the sculptor Myron of

Greece ca. 450 B.C

Ancient Greece

Delphi, Sanctuary of Apollo Greece400 BC

• Considered to be the center of the world. Delphi symbolically represents nature and man brought together between the sea and the hills. The temple of Apollo according to legend housed Apollo since 4 days after his birth, at which time he killed a serpent (representing the forces of nature) and claimed victory.

• The pathway to the temple of Apollo and on to the theater, begins at the lower end of the sanctuary, rises up the hillside crisscrossing past various structures and other artifacts or remnants of Greek city states. As a collection, the artifacts serve as representation of a democratic society.

• Delphi has been important as the sanctuary of gaia, the original goddess of the earth and fertility.

Greek and Roman Deities

• Most of the Greek deities were adopted by the Romans, although in many cases there was a change of name.

• According to the most widespread legend, twelve major sky gods and goddesses established themselves in patarial splendor on Mount Olympus in northern Greece after defeating the earth deities, called Giants or Titans, for control of the earth and sky.

Greek and Roman Deities

• Zeus (Jupiter), supreme deity, Mature, bearded man, holds scepter or lightning bolt; eagle and oak tree are sacred to him.

• Hera (Juno), goddess of marriage, Sister/Wife of Zeus, Mature; cow and peacock are sacred to her.

• Hestia (Vesta), goddess of the hearth, Sister of Zeus, Her sacred flame burned in communal hearths.

• Poseidon (Neptune), god of the sea. Holds a three pronged spear; horse is sacred to him.

• Hades (Pluto), god of the underworld, the dead, and wealth. His helmet makes the wearer invisible.

• The remaining seven sky gods, the offspring of the first five, are:

• Ares (Mars), god of war. Son of Zeus and Hera. Wears armor; vulture and dog are scared to him.

• Hephaistos (Vulcan), god of the forge, fire, and metal handicrafts. Son Hera (in some myths, also of Zeus); husband of Aphrodite. Lame sometimes ugly; wears blacksmith's apron, carries hammer.

• Apollo (Phoebus), god of the sun, light, truth, music, archery, and healing. Sometimes identified with Helios (the sun), who rides a chariot across the daytime sky. Son of Zeus and Leto (a descendant of earth); brother of Artemis. Carries bow and arrows or sometimes lyre; dolphin and laurel are sacred to him.

• Athena (Minerva), goddess of wisdom, war, victory the city, and civilization. Daughter of Zeus, sprang fully grown from his head. Wear helmet and carries shield and spear, owl and olive trees are sacred to her.

• Hermes (Mercury), messenger of he gods, god of fertility and luck, guide of the dead to ht eunderworld, and god of thieves, commerce, and the marketplace. Son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of Atlas, a Giant who supports the sky on his shoulders. Wears winged sandals and hat; carries caduceus, a wind with two snakes entwined around it.

OTHER IMPORTANT DEITIES INCLUDE.

• Demeter (Ceres), goddess of grain and agriculture.• Persephone (Proserpina), goddess of fertility and queen of

the underworld. Wife of Hades; daughter of Demeter.• Dionysos (Bacchus), god of wine, the grape harvest, and

inspiration. Shown surrounded by grape vines and grape clusters; carries a wine cup. His female followers are called maenads (BACCHANTES)

• Eros (Cupid), god of love in some myths, the son of Aphrodite. Shown as an infant or young boy. Sometimes winged, carries bow and arrow.

• Pan, proctector of shepherds, god of the wilderness and of music. Half man, half goat, he carries pan pipes.

• Nike, goddess of victory. Often seen winged and flying.

The Lefkandi CentaurThis centaur from Lefkandi on Euboea is an important work of art for all sorts of reasons. It dates to the 10th century BC, and shows the typical geometric patterning of the time. But it also depicts the growing interest in depicting figures rather than simply designs, and shows an interest in mythology, which will provide the subject matter for much later Greek art. The centaur appears to be wounded in his left knee, indicating a mythological encounter with Heracles.

Funerary vase,

from the Dipylon

Cemetery,

Athens. c. 750

BCE. Terra-cotta,

height 42 5/8 "

(108 cm). The

Metropolitan

Museum of Art,

New York.

Man and Centaur,

perhaps from

Olympia. c. 750

BCE. Bronze,

height 4 5/16" (11.1

cm). The

Metropolitan

Museum of Art,

New York.

Pitcher (olpe), from Corinth. c. 600 BC. Ceramic with black-figure decoration, height 11 1/2"

Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy. c. 550 BCE.

Plan of a Typical Greek Temple

The numbers below correspond to the circled numbers above. 1. Stereobate (or substructure).2. Stylobate.3. Colonnade (or peristyle).4. Porch (or pronaos).5. Cella (or naos).6. Rear porch (or opisthodomus).

Kallikrates and Iktinos. Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens. 447-438 BC.

The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and detailing. The Greek orders are: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

Doric

The Doric style is rather

sturdy and its top (the

capital), is plain. This

style was used in

mainland Greece and

the colonies in

southern Italy and

Sicily.

Ionic

The Ionic style is

thinner and more

elegant. Its capital is

decorated with a scroll-

like design (a volute).

This style was found in

eastern Greece and the

islands.

