Art History Exam 2

Pozzolana

-fine volcanic ash found on the Italian peninsula, added stability and allowed concrete to dry, set, and cure underwater found in concrete: construction material made from water, aggregate, and cement

Figure, from the Cyclades. ca. 2500 BCE

Bronze Age Aegean- Cycladic Small figure-figurine. Carved of marble chips Woman (can tell by pubic triangle) Highly abstracted- very geometric. Thin and slender Would have been painted. Feet pointed- wasn't designed to stand on its own.- held in hand, on a stand, or laying down

Aerial image of Knossos excavation and reconstruction by Sir Arthur Evans beginning in 1900

Bronze Age Aegean- Minoan Can see open courtyard in this pic

Zeus. ca. 460-450 BCE

Greek Classical Made in bronze. May be zeus (king of gods), may be Poseidon (god of sea). Found off cape of artemisia, was found in a shipwreck (preserved by the sea) Mature man- muscles & body, shows a beard which indicates older men Zeus- holds lightning bolt. Poseidon- holds trident

2000-1450 BCE (bronze age aegean)

Minoan time period (named after mythical king Minos)

Filigree

the art of soldering fine gold wires, singly or twisted together in a rope, onto a gold background

Granulation

the process of soldering tiny gold balls or grains onto a background

Chiastic pose or Contrapposto

An asymmetrical stance, where the body carries weight on one leg. As a result, the parts of the body are placed asymmetrically in opposition to each other around a central axis, and careful attention is paid to the distribution of weight.

Harpist, from Amorgos, Cyclades. Latter part of the 3rd millennium BCE

Bronze Age Aegean- Cycladic Men shown doing stuff- playing a harp (as opposed to women who cant even stand on their own) Head leans back, probably singing Idea of a poet, singer, harp player- gets to importance of song and poetry as a way of entertainment and also a way to pass on stories from generation to generation

Plan of the "palace" complex, Knossos, Crete. ca. 1500 BCE

Bronze Age Aegean- Minoan "palace"- Sir Arthur evans gave this name, take with a grain of salt. Likely that a king/queen/royal family lived there but its basically as big as a city Not symmetrical from any way

Bull Leaping Fresco, from the palace complex, Knossos, Crete. ca. 1550-1450 BCE (restored)

Bronze Age Aegean- Minoan Ancient parts are the raised parts, filled in the parts they don't have Some sort of festival or religious ceremony. Someone is leaping/somersaulting over the bull Difference in skin tone- man with darker skin, women with lighter skin Different colored stones around Fresco- painted plaster. Paint applied to wet plaster and dries with color Minoans essentially disappeared but the site didn't. Classical greeks made up stories of the minoan people. Saw bulls and labrys' and made of stories of how the minoan people lived

The "Queen's Megaron," from Knossos, Crete. ca. 1700-1300 BCE

Bronze Age Aegean- Minoan Because of size and decoration- thought to be queens room but not sure **Minoan culture shows sea life/oceanic images. Lots of blues (and also reds)

"palace" complex, Knossos, Crete. ca. 1500 BCE Excavated and Reconstructed by Sir Arthur Evans beginning in 1900

Bronze Age Aegean- Minoan Important site of archaeology May have overdone the reconstruction a little bit so as to give the average lay person a sense of the grandure of the place Take reconstruction with a grain of salt

Staircase, east wing, "palace" complex, Knossos, Crete

Bronze Age Aegean- Minoan Minoan column- has a capital on top. Big and pillowy. Little bit wider at top and taper to thinner at bottom (opposite of Greek columns

Spring Fresco, from Akrotiri, Thera. ca. 1600-1500 BCE

Bronze Age Aegean- Minoan Preserved from interior of home. Rolling hills, lilies, flowers, birds Color applied in stripes- different lighting conditions? Sunset, sunrise

Reconstruction drawing of the "palace" complex, Knossos, Crete, ca. 1500

Bronze Age Aegean- Minoan appreciate different levels of this- why all those staircases were necessary Columns hold roof and allow breeze

Interior of "Treasury of Atreus," Mycenae, Greece

Bronze Age Aegean- Mycenaean Corbel vault Circular space Powerful meaning of the person who is buried there "tomb of elite figure"

