Art of Western World Exam 2

> Akrotiri was a trading post on the island of Thera that was settled by Minoans around 1700 B.C. The site was hit by a major earthquake, which destroyed much of it. > Rebuilding had begun when the site was buried by a massive volcanic eruption of the island around 1600 B.C. The inhabitants clearly had warning of the impending disaster because no remains of victims have been found and all precious portable items had been removed. > Xeste 3 was a large edifice, the western half of which was at least three stories high. It does not seem to have been a domestic space, but rather a place of public and ritual activity. This fresco decorates one wall of a room on the first floor. > Both young women wear Minoan dress and jewelry > The body of the woman on the left is shown frontally, her head turned in profile to face her companion on whom she gazes with a rather serious air. Her rich black hair is held by a blue band on her forehead. She picks with the fingertips of her right hand and holds a bucket or basket with her left. > The second figure is much younger in appearance and has her head almost completely shorn (hence the blue coloring of her scalp). She tries to pick crocus blossoms with her two hands while gazing at her companion with a anxious for reassurance that she is performing the task correctly. > The figures are rendered with a freedom of movement and a variety of hairstyles, raiment, and jewelry. > Gathering crocus flowers has become a major ritual event as the fruit of the women's labors is offered to a seated goddess on the neighboring wall, who controls the forces of nature as well as of life and regeneration. > The details of the women's garments, which they themselves would have made are the artist's depiction of this finery is a recognition of feminine industry and creativity, as well as their major contribution within the household as the provider of textiles. > People were so willing to invest in their property and commission such beautiful frescoes shows the trust that these people had in their government and their society.

Akrotiri: Xeste 3, Saffron Gatherers fresco, pigment on plaster, Minoan, ca. 1650 B.C.

> Female counterparts to the kouroi are called korai (kore, singular). A "kore" is a young, unmarried woman, usually just on the cusp of womanhood. > These statues serve the same purposes as the kouroi, but fewer are demonstrably funerary. Most are dedications made to sanctuaries of female deities, and a great deal of the surviving examples stood on the Athenian Acropolis in honor of Athena. > The earliest are the Daedalic pieces, such as the Lady of Auxerre, but in the 6th century there is a greater interest in the patterning of the folds of drapery as well as the interaction of the female physique and the garments that covered it. > Although the korai are always dressed, the interest in revealing the feminine curves beneath increases greatly with time, and soon the statues are posed in a manner that manipulates the drapery, grasping the skirt at the side of the body, causing it to be pulled tightly across the legs and buttocks, revealing the curves underneath the thin fabric. > Until the late Classical period, "proper" women and goddesses were shown fully clothed. > Many of the korai from the second half of the sixth century BC, have one arm that extended forward, from preserved examples, know that there was often a piece of fruit or bird held in the palm of the hand as a perpetual offering. > During the last third of the 6th century BC, the korai made in Athens were depicted wearing the chiton, a linen dress. Over this is worn a slung mantle (himation) that is fastened at the right shoulder with its upper edge rolled. This garment and the withdrawn skirt of the chiton creates a double diagonal effect that was greatly favored. > This change was probably due to the influx of Ionian Greek immigrants into Athens in the late 6th century BC due to the expansion of the Persian empire into Asia Minor. > The korai with their elaborate hairstyles and elegant garments indicate that life for certain women was not longer centered around hard physical labor. They had time and energy to put towards caring for their physical appearance and creating beautiful clothing. It also demonstrates that youthful femininity is considered beautiful and praiseworthy, and ordinary women are now represented in the same manner as goddesses. > Like the kouroi, they are a glorification of youth, which time and hardship has not matured and reflect a society where physical beauty is considered more important than physical strength.

Athens, Acropolis: Kore in Ionian Dress, marble, Greek, ca. 520 B.C.

> During the Archaic period, the Greeks also began building monumental structures of stone, again inspired by contact with the Egyptians. > From the time of the 7th and 6th centuries BC onward, the aim in Greek architecture was always to "perfect" a type of building. > The earliest of these types to be developed was the temple. The Greeks decorated their stone buildings with stone sculptures, executed in both relief (as seen here) and as three-dimensional figures. > This is the one of the earliest surviving examples of architectural sculpture placed in the pediment of a stone temple. > The central group shows the Gorgon, Medusa, facing frontally with her body in the typical Archaic "running" pose. She is flanked by her offspring, which were born from the stump of her decapitated head after Perseus cut her head off- Pegasos and Chrysaor. > To either side of this trio is a leopard, which is appropriate as both Medusa and Artemis are Mistresses of Animals, mythological figures with powers over the natural world. > This is example of compressed narrative, a common practice of Archaic artists. Technically, Pegasos and Chrysaor cannot be present if Medusa's head is still attached to her neck. > The frontal head of Medusa (called the Gorgoneion) was considered to have an apotropaic property and thus would have kept evil away from the temple. It was a popular motif on early temples. Medusa may also have been intended to inspire fear and awe in the onlooker.