Corinthian

The Corinthian style is

seldom used in the

Greek world, but often

seen on Roman

temples. Its capital is

very elaborate and

decorated with

acanthus leaves.

Gorgon Medusa, detail of sculpture from the west pediment of the

Temple of Artemis, Korkyra. c. 580 BC. Limestone, height of pediment at

the center 9'2 " (2.79 m). Archaeological Museum, Korkyra (Corfu).

• As a female monster with snakes Medusa was one of the most typical examples of the Other in Greek culture. She epitomized the monstrous as being female and wild. The demonization of snakes here is particularly interesting. Comparison can be made between these images of Medusa and representations of the so-called Snake Goddess that come from Minoan art of the middle of the second millennium BC.

Reconstruction of the Siphnian Treasury using fragments found in the Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi. c. 530–525 BC. Marble.

This frieze shows the Gigantomachy, a legendary battle in

Greek mythology between the Giants and the Olympian

gods. The gods won by killing the Giants with the help of

Hercules.

Dying Warrior, sculpture from the left corner of the east

pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. c. 480 BCE.

Marble, length 6' (1.83 m).

• KOUROS (plural: KOUROI) =male youth

• KORE (plural: KORAI): female figure / related to the Egyptian idea of the queen as the goddess Hathor; also to Middle East representations of female deities

New York

Kouros from

Attica. c. 580

BCE. Marble,

height 6'4" (1.93

m). The

Metropolitan

Museum of Art,

New York.

Kore, from

Chios, c. 520

BCE.

Marble,

height 217/8"

(56.6 cm).

Acropolis

Museum,

Athens.

This kouros served as a

grave marker and was

accompanied by the

following inscription:

"Stand and pity beside the

grave monument of dead

Kroisos, whom, at one

time, while fighting in the

front ranks of battle,

raging Ares destroyed".

Peplos

Kore,

Athens,

c.530

BCE,

marble,

c.4’

Berlin Kore,

Cemetery at

Keretea,

near Athens.

C. 570-560

BC.

Marble with

ruminants of

red paint

6’ 3”

Amphora

Oval body with a vertical handle on either side. It was used for

storage of wine or sometimes oil. The name "Amphora" is from

the word "amphi" means on both sides and "phero" means to

bring.

Amphora is classified into "neck amphora", which has a offset

neck or "belly amphora", which has a continuous profile from the

lip to the foot. Former has some sub-categories: "nolan

amphora" with flaring mouth, "panathenaic amphora" a prize for

the winner of the game at the Panathenaic festival, "nikosthenic

amphora" derived from the Bucchero pottery, "pointed amphora"

with a knob at the bottom.

Amphora was produced from the beginning of the black-figure to

the end of the red-figure and became slender in later period.

Neck Amphora

Oval body, an offset neck with a thick mouth,

two vertical handles and a heavy stand.

Some geometric amphora have a decoration

"SOS" on either side of the neck. Black-figured

neck amphora usually has a lotus-palmette

pattern instead of "SOS" and figured scene on

the body.

Tyrrhenian amphora, made in the middle of

sixth century, has a tall body and the amphora

made by Exekias or other potter has a round

body, and later amphora has intermediate

shape.

Panathenaic Amphora

Broad body tapering sharply downward, an offset

neck with a heavy mouth, handles cylindrical in

section and a small stand.

It was used as a prize for the Panathenaic game

held every four years and olive oil harvested from

the trees in Academia was contained.

Figured scene is arranged on either side of the

body, Athena between the columns is on one side,

the game he won on the other.

The oldest example is about 560 B.C. and painted

by the black-figure in the age of the red-figure and

hellenistic period. Since the fourth century, the

name of Archon for the year was appeared by the

right hand column.

Hydria

Two horizontal handles at the sides,

used for lifting. The name "Hydria" is

from the word "hydor" means water.

It was produced from the beginning of

the black-figure, though early example

has a round body. Hydria with

continuous curve is called "Kalpis",

which was maybe introduced by the

red-figure workshop.

Figured scene is arranged on the body

and often on the shoulder.

Olpe

S shape profile from the flat lip to the foot

and a vertical handle. This shape is the

oldest oinochoe in the Attic black-figure

and produced from the beginning of it to

the end of the sixth century though there is

no example painted by the red-figure. It

was maybe developed into the "Oinochoe

type 5a" with thicker lip, since some late

olpe has a shape similar to the type 5.

The figured scene is arranged on the body

as a paneled picture.

Volute Krater Round body, an offset neck, a heavy stand

and two handles which is in the form of a

spiral with flanged sides rising from loops on

the shoulder to above to the rim. This shape

was introduced in the second quarter of the

sixth century, though the examples with the

black-figure are rare and flourished after the

end of the century. Workshops of Apulia, a

Greek colony in South Italy, favoured this

shape.

The form became slenderer as time went by

and Gorgoneia, masks of the Medusa, are

applied on the volutes of the handles in

Apulia. Figured scene is arranged on either

side of the body and sometimes on the neck.

Usually flower ornaments flourish the vase.

Dimensions: height about 70cm, though there

are many vases over 1m high in apulian

vases.

Calyx Krater

Deep body with the lower convex, the

upper slightly concave. A heavy stand

and handles which are set at the top of

the lower part, curve upward.