"Treasury of Atreus," Mycenae, Greece. ca. 1300-1250 BCE

Bronze Age Aegean- Mycenaean Dromos-entrance pathway, ceremonial, almost as if you are entering the earth 10-15 ft deep

"Mask of Agamemnon", from shaft grave, Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece. ca. 1600-1500 BCE

Bronze Age Aegean- Mycenaean Grave mask that was placed over the face of an elite person before they were buried Hammered gold "Mask of Agamemnon"- Schliemann found the most impressive mask and called it Agamemnon, but there is no evidence that says its his More correct: Mask of an Unidentified Mycenaen King **similar to Egyptian culture

Aerial view of Mycenae, Greece. ca. 1600-1200 BCE Excavated by Heinrich Schliemann beginning in the late 19th century.

Bronze Age Aegean- Mycenaean In use from 1600-1200. excavated in late 1800s. Built with fortification in mind. Citadel designed for protection (big walls on outskirts and built on the hill)

The Lioness Gate, Mycenae, Greece. ca. 1250 BCE

Bronze Age Aegean- Mycenaean Only entry/exit point Relief carving of lionesses on top- missing heads. Probably made out of different stone and are lost. Minoan column in middle- Mycenaens have taken over some of the minoan culture No mortar or cement used- just big blocks of stone Post and lintel construction. Extend wall well above opening which could potentially be a weak point- corbel arch above the lintel

Reconstruction of "Treasury of Atreus," Mycenae, Greece

Bronze Age Aegean- Mycenaean Quotations bc its What the excavator thought this was Beehive shape Tomb constructed with *corbel vaulting* Elite were buried here

Reconstruction drawing of Mycenae, Greece

Bronze Age Aegean- Mycenaean Surrounding walls measured 20 feet high and 30 feet thick.

2800-1900 BCE (bronze age aegean)

Cycladic time period

Pendant representing the head of Acheloos, 6th century (500's) BCE

Etruscan Filigree- spiral patterns on top Granulation- dots on beard and headband

Sarcophagus, from Cerveteri. ca. 520 BCE

Etruscan Man and woman- likely a married couple- dining. Terracotta-baked clay- sarcophagus. Big enough to hold 2 bodies. Men and women buried together Hands probably holding food or wine, no longer there. Idealization, upturned mouths, almond eyes, flatness to legs--- looks like Greek archaic style *suggests interaction between Greek and etruscan artists

Reconstruction of an Etruscan temple, as described by Vitruvius

Etruscan No frieze or triglyph and metope, no pediment. Etruscans- used stone base, wood, terracotta and mud brick. Material didn't survive over the years. Typically only find stone bases of these temples Cella/cellae are pushed to the back, podium lifts building, columns in front, heavy wood beam roofline to push water away from building Most sculpture on top

She-Wolf. ca. 500 BCE

Etruscan She-wolf= roman mythology. Another example where roman importance made by Etruscan artist. She-wolf- noted for saving Romulus and remus (who go on to found Rome). Not ancient images of Romulus and remus. (wasn't there always, the ancient one is lost) Wolf looks like she's on edge- detail and expression *interaction between Etruscan and roman symbol of rome itself

Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, Tarquinia. ca. 530-520 BCE

Etruscan Tarquinia preferred painting to decorate the tombs Shows hunting and fishing- landscape imagery, interest in environment

Engraved back of a mirror (Calchas, a haruspex, reads a liver for omens). ca. 400 BCE

Etruscan shows how etruscans adapted greek traditions into their culture Chalchas (winged old man with foot on rock) staring at liver of sacrificial animal looking for omens

Vulca of Veii (?). Aplu (Apollo), from Temple at Veii. ca. 510 BCE

Etruscan Similar to Apollo, youthful god with long hair, clean shaven, made of terracotta, hollow, would have been on the ridge pole at the temple at Veii

Interior of Temple of Hera II. ca. 500 BCE

Greek Archaic

The Temple of Hera I ca. 550 BCE, and the Temple of Hera II, Paestum. ca. 460 BCE

Greek Archaic 2 temples dedicated to Goddess Hera (in southern Italy)- house for god or goddess, Most people didn't go in the temples Wife of Zeus- associated with home and hearth and marriage Holy prosessions *around the temples*, animal sacrifices on the altar, cooking of the animal so smoke would rise to the gods, people there got some of the meat- communal meal for the faithful people- Multisensory environment around the outside of the temple Doric style