Corfu: Temple of Artemis, marble, Greek, ca. 600-580 B.C.

> The Siphnian Treasury is one of the most important Ionic buildings in all of Greek art history. > A treasury is a small, one-room, temple-like structure was dedicated by city-states to Panhellenic sanctuaries such as Delphi and Olympia as rich tokens of thanksgiving as well as displays of ostentatious piety. Treasuries were intended to hold precious offerings and as such were essentially extenuations of a temple. > Because of their miniature scale, they gave more opportunity for elaborate decoration that could not be afforded in the case of a larger temple. > The Siphnian Treasury, like the other treasuries at Delphi, was placed along the Sacred Way up to the Temple of Apollo. > This is the only example of an Ionic building on mainland Greece that is known in its virtual entirety. > The island state of Siphnos struck it rich in her gold and silver mines and the treasury was a tithe for its new wealth. However, these mines were flooded and destroyed by people from the island of Samos in 525 BC, meaning that this building is one of the few works of Greek art that can be firmly historically attested. > it was finished by around 525 BC, when the money ran out. It is also the first building built entirely of marble on mainland Greece. > The figures on this structure are stylistically very similar to those that appear on the earliest red-figure vases painted by the Andokides Painter, and it is thanks to this building that we can date the beginning of this new vase-painting technique with relative accuracy. > Its Ionic frieze was carved on all four sides- a different story on each side. > Originally the frieze was brightly colored with additional elements, such as the missing chariot wheel in the portion of the frieze depicted here, made of metal. > It was common for both stone buildings and sculpture to be vividly painted in ancient Greece, a tradition that was continued by cultures influenced by the Greeks, such as the Etruscans and Romans. > This portion of the frieze faced the Sacred Way, one of the most prominent spots on the building. It depicts the great battle between the gods of Greek pantheon against the Giants who wished to overthrow their control of the world. > In this frieze, the two sides clash with one another, the gods moving from the left to the right, the traditional direction that a victorious side moves in Greek art, and the Giants moving from right to left. > The gods are shown dressed in their typical attributes while the Giants are armed as contemporary Greek soldiers with round shields, helmets, and spears. > The figures tend to overlap and interlock in a composition that leads the eye from one end to the other without a break, ever enticed forward by the constant flow of information in the form of both inscriptions and intricate detailing. > The artist has taken advantage of the uninterrupted field as well as the passer-by's own movement to involve the viewer in the dynamic activity that is shown (as the viewer walks up to the temple, > Standing in the chariot is Themis, or "law of nature," who is the embodiment of divine order, law, and custom. When she is disregarded, Nemesis brings just and wrathful retribution. Behind her chariot is Dionysos, about to throw a spear long distance. The lions that draw her chariot attack a Giant who is given a very innovative head in three-quarter profile. In front of the chariot, Apollo and Artemis advance on a group of giants.

Delphi, Siphnian Treasury: Battle between the Gods and the Giants frieze (detail), marble, Greek, ca. 530-525 B.C.

> Around 730 BC, a new vase-painting technique called black-figure developed in the Greek city of Corinth. > This technique consists of black painted silhouette with the additional step incised detail executed before the vase was fired. > This additional step allowed vase-painters to depict interior detail of figures, such as facial features, clothing, musculature, etc. as well as for the overlapping of figures, as they could be divided from one another through incised lines. > Black-figure is further enhanced with the use of added colors of clay, predominantly a creamy white and a dark red/purple. > Note Exekias' absolutely incredible incision work- one cannot surpass this perfection in Athenian black-figure vase-painting. > By 620 BC Athenian vase-painters had adopted the black-figure technique for painting vases and began creating masterpieces putting Corinthian vase-painters out of business. This vase was exported the homeland of the Etruscans. > The greatest of Athenian black-figure vase-painters was Exekias, who was also greatly influential for his potting abilities, inventing a number of new vase shapes. He was active between 540 and 520 BC. An amphora is a storage vessel, typically containing liquids, but also dry goods. > Exekias skimped on nothing and planned every detail, even down to the scrolls under his handles that are unparalleled for their finesse. His work brings vase-painting to the level of a major art. > The story of Achilles and Ajax playing a game is not found in extant literature, our knowledge of it is gathered from works of art alone, mainly vases. > One day at Troy, Achilles and Ajax, two of the prime Greek heroes, became so absorbed in their board-game that they did not hear the alarm, and by the time they looked up, the Trojans were in the Greek camp. > Their names are inscribed beside them and Exekias' signature is seen between them. It is believed that Exekias invented this scene, which was enthusiastically borrowed by other vase-painters for half a century, appearing on over 150 other extant Greek vases. > Both heroes are armed and ready for duty, holding their spears and their shields nearby. > It is clear who the winner of the game will be- Achilles is taller and his seat is higher. > The double line for Ajax's eyebrow emphasizes his concentration on the game and his bare head suggests vulnerability. His raised right heel increases the tension of his posture. He grips his spears so tightly that the end of one does not touch the ground.