The first example was maybe produced

by Exekias in about 530B.C. In the age

of the red-figure, this shape was

favoured and used till the end of this

technique.

A frieze picture is arranged on the upper

part without a interruption by the

handles. A palmette pattern is usually

arranged on the lower part.

Bell KraterBell shaped body with loop handles

placed high on the body and curving

slightly upward and a heavy stand. Some

early example have not loop handles but

lugs.

This shape was introduced after the

beginning of the red-figure and especially

favoured after the middle of the fifth

century.

The figured scene is arranged on the

body and the ornament is very simple.

Standard Lekythos

Tall cylindrical body with an offset

shoulder, a tall neck with heavy

mouth, a vertical handle and heavy

stand and the diameter is largest on

the body.

This shape was introduced about the

late sixth century and white ground

lekythos used as a offering was

produced since the second quarter of

the fifth century, though disappeared

in the early fourth.

Figured scene is arranged on the

body and rarely on the shoulder,

where usually a five-palmette pattern

is preferred.

Oinochoe

Oval body with an offset neck, a trefoil

mouth and a high handle. This shape was

produced from the beginning of the black-

figure to slightly before the end of the red-

figure.

Normally, the ornament is only done on the

body, though there are some examples in

black-figure with a decoration on the neck.

Some late oinochoe have a white ground

body. Since this shape has a origin in the

bronze vessel, a relief ornament of human

head is attached on the connection

between the handle and the mouth. Red-

figured oinochoe usually has a panel on

the body and sometimes a palmette

pattern on the connection.

Kantharos

A deep bowl with a high vertical

handle on either side and a tall

stand. The word "Kantharos"

means dung beetle and it is maybe

used for this shape.

Kantharos was produced from the

beginning of the black-figure to the

end of the fifth century. However,

there are not so many example and

this shape is famous as a attribute

of Dionysos in the Greek vase

painting. There are some varieties:

with short stand, short handles, or

one handle. Some kantharoi in the

shape of the head of a woman,

Herakles or Satyrs were produced.

Kylix

"Kylix" is a drinking cup with a horizontal handle on either side and

used for wine. Its name seems to be applied to the cup in any shape.

The kylix has a frieze picture on the either side of the outside, and

another in inside, which is called "tondo".

There are many varieties in the cup and classified by the shape of the

lid, handle and stand. "Komast cup" has deep bowl and short stand.

"Siana cup" has taller stand. "Merrythought cup" has handles shaped

like a wishbone. "Little master cup" has a shallow bowl and a tall

stand. "Gordion cup" is a midway between the siana cup and the little

master cup.

"Kylix type A" has a broad stand and "kylix type B" has a continuous

curve from the lip to the foot. "Chalcidizing cup" has a short stand and

"Stemless cup" has no stand.

Komast Cup

A deep bowl with

concaved lip, short

horizontal handles and a

short stand. It was named

after komast, a drunk,

which preferred in this

shape.

It was made 590-570 B.C.

and developed into the

Siana cup. Figures are

depicted on the outside in

the frieze pictures. A flower

decoration is often depicted

on the lip.

Black-figure amphora by

Amasis Painter, ca. 540-530 BC

Exekias (c. 550–525 BC)

Athenian - Greek potter and painter who was the

leading vase painter of the Attic School in the

archaic black-figured style, with the Amasis

Painter, is considered the finest of black-figure

masters of the mid-6th century BC and is one of

the major figures in the history of the art. His

name is found on 11 vases. The most common

inscription on the vases is “Exekias epoiesen me”

(“Exekias made me”).

Ajax and

Achilles playing

a game c. 540

BC. Black-figure

decoration,

ceramic 2’ in

height.

Ajax and Achilles playing detail

Amphora by Exekias, c. 530 B.C. Suicide of Ajax.

Detail Suicide of Ajax 530 B.C..

Euphronios (painter) and Euxitheos (potter), Death of Sarpedon, c. 515 B.C.

Euphronios

• Euphronios was a vase-painter and potter working in the red-figure technique in Athens from about 520 to 470 B.C. He signed his name on eighteen vases, six times as painter and twelve times as potter. To judge by their drawing style, the vases that he signed as potter seem to be later than those he signed as painter.

In his early career Euphronios was one of a group of Athenian vase-painters who have been named the Pioneers by scholars today. Working about 520 to 500 B.C., they were the first to exploit the possibilities of drawing in the new red-figure technique.

Classical Period c. 480-323 BC.

• The art of the Classical Greek style is characterized by a joyous freedom of movement, freedom of expression, and it celebrates mankind as an independent entity (atomo). During this period, artists begin to expand the formal aesthetic boundaries while they worked in expressing the human figure in a more naturalistic manner. They were able to replace the strict asymmetry of the figure with a free flowing form more true to life, while they approached an ideal aesthetic vision through stone and bronze.

• 480 BC: Early Classical

• 430 - 370 BC: High Classical

• 430 - 323 BC: Late Classical

Terms and Vocabulary

• Acropolis: A large group of buildings situated above the normal city (as if on top a large hill) - literally translated into, "city above." The Parthenon is part of an acropolis.

• Amphora: A type of jar used by the Greeks to store various provisions such as corn, wine, oil, honey, etc… The opening is usually large enough to admit a ladle, and typically was covered with a lid. Amphora literally means, “to carry on both sides”, referring to the large handles placed to both sides of the neck.