Delphi

Greek Archaic Apollo- God of truth, light/illumination, associated with the arts. Often far away. Uses bow and arrow (weapon from a distance) Greeks believed the auricle could serve as a place to get in touch with Apollo (since he's hard to reach) Make a sacred journey to Delphi, wait your turn and the auricle (Apollos priestess) would hear your question at the temple, go into temple, come back out and tell answer to your question (often a riddle response) Fault lines with noxious chemicals- priestess would go and get high on the gases and come up with response. Or would chew on the laurel leaf (bay leaf) and would get high People thought getting high was coming into contact with the god Small buildings along sacred way= series of treasuries. Meant to hold offerings to the gods (treasure of siphnians)

Central portion of west pediment of Temple of Artemis, Corfu, Greece. ca. 600-580 BCE

Greek Archaic Architectural Sculpture Medusa- big eyes, open mouth, tongue sticking out= monster face. Snake hair and belt. One knee up and one down- shows movement. Ugly. Could turn man or woman to stone Pegasus and chrysaor- children of medusa, born when medusa dies. Perseus killed her by looking at her in the reflection of his shield and cutting off her head backwards. *Functions: warning image. Or protective symbol.- apotropaic image/device* Greek "to turn away" those who want to do harm to this building (Medusa is protecting the temple)

Reconstruction drawing of west front of Temple of Artemis, Corfu (after Rodenwaldt)

Greek Archaic Artemis- goddess of hunt/wilderness. Mistress of the animals. Doric style columns

Kore, from Chios (?). ca. 520 BCE

Greek Archaic Kore- young Greek woman Abstraction/simplification More naturalistic as time goes on Men shown in heroic nudity- women shown clothed (at this time) No shift in weight in either men or women- stand tall and rigid, evenly distributing weight *imagine them painted

New York Kouros (Youth). ca. 600-590 BCE

Greek Archaic Kouros- Greek word for male youth. In NY today- metropolitan museum Embodies archaic style in sculpture Sculpture in the Round Almost like Egyptian- shape of eyes, simple, idealized muscular body, way the figure stands- very stable and static/rigid Greeks and Egyptians interacted during the archaic period (from writings)- may have taught greeks how to carve Greeks- marble. Egyptians- basalt stone Nudity is Greek, to show heroism and the perfect, youthful body- Egyptians were almost always clothed. *Heroic nudity*- way to elevate a work of art

Kroisos (Kouros from Anavysos). ca. 540-525 BCE

Greek Archaic Kroisos: name, Kouros: youth Functions: offerings to the Gods, commemorative markers (commemorates a deceased person) This one is commemorative- Kroisos. Asks people to stop and remember him and how he died in battle- Ares- god of war destroyed him Young man did not live past this youthful age because he fought in battle- Kroisos is frozen in time at this age More naturalistic than Kouros NY- can see muscles more Long hair and idealized body shows youth

Euthymides. Dancing Revelers. Red-figured amphora. ca. 510-500 BC

Greek Archaic New technique- red figure. Transitional vase that shows early red figure vase painting Use tiny paintbrushes to paint the details (seen in the muscles and bones of figures)- Pattern work down in the opposite too Drunk people dancing/reveling in the god of dynysis- god of grape, wine and revelry. One of them even has a cup *intricate pattern work, not a lot of abstraction

Sectional view (restored) of Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. ca. 500-480 BCE

Greek Archaic Stack drums, then do the fluting Mostly stone, some wood and some baked clay (terracotta), and metal rods and clamps to help hold things together

Exekias. Achilles and Ajax Playing Dice. Black-figured amphora. ca. 540-530 BCE

Greek Archaic Storage vessel- to store things like olive oil Black figure technique. Orange is the color of the clay

Reconstruction drawing of Treasury of the Siphnians, Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi. ca. 525 BCE

Greek Archaic Treasury meant to be an offering to the gods Ionic style (look at continuous frieze) was once painted Woman figure that takes place of column= *caryatid*

Battle of the Gods and Giants, from the north frieze of the Treasury of the Siphnians, Delphi. ca. 530 BCE

Greek Archaic When the Giants attempt to overthrow the gods. Giants in helmets Pair of gods in middle, using a bow n arrow. Twin gods Apollo and artemis Bottom: lions taking a bite out of giant (on gods side) Calm battle

Reconstruction of the east pediment of Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. ca. 500-480 BCE

Greek Archaic marble

Kore (Maiden). ca. 630 BC

Greek Archaic small limestone figure egyptian elements- standing rigidly frontal, 4 distinct sides which reflect the block from which the sculptor carved it. stylized wig-like hair Greek elements- free standing, more open space, more stylized- (large eyes, bold brows, linear bodies), draped in a closely fitted garment that reveals breasts but conceals hips and legs

Horsemen, from the west frieze of the Parthenon. c. 440-432 BC.