• Barbarian: The etymology or origin of the word "barbarian" is derived from the sound of the language that the so-called barbarians' of ancient Europe spoke. The Persians were typically referred to as barbarians, given this name because their speech was interpreted by the Greeks as: "bar"-"bar."

• Canon: Used in Canon of Proportions: an idealized mathematical system for depictions of the human body.

• Centaur: A Greek mythical creature with the head and torso of a human, and the body of a horse.

• Contrapposto: The appearance of weight shift in sculpture by the depiction of counter-positioning, in which the body relaxes on one side as the other side takes on the weight of the body and tenses up.

• Cornice: This is part of the Parthenon, and for that matter all Temple architecture, is essentially the roof like structure that holds tops the temple. It consists of two angled pieces (roughly 10 degrees from the horizontal) and a flat or base piece. Typically on the west and east ends of temple Pedimental sculpture would be onto the base cornice piece such that the two angled pieces shelter the sculptural works.

• Doric: The earliest order in Greek architecture, generally massive in appearance, with undecorated columns.

• Frieze: Band of horizontal space located between the capital above the columns of a building, and the cornice, usually used for some form of decoration. It is also common for any structures immediately within a temple (like the inner-cella in the Parthenon) to contain a frieze lining part or all of the same type of space above the columns.

• In Situ: A term referring to artifacts being uncovered in the precise location where they originally were used.

• Metope: This is part of a temple, like the Parthenon, that is located above the frieze bordered of its right and left sides by two triglyphs, and typically continue in such an alternating series around the entire temple exterior. This just about square space is usually filled with relief sculpture that, in most cases, follows a specific theme on each of the separate sides of the temple (ie north, east, south, west).

• Pediment: In Classical architecture, the triangular space formed by the ends of the roof and the cornice, usually used for decoration.

• Relief: Sculpture consisting of figures that are attached to the background, generally a flat surface.

• Temple: Building used for religious purposes; in Greek civilization, generally used to house a cult statue depicting certain gods or goddesses.

• Triglyph: This is part of a temple that is located directly above the outer frieze, and on the sides of a each metope. A triglyph has three vertical bar like dividers that originate from more primitive forms of wooden and reed architecture.

A first century A.D. larger-than-life-size

(74 in. [ 2 m.]) marble statue copied from

a bronze statue originally done by

Polykleitos of Argos ca. 450 B.C.

The statue originally carried a spear in

his left hand. Note how the weight of the

person is placed on the right leg while the

left leg is balancing on the ball of the foot

conveying the moment of cessation of

forward movement.

Polykleitos developed rules of proportion

(a canon) for the human body that

subsequent sculptures followed and built

upon. He and other classical sculptors

stressed the ideal of physical perfection

emphasizing ideal proportions, smooth

skin, regular facial features, etc.

View from behind of marble statue copied from a bronze statue originally done by Polykleitos of Argos ca. 450 B.C.

The Development of Sculpture During the Classic Time Period

• The style of the Classical period in Greek Sculpture developed from the conventions of the earlier Archaic Period. Through the Classical period (which is usually divided into Early, Middle, and Late Classical periods), the human figure evolved from the one-dimensional rigidity of Archaic kouros and kore figures, to a more realistic figure which interacted with its three-dimensional environment.

• The important concept of weight shift was first applied to sculpture in the Early Classical period. With this application, the sculpted figure came to be seen as moving in a direction through space, rather than merely standing in it, as in an Archaic statue. The Middle (High) Classical period saw the application of a Platonic canon of proportions to sculpture; the sculpted figure could represent the sculptor’s ideal of a ‘perfect’ human body.

• Finally, in the Late Classical period, sculpture began to be realized as a three-dimensional form, which took up and enclosed space. The figure could be viewed, like a ‘real’ object, from any three-dimensional angle. With the figure spatially defined, the Classical style gave way to the later Hellenistic period, during which development of the emotional and dramatic aspects of sculpture was to continue.

West Pediment: Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs.

• West pediment of the Temple of Zeus with the Greek god Apollo in the middle. Apollo represented reason, order and male beauty and was associated with the arts and medicine.

West Pediment – Apollo with Battling Lapiths and Centaurs c. 470-460 BC.

• Most statues were originally created to revere a particular god or goddess; most were of superhuman size and clothed in grandiose garments that have deteriorated over time. Eventually, as the Greek temple began to incorporate elaborate carvings into its structure, sculptors were also called upon to create large reliefs on the pediments, the triangular space between the columns and the roof. These reliefs often depicted ceremonies to honor the gods. Because religion was so important during the beginning of the Classical period, gods were portrayed in a standard form, and the study of naturalism to show individuality was put to rest for a short while.

• In Greek mythology, centaurs are a mythical race with the lower body and legs of a horse and the shoulders and head of a man, and the Lapiths are a mythical race from northern Greece. When the Lapith king invited the centaurs to a wedding feast, the centaurs got drunk and tried to kidnap the Lapith women. The Lapiths fought and defeated the centaurs, and the Lapith women were returned.

Athena,

Herakles,

and Atlas,

Relief in

Marble c.

460 BC.

• According to legend, Athena sprang fully-grown and fully-armed from the head of her father, Zeus, ruler of the gods on Mount Olympus. It is told that he swallowed his pregnant first wife, Metis, meaning wisdom, so that she would not bear a child stronger than he. In some versions of the story, Athena's birth was assisted by the blacksmith, Hephaestus, who opened Zeus's head with a stroke of his axe. This metaphor may suggest two possible interpretations and pose two questions. Was Zeus demonstrating his power by giving birth without a woman's help, or was he sharing his power with his daughter? Certainly, Hephaestus, a son of Zeus by his second wife, Hera, would appear to be an unlikely "midwife."

Kritios Boy

The Kritios boy belongs to the

Late Archaic period and is

considered the precursor to the

later classical sculptures of

athletes. The Kritios or Kritian boy

was thus named because it is

attributed to Kritios who worked

together with Nesiotes (Harmodius

and Aristogeiton) or their

scholarship, from around 480 BC.

The statue is made of marble and

is considerably smaller than life-

size at 1.17 m (3 ft 10 ins).

The Charioteer. It was sculpted in

about 470 BC and commemorated

the victory of a Syracusan prince in a

chariot race of the Pythian games and

was probably paid for by Gelon, the

tyrant of Syracuse. It is one of the few

ancient bronzes to come down to us

as most would have been melted

down to reuse their valuable raw

material. It was part of a group which

would have stood on a terrace wall up

slope from the Temple of Apollo. It fell

from this terrace and was preserved

by a landslide to be excavated by the

French in 1896. It is famous for the

contrast between its severe Classical

formality and its intensity and life-like

aspects. Note especially the veins on

the hands and the feet. This piece

drives home to us the enormity of

what we have lost from antiquity.

Attic Red Figure

Kylix ca. 480 b.c.

By the Foundry

Painter and the

potter Brygos

Probably from

Vulci, Italy

The interior shows music and revelry. When the cup is rotated so that the

shoulder drapery folds are vertical, the youth tilts drunkenly backwards. On

the exterior, six party-goers sing and dance.

H. 9.3; L. 30.8; Dia. 23.6 cm.

Warrior, from the sea

off Riace, Italy, c.460

BC. H. 6'6" bronze.

The figure is bronze,

with bone and glass

eyes, silver teeth,

copper lips and

nipples.

Riace Warrior

Many original bronze pieces were lost. Greek artists melted down older statues to create new, more naturalistic ones. The Romans and other invaders melted the bronze to create weapons, shields and armor. Fortunately, the Romans also admired the Greek statues and often made marble copies before destroying the original. The bronze statues that survived were often found in shipwrecks in the sea, like the "Young Warrior" figure below found off the coast of Riace, Italy.

Beach near Riace, findspot of bronze statues

Pan Painter. Artemis Slaying Actaeon. c. 470 BC. Red-figure decoration on a bell krater. Ceramic, height of krater 14 5/8" (37 cm).

The High Classical Period

• The High Classical period, lasting from about 450 to 430 BCE, was dominated by a few prominent and renowned sculptors, most notably was Phidias, who supervised the large group of sculptors and architects which built the Parthenon in Athens. The sculptures on the pediments and other outside parts of the building (a temple to the goddess Athena) deal extensively with figures of gods and goddesses of the Greek Pantheon and with heroic and mythological stories.

• An important aspect of High Classical sculpture demonstrated by sculptures of the gods is the fact that the nature of the gods as personifications of concepts – war, love, death, etc. –is recognized. Sculptors aimed to depict the concepts represented by a deity as well as the personality itself. The sculpture of the Parthenon, for example, being a temple of Athena, depicts the different gods and goddesses in relation to her. In fact, the entire pediment on the East end is a depiction of the goddess' birth; with Athena located in the center, being flanked on each side by fellow gods who each react differently to her birth.

Model of the Acropolis, Athens, c. 400 BC.

Parthenon, the Temple of Athena

• At the top of Mount Olympus in Athens, Greece, is the Acropolis. an assembly of temples and associated structures dedicated to the Greek gods and goddesses. At its peak is the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Parthenos, patroness of Athens. Most of the temples were built during the 400's bce, although admittedly built atop more ancient structures. Today they lie in various stages of ruin from causes as varied as Roman and Celtic invasion, earthquake and fire, Christian Crusades and Muslim jihads. The image below shows the Acropolis, with the white marble ruins of the Parthenon at the top.

Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, the Temple of Athena

Parthenos (view from the northwest). Acropolis, Athens,

Greece, 447-438 BC.

The aerial view of the Acropolis below, shows the Parthenon in the upper

left corner. The Parthenon was designed by the Greek architects, Iktinos

and Kallikrates. An inscription on the Temple of Athena, to the right below,

states that "Alexander the Great gave the temple to Athena," meaning that

he paid for its construction.

Parthenon replica in Nashville, Tennessee.

Parthenon replica in Nashville, Tennessee.

Reconstruction of the

Athena Parthenos made

by Alan LeQuire and

housed at the Parthenon

replica in Nashville,

Tennessee.