Greek Classical All circling the building- lead up to whats in front See adult, child and folded cloth- peplos. New garment/dress for Athena. Much smaller, wooden statue of Athena. Said to have fallen from sky. Very sacred. She gets a new dress every year

Niobid Painter. Red-figured calyx krater, from Orvieto. ca. 460-450 BCE

Greek Classical Greek punch bowl Niobe (mortal woman)- brags that she has more kids than Leto, says they are more pretty than Leto's (divine woman) kids Apollo and Artemis Hubris- unwarranted boastfulness Niobi bragged and Leto is going to have her twins kill Niobe's kids with a bow and arrow Havent seen human figures moving through a landscape before *new. See emphasis on groudline

Kritios Boy. ca. 480 BCE

Greek Classical Made just before 480 BCE, destroyed after that Face more naturalistic- more of an expression. Eyes would have been in laid with stone. Head turned slightly Hairstyle changed- shorter now Subtlety to the muscle and skin. More smooth Chiastic pose or contrapoposto- weight shifted onto one leg. Hips uneven. May have been sculpted by an artist named Kritios (from literary knowledge)

Model of Athena Parthenos, by Pheidias. ca. 438 B.C.E. Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto

Greek Classical Parthenos- virgin. Parthenon- house of the virgin Pheidias supervised all the statues Original made of out gold and ivory- *chryselephantine*. Chrys-gold. Elephantine- refers to elephant (ivory tusks) Wood and metal skeleton and ivory and gold placed over top Gigantic, triple crested helmet (goddess of war) Holding Nike, goddess of victory in right hand And spear and shield with snake in other

Doryphoros (Spear Bearer). Roman copy after an original of bronze ca. 450-440 BCE by Polykleitos

Greek Classical Soldier carrying a spear. Original made of bronze. Roman copies made of marble. Original artist- Polykleitos Can tell if it's a copy by extra marble supports (by hand, and stump in back) Spears heavy so he shifts his weight onto the other side- more emphasized contrapposto Even more muscular figure- even more naturalistic

Temple of Athena Nike, 427-424 BCE

Greek Classical Ionic order, volutes, continuous frieze

Man and Centaur, perhaps from Olympia. ca. 750 BCE

Greek Geometric style Half person, half horse= centaur thin arms, flat triangular chest. Contrasts with round butt and legs very geometric in shape

Dipylon Vase. Late Geometric belly-handled amphora, from the Dipylon Cemetery, Athens. ca. 750 BCE (Over 5 ft. tall)

Greek Geometric style- lots of geometric shaped patterns Functions as the headstone/tombstone Amphora- storage vessel Image of a funeral in the middle. Mourners on left, arms on top of their heads (maybe pulling hair- showing physical mourning process), dead person lying in middle Holes in the bottom of the vase- partly to drain rain water, religious purpose: pour wine at funeral and it would drip down to the deceased *Prothesis*: the lying in state of the body

Portrait of Alexander the Great, the "Azara Herm." Roman copy after an original by Lysippos of the late 4th century BCE

Greek Hellenistic Alexander the great= born in Macedonia. Established biggest empire the world had ever seen. Herm-portrait head attached to a square base. Very youthful. Long wavy hair-leonine 'like a lion'. No beard. Upswept hair in the middle, falling to each side (characteristic of alexander) Only let one person sculpt (lysippos) and paint him ( ). Wants to control public image.

West front of Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon (restored)

Greek Hellenistic Originally outside, now in museum.