• In the 6th Century the Parthenon was converted to a Christian church and the east pediment torn down and many of its sculptures defaced. When the crusaders who destroyed Constantinople occupied Athens they began a period of western rule and the Parthenon became the Roman Catholic Church of Notre Dame. Finally during the Turkish occupation it was converted into a mosque and a minaret was built on the top. Except for the statue of Athena, the statues of the east pediment and the treasures and statues in the interior, the building was still completely intact.

The Elgin Marbles

• The Elgin Marbles is the popular term for the Parthenon Marbles, a large collection of marble sculptures brought to Britain between 1801 and 1805 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the official British resident in Ottoman Athens, who had ordered them removed from the Parthenon. Since 1939 they have been housed in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery of the British Museum, London.

The Elgin Marbles include some of the statuary from the pediments, the Metope

panels depicting battles between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, as well as the

Parthenon Frieze which decorated the horizontal course set above the interior

architrave of the temple. As such, they represent more than half of what now

remains of the surviving sculptural decoration of the Parthenon: 247 feet from the

original 524 feet of frieze; 15 out of 92 metopes; 17 partial figures from the

pediments, as well as other pieces of architecture.

Lapith fighting a Centaur c. 447 – 432 BC.

Parthenon, Akropolis, Athens, ca. 447-432 B.C.E. East Frieze, Slab 7

(marshals and women) It features figures that converge from either end

towards the enigmatic "peplos scene" at the center. These figures include

women, elderly men, and seated Olympian gods. Slab 7 shows two young

marshals and six standing women. The marshal on the left holds a basket.

Some of the women hold phialai (shallow offering dishes).

Caryatides (korae) in Erechtheion

In 421 B.C. work finally

began on the temple that

was to replace the Archaic

Athena temple the Persians

had razed.

The Temple of Athena Nike

• The Temple of Athena Nike. Last 1/4 of the 5th century BC. Frieze is mutilated, but perhaps represents Greeks fighting Persians -- perhaps at Plataia (479 BC.). Parapet around this temple was composed of marble slabs decorated on the outside with fine reliefs depicting winged Victories with folded or extended wings setting up trophies or leading sacrificial animals to honors Athena. Amphiprostyle Ionic temple on the edge of the Acropolis, where Athenians worshipped the goddess of victory, expressing their hopes for a new triumph in the Peloponnesian War.

The Temple of Athena Nike. Last 1/4 of the 5th century BC.

Nike (Victory)

Adjusting Her

Sandal fragment

of relief decoration

from the parapet

(now destroyed),

Temple of Athena

Nike, Acropolis,

Athens. Last

quarter of the 5th

century BC.

Marble, height 42"

(107 cm).

Acropolis

Museum, Athens.

Athenian Agora

• The ancient Agora is located in the flat area to the north of the Acropolis. A good view can be obtained from the Areopagos hill, just west of the entrance to the Acropolis.

• The Agora, which has been systematically excavated by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens since 1931, has a rich history and contains public buildings from many different periods.

• The use of the area of the Agora can be traced back to at least the Late Bronze Age or Mycenaean period, when the area was used as a burial ground. Close to 50 tombs have been excavated, many of them belonging to the wealthy families that formed the upper echelons of Athenian society in the 14th and 13th centuries BC.

• The Archaic buildings in the Agora were almost completely destroyed during the Persian invasion of 480/479 BC. When the Athenians returned to their shattered city the Agora was one of the first areas to be rebuilt. Significant work was done in the years from 480 to 470 BC under the leadership of Kimon, son of Miltiades and himself an important general. In his time, a number of new buildings were erected in the Agora, such as the Tholos and the Painted Stoa. Kimon himself was responsible for the setting up of three Herms and for the beautification of the central part of the Agora by the planting of plane trees.

• Major destruction of the Agora took place in 86 BC by the Roman general Sulla. He had been sent to punish Athens for her support of the rebellion against Roman rule by king Mithridates of Pontus. Later in the 1st century BC relations with the Romans improved again and the Emperors resumed the tradition of Hellenistic benefactions to the city. In the Agora the Temple of Ares and the Odeion of Agrippa were built.

Attic black figure hydria, Women at a fountainhouse, 520 - 510 BC.

Stele Sculpture• Classical art seemed to be more concerned with the

masculine figure as a subject for freestanding sculpture. We see women more often in grave stele.

• The Greek rituals of death and bereavement included making offerings to the deceased at the grave site and the grave marker was central to the offering ritual. It was where the living gathered and the spirits of the dead hovered.

• By the Classical era, people were no longer placing monumental vases or kourai as monuments to the deceased, they sometimes used smaller vases or they had a stone markers carved with relief portraits. They portrayed the dead as they had been in life: men with their occupations and military affiliations, and women with their families and homes.

Grave stele of Hegeso.

The relief stele (h. 1.58 m.,

w. 1 m.) represents the

deceased Hegeso,

daughter of Proxenos,

seated on a chair and, in

front of her, a maiden

servant. It was found in the

cemetery of Kerameikos, in

Athens. Dated to the end of

the 5th century B.C.

The Grave Stele of Hegeso

• Hegeso appears against an architectural background representing her home, which was a common motif. The deceased is seated, looking at a jewel her (some say) slave has brought to her. Though this type of marker is common, Hegeso seems more idealized than other portrait stelai. She also has a contemplative expression (something like resignation to, or acceptance of, her fate) that is expressive, She evokes pathos, the sadness and pity the Greeks felt (and we do too) when another suffers nobly.

Maiden/Muse Lekythosc. 445 BC

white ground painting

• In white ground painting a white coating was applied to the vase before black or red figures (depending upon the period) were painted on. White ground pottery was restricted to lekythoi (see introduction to this section) by the fifth century B.C., and were made popular by the Achilles painter, a workshop whose most famous pieces bore images of the myth of the hero Achilles.

• The white-ground glaze was too temperamental to be used for utilitarian pottery like cups and bowls, since the delicately painted surface could be easily damaged.

• These vases had therefore an ornamental function, usually associated with death. Lekythoi filled with perfumes were placed around the corpse; others were set along the approach to the grave or beside the tomb.

• The illustrations often predicted scenes from the afterlife of the deceased. Our lekythos features a muse, perhaps Erato, playing the kithara on Mount Helicon, while another muse stands by. Found in a young girl's grave, the deceased may have been noted for her musical ability and thought to have taken her place among the muses during her afterlife. Between the muses the love inscription, inscribed by the potter, reads "Axiopeithes, the son of Alkimachos, is beautiful".

White-ground lekythos. In front

of the funerary stele, the tall

base of which consists of six

steps, stands a young spearman

wearing a chlamys. Lekythoi and

garlands are placed on the

steps. The mound itself is visible

behind the stele. The young man

is dead. Time and space have

no reality in the white-ground

lekythoi; all is confused in a kind

of other-worldly unity. The work

is by the so-called 'Bosanquet

painter', c. 440 BC. National

Museum, Athens.

The late Classical Period c. 400 - 323 BC.

• With growth now concentrated in outlying areas, there was understandably less temple building in mainland Greece in this period than there had been in the 5th century, but the Doric temples at Tegea and Nemea in the Peloponnese were important, the former for admitting Corinthian capitals to columns engaged on its interior walls.

• Late Classical: the period ca. 400-323 B.C. Politically this age saw the decline of the individual poleis, and the rise of the northern kingdom of Macedon, which took over all of Greece in 338 BC. Intellectually, saw the rise of developed systems of philosophy in Athens, particularly those of Plato and Aristotle, but also the rise of Rhetoric, or persuasive argumentation,.

• The last is particularly associated with the practical philosopher Isokrates, but its greatest political practitioner was the Athenian politician Demosthenes. The Rich Style continued until ca. 375 BC in art, but the period ca. 375-323 was characterized in sculpture and painting by heavier drapery, a new interaction of cloth and anatomy, new pose-types (especially leaning and more three-dimensional ones), and by the development of new secular and purely artistic types of art. Emotion also re-emerges. Religious architecture shows greater variation than previous temples

PRAXITELES FOLLOWER

Hermes and the Infant

Dionysos

ca 300-250 B.C.

attributed by Pausanias

2.15 m high

restored left leg below knee

from Heraion at Olympia

Praxiteles c.390-330 BC.

Son of the sculptor Cephisodotos, Praxiteles was to be the most popular artists in the ancient world. Many of his sculptures were copied: and his work is mainly known through ancient descriptions and Roman marble copies. One of his original statues, the Hermes statue in Olympia, with the god carrying a young Dionysos as a baby on his arm, has survived. Praxiteles bronze statue of Eirine, godess of Peace, was put on the square of Athens in 370 BC and he founded a new god-ideal.

Apollon, who used to be pictured as a serious and harsh avenger, was portrayed as a youngster. For example, his statue Apollon Sauroktonos, the Lizardkiller, has a young mans body, soft and beautiful. He also made a satyr, and Praxiteles' statues were made to be watched from all angles.

He was also celebrated for his satyrs. His sculptures of the female body as completely different from the male was also an invention much praised. The most famous example is the Aphrodite, just about to take a bath, for the first time depicted as a nude. He also made other statues of the godess, and of her son Eros. The sculptors' model was also his mistress, the hetar Phrynes. She also modeled for other artists, and according to Cicero she was once brought to court, charged with impiety. When her defender pulled her clothes off and showed the jury her magnificent breasts, after a brilliant speech, she was acquitted.

Praxiteles. Aphrodite of

Cnidus (Knidos)

composite of two

similar Roman copies

after the original

marble of c. 350 BC.

Marble, height 6'8"

(2.03 m). The

Aphrodite of Cnidus

(Knidos) is the first

monumental female

nude in classical

sculpture.

Aphrodite of Cnidus

• The statue of the goddess established a canon for the female nude, and inspired many derivatives and variants.

• Here she stands in a contrapposto pose, her weight on her right leg, her left knee slightly bent. A Roman copy, it is not thought to match the polished beauty of the original, which was destroyed in a disastrous fire at Constantinople in AD 475.

The legend is told that the sculpture was so realistic that Aphrodite decided that she needed to see it herself and is said to have remarked, "Where did Praxiteles see me naked?"

Taken from a frieze on the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos. The tomb was

built for Maussollos, who governed Karia in SW Asia Minor. The scene

depicts the mythical battles between Greeks and the Amazons. They

were reputed to have cut off one breast and were skilled in the use of

weapons and combat.

Lysippos (act. 360-300 B.C.),

Apoxyomenos (Scraper), c. 330

B.C. (Roman copy).