Battle of the Gods and Giants, from east side of Great Frieze of the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon, 2nd century BCE

Greek Hellenistic Saw in archaic period. Traditional subject matter with lots of detail and motion. Giant on left and bottom right. Athena in middle. Shows more expression. Gods triumphant and giants crying out in pain Muscular figures, movement of the body, facial expression= hellenistic

Aphrodite of Knidos. Roman copy after an original of ca. 340-330 BCE by Praxiteles

Greek Late classical Marble original Nude woman- very new at this time

Griffin-head protome from a bronze tripod cauldron from Kameiros, Rhodes. ca. 650 BCE

Greek Orientalizing style Part bird of prey, part feline (ears)- hybrid beast Comes from a bronze tripod cauldron

Dying Warrior, from west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, ca. 500-490 BCE

Greek archaic marble smile on his face even though he's dying, looks calm

Dying warrior, from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, ca. 480 BCE

Greek archaic marble reconstruction warrior looks to the ground, has expression of pain on face. looks more like he's dying- more naturalistic

Nike from Temple of Athena Nike, ca. 410-407 BCE

Greek classical Athena Nike herself, reaching down to adjust her sandal. Very naturalistic. Puts body in tension Drapery shows more of body

Mnesikles, The Propylaia, 437-432 BCE

Greek classical Doric order

East pediment, Parthenon, Birth of Athena

Greek classical East- birth of Athena- born from zeus's head (he had a headache, so blacksmith god bops him on the head w/ hammer, and out jumps fully formed Athena

Three goddesses (Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite?), from the east pediment of the Parthenon, Athens. ca. 438-432 BCE

Greek classical Far right= Aphrodite- showing more skin than the other two Classical period Lounging, shifting weight, in drapery but can still see body

Lapith and Centaur, metope from south side of the Parthenon. c. 440 B.C.E.

Greek classical Greeks don't really represent history in art May be a veiled reference between the greeks and Persians. Greeks idealized, heroic nude, civilized men. Persians- long hair, half beasts, uncivilized, "other". Basically the greeks stereotype of the Persians Greeks use a myth to refer to the battle Barbarian- greeks originally used it to mean 'people that aren't Greek/ speak Greek', said the Persians sounded like bar bar barbar, and now the word has the negative connotations with it such as animalistic, uncivilized, etc. All the metapes show conflict

Porch of the maidens, Erectheion, 430's-406 B.C. (probably the work of Mnesikles)

Greek classical In contrapposto. *Caryatids*

Erectheion, 430's-406 B.C. (probably the work of Mnesikles)

Greek classical Oddly shaped structure caryatids

Iktinos and Kallikrates. The Parthenon (view from west). Akropolis, Athens. 447-432 BC.

Greek classical, white marble -Perikles used money from delian league to fund building -Temple to Athena, massive cult statue of Athena inside, city's treasury -Not really a straight line anywhere, as if to hug the ground. Curve in stylobate Columns lean slightly inward -Why curves? Human eye perceives light that dips down. Created the curve so that the eye would see a perfectly straight line when they looked at this -Doric with ionic frieze inside. All the metapes show conflict- may be a reference to the actual Persian conflict that destroyed the Athenian buildings

Epigonos of Pergamon (?). Dying Trumpeter. Perhaps a Roman copy after a bronze original of ca. 230-220 BCE, from Pergamon, Turkey

Greek hellenistic AKA dying gaul. Not Greek. Not Macedonian. Thick wirey hair and a mustache. Necklace. Keltic in origin- DEF NOT GREEK Heroic nudity- shows sensitivity. Shows dignity/respect of a foreigner. Never would have shown them this way before.

The Abduction of Persephone, Tomb I, Vergina, Macedonia (detail). ca. 340-330 BCE

Greek hellenistic Elite royal Macedonian figure Persephone and Hades. Persephone is daughter of Demeter(goddess of seasons, agriculture and plant life). Pers was out picking flowers, Hades drove by, thought Pers was beautiful and decided to abduct her and take her into the underworld. In order to get her daughter back, Demeter went to Zeus, Hades brother, to make an agreement to bring her back. But pers already ate pomegranate (which bound her to the underworld), so in order to bring her back, Pers would have to go back to the underworld every year to rule alongside Hades (which is winter in the natural world, because Demeter would stop making crops). *found in a tomb. Appropriate bc its about the promise of coming back/being reborn after the afterlife/underworld. (bc pers would come back every year and the flowers would grow again)

Drunken Old Woman. Roman copy of an original of the late 3rd or late 2nd century BCE