Busts and Portraiture

• In the 5th century BC, portraiture became the trend. Statesmen and generals would have their faces carved on what is called a bust, and sculptors could now create statues that could be recognized as individuals, rather than a standard face. For the next three centuries, sculptors were trained to map a face in complete detail. It is this perfectionism that attracted Roman interest, and when the Greeks fell to the Romans, Roman sculpture became a continuation of Greek sculpture.

Alexander III (“the Great”) of Macedon

356-323 B.C.

Greek silver four drachma coin

of King Lysimachus of Thrace

from around 300 B.C., showing

what is thought to be the first

realistic portrait of a mortal

human being ever; that of

Alexander the Great (whose

successor the issuer was). The

ram's horn seen on his head is

a symbol of divinity, as the

great conqueror was declared a

god soon after his death. On

the reverse is the seated figure

of Athena, a type copied

through the ages even to the

"Seated Liberty" silver dollars in

America.

Alexander the Great Confronts Darius III at the Battle of

Issos from Pompeii. Roman mosaic copy after a Greek

painting of c. 310 BCE, perhaps by Philoxenos or Helen of

Egypt. Museo Archeològico Nazionale, Naples.

Gnosis. Stag Hunt, mosaic floor decoration from Pella,

Macedonia. 300 BCE. Pebbles, height 10'2" (3.1 m).

Archaeological Museum, Pella.

The Hellenistic Period: 323-30 BC

• Hellenistic quick history, • 323. Alexander dies in Babylon.

• Greek revolt. The Lamian War, and the end of Athenian democracy (322).

• Alexander’s generals fight it out (through 276).

– Three kingdoms (plus one)

– Antigonid (Macedonia)

– Seleucid (Mesopotamia)

– Ptolemaic (Egypt)

Temple of Olympian

Zeus in Athens

showing detail of the

Corinthian columns'

capitals. Corinthian

order becoming

commonplace in

Hellenistic Period.

• During the Classical period, the Corinthian order, the most elaborate of the three Greek architectural orders, was used mainly for interior columns. However, late in the Hellenistic period the Greeks began to build temples with Corinthian columns on the exterior, as here in the Temple of Olympian Zeus, in Athens (174 BC-AD 132). Atop tall, slender columns are capitals carved with stylized, curling acanthus leaves.

Theater Epidauros, 4th Century BC.

Theater at Epidauros• "Theatre Epidaurus”, built during the last quarter of the fourth

century B.C. • The harmony of its cavea, the way it 'sits' in the landscape

with the semicircle hollowed out of the side of the hill, and the quality of its acoustics make the Epidaurus theatre one of the great architectural achievements of the fourth century.

• The circular orchestra provides the link with the stage buildings.

• The theater has a capacity of 13000 – 14000 people and was initially used for solo singing, chanting, musical contests (mainly for solo instruments) and theatrical performances of ancient drama. Similar types of activities are still entertained in the site during the summer months.

• The ancient theater of Epidauros is located at the eastern Peloponesse in southern Greece.

• One of the most well-known and better preserved ancient theaters.

• The theater was constructed late in the 4th and early in the 3rd century BC, with a second construction phase during the middle of the 2nd century BC

• Possibly the design of architect Polyklitos.

Gallic Chieftain Killing his Wife and Himself Roman copy in

marble after original Greek bronze from a monument in

Pergamon ca. 220 B.C.

Sculpture in the Hellenistic Period

• Hellenization came after the reign of Alexander the Great, and lasted just a couple of centuries. Alexander the Great had basically conquered all of the world--as the Greeks knew it. His reign brought about the realization of the individual in the Greek culture. Thus art, architecture and cultural identification experienced an alteration.

• Hellenistic sculptures were more realistic and natural. The Hellenistic realism expressed temporary emotional conditions, pain and suffering. The sculptors did emphasize religious and moral values, but took it further in a sense that the secular viewpoint became more important. Moreover, they were also concerned with scenes witnessed in daily life. The sculptures portrayed inner character, feelings and experiences. The underlying trend of this period was an attraction towards eroticism, violence, but above all to provide a truthfulness.

Roman copy in

marble after

original Greek

bronze

from a monument

in Pergamon

Dying Gallic Trumpeterca. 220 B.C.

The kingdom of Pergamon

• Pergamon: kingdom ruled from its capital on the northwestern coast of Asia Minor after 270. In the later third and the second centuries B.C. it became wealthy and powerful, and preserves notable architectural and sculptural embelishment. Was willed to Rome in the 130s by its last ruler.

• The kingdom of Pergamon was at the height of its power, and the city was a flourishing metropolis.

Great Altar Pergamon, modern Turkey ca. 175-150 B.C.

Athena Attacking the

Giants, Detail of the frieze

from the East front of the

altar from Pergamon,

Marble

Nike of

Samothrace

also known as

‘Winged

Victory’

original Greek

marble

ca. 190 B.C.

Statuette of a veiled

and masked dancer,

Hellenistic, 3rd–2nd

century B.C.

Greek

Bronze; H. 8 1/16 in.

(20.5 cm)

Old Women2nd century B.C.

Aphrodite of Melosalso known as the ‘Venus de Milo’original Greek marbleca. 150-125 B.C.