Greek hellenistic See expression on her face Not ideal, more of the ugly side of humanity. Poor woman who has trouble with alcohol. Showing now everything to be perfect **new and different subject matter

Pythokritos of Rhodes (?). Nike of Samothrace. ca. 190 BCE

Greek hellenistic Winged victory of Samothrace. Large statue, stands on ships prow. Nike- goddess of victory Hellenistic- shows movement in wind and body and clothes (instead of shift in weight/contrapposto) Originally meant to be outside, which would emphasize movement in drapery and such with the wind

Hermes. Roman copy after an original of ca. 320-310 BCE by Praxiteles

Greek late classical Messenger of the gods- associated with travel, protects people on journeys, and god of thieves Dionysus- god of wine, revelry, etc. Zeus sent Hermes to rescue baby Dionysus. Hermes would have been holding a bunch of grapes. Hermes will bring him to adoptive parents- nymphs in forest Idealization of the male body- very long and lean, exaggerated contrapposto. Moment of playing between two people

Apoxyomenos (Scraper). Roman marble copy, probably after a bronze original of ca. 330 BCE by Lysippos

Greek late classical Scraping his body clean with a strigil (tool). After working out, would rub olive oil all over body and scrape clean. Contrapposto, figure comes into our space *new and innovative Fig leaf added much later to pubic area, when there was a taste for more modesty *modern, not ancient

The indirect lost-wax process

Modeling figure in the round, plaster mold around that. Pour hot wax inside, fill with plaster and add pins, bake in kiln to melt wax out, pour molten bronze into shell, break mold and pins and sprues off.

1600-1100BCE (bronze age aegean)

Mycenaean time period

Greek Orientalizing Period

Period when Greek culture absorbed Eastern motifs and ideas. Emerges ca. 725 B.C.E.

Theater complex of Pompey, Rome. Dedicated in 55 BCE Provisional reconstruction by James E. Packer and John Burge

Roman Republican First permanent theatre built in Rome Romans were leery of building these because they thought it was 'soft' and might rot the minds- built temporary ones instead. Romans thought of theatre like it was Greek and didn't want to be associated with that Pompey gets away with building the theatre by attaching a temple at the top to Venus.

Nile Mosaic, from Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia Praeneste (Palestrina). First century BCE

Roman Republican Little pieces of stone (called tesserae) or shell laid into background. Represents Nile river- see source and flow through the city, ends in Alexandria (where diff cultures culminate) Floor mosaic- probably had water flowing over it Egyptian style on top, statues of Osiris Bottom looks more Greek or grekko-roman Alexandria was a place where cultures culminated into on

Veristic male portrait. Early 1st century B.C.E.

Roman Republican Marble Life size Veristic- truthful portrait

Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus, Rome. Dedicated 509 B.C.

Roman republican Optimus- the best Maximus-the greatest Capitolinus- location, Capitoline hill in Rome "Jupiter OMC" 3 celli- for each person. Triad of gods. Etruscan style/INFLUENCE- cella in back, columns in front. only stone base stands today (HUGE)

Temple of Portunus, Rome, ca. 80-70 B.C.

Roman republican Travertine, tufa, and stucco. Portunus- god of Ports Greek: Ionic order, continuous freeze, proportional roofline, columns along front, side, & back (peripteral), stone imitating marble Pseudoperipteral- in between Etruscan- high podium, celli in back with porch in front roman art and architecture= *Electic*- taking a lot of different sources of inspiration Combination of Etruscan with Greek= things only the romans would do

"Cyclopean Masonry"

Using very large boulders Cyclops- huge one eyed monster. Ancient greeks and romans thought that people lived here the same time as cyclops (bc the boulders were so big)

Caryatids

a female figure that functions as a supporting column

Corbel arch

an arch formed by progressively projecting courses of brick or stone Used by the Mycenaeans

Greek Geometric Period

ca. 900-700 B.C.E. This is a period of great development in Greek history. The Greek polis (city-state) is formed. The Greek alphabet develops. The Greeks colonize areas of Italy and Asia Minor. Epic poetry and visual art flourish.

Bronze Age Aegean

roughly 3000 BCE-1200 BCE characterized by the use of the copper alloy bronze and early systems of writing and urban design. -Included the cycladic, minoan, and Mycenaean periods