Exekias: Amphora with Ajax and Achilles playing dice, terracotta, Greek, ca. 540-530 B.C.

> The Geometric period of Greek art covers the years between 900 and 700 BC and is called such because of the predominance of geometric motifs on pottery. > The basic evolution of Geometric pottery involves the spread of the decoration from a narrow band of decoration concentrated on either the shoulder or neck of the vase (with the rest of the vase covered in lustrous black glaze) to eventually covering the entire surface of the vase. > Vase decoration is carefully done so as to enhance the inherent vitality of the potter's work- the shape of the vase is of equal or more importance than its decoration. > The Geometric style of decorating ceramics seems to have originated in Athens, and soon spread across the Greek world. > Since there was little money to invest in monumental architecture and work in precious metals, the potter and vase-painter found themselves as the aesthetic taste setters of the period. > It is during the Geometric period that we begin to see evidence of the foundation of the polis and the amassing of wealth and prestige of certain individuals in their grave goods as well as their graves being given monumental markers. > The Greeks were much more conservative in their expenditure on grave goods after the trauma of the "dark ages." > The elite of emerging cities, like Athens, began to seek out a new way to mark their burials in a manner that would look impressive, but would also be a financially reasonable expense. > In the city of Athens, the elite began to commission the production of monumental vases, reaching up to five feet in height and decorated with geometric patterns, to stand on top of their graves. > The offerings would then directly entered the ground below which contained the remains of the deceased. > The subjects of these figural scenes, in which the human figures are represented as silhouettes, reflects the function of these vases as funerary objects. > The most standard type of imagery is the prothesis scene, the first stage of the ancient Greek funeral in which the body was prepared for burial, laid on a funerary bier, and mourned by family and friends. > A prothesis scene appears in the upper figural register on this vase. The deceased is flanked by mourners and at his feet sits his wife with a child in her lap. Two additional children stand on the funerary bier. > There seems to be a correspondence between the shape of the vase, its imagery, and the sex of the deceased. Kraters, which normally were mixing bowls for wine and water used by men at drinking parties known as symposia, were made for male burials, while the amphora (storage jar) was the shape selected for female burials and likely references women's role as caretakers of the home as well as a metaphor of the female body as a container that produces life. > The deceased on the amphorae are shown as dressed and there are no scenes of war. > On the other hand, the figure on the funeral bier on a monumental funerary krater is nude and below the prothesis scene is a frieze with military imagery, usually a procession of warriors and chariots, as seen on this vase. > Later in Athens it became fashionable for prominent families in Athens to trace ancestries to Homeric figures and this is perhaps a visual express of such a practice.

Hirschfeld Workshop: Geometric krater, terracotta, Greek, ca. 740 B.C.

> Walls of the Minoan palace at Knossos were decorated with brightly colored frescoes depicting scenes of daily life and the natural world. > Minoan painters traveled over large distances and were commissioned to execute paintings in palaces as well as upper middle class homes. > Bulls were a sacred animal to the Minoans, appearing frequently in their art. They were the ultimate luxury good to be dedicated to the gods and sacrificed. > The prevalence of bulls in Minoan religious life and the practice of bull-leaping are perhaps the basis for the later Greek myth of the Minotaur, the half-human, half-bull monster that supposedly lived in the labryinth at Knossos, which was killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. > Bull-leaping is done by grabbing the bull's horns and somersaulting over the bull's back with the help of the momentum of the bull's jerking its head backwards. > It is thought that the differing skin tones may indicate gender, borrowed from Egypt. Woman are given white flesh as they stay indoors and tend to household duties.

Knossos: Bull Leaping Fresco, pigment on plaster, Minoan, ca. 1500-1450 B.C.

> Women play such a central and prominent role in Minoan religious imagery, debate whether Minoan society might have been matriarchal rather than patriarchal. > The snake was a sacred animal in Minoan religion at an early date. Snakes have associations both with the dead and eternal life (shedding of the skin = rebirth) as well as medicine. > This and two other figurines of similar type were discovered in the so-called Temple Repositories at the palace at Knossos, she is usually considered to be a household divinity. > There are no male equivalent to these figurines. > Her staring expression may indicate that she is to be understood in a drugged or intoxicated state. > She is dressed in typical Minoan female garments of a long, multi-tiered skirt, an apron-like piece, and a skin-tight jacket that is cut to expose the breasts. They also prohibited a great deal of free movement. They also are very elaborate in their ornamentation. > Men, on the other hand, are often shown in much less restrictive clothing and in outdoor settings. > Relationship between the genders - men are valued for the work they do while women are valued for being the source of life.

Knossos: Snake Goddess Figurine, faience, Minoan, ca. 1600 B.C.

> It is also during the 7th century B.C., that Greek sculptors began experimenting with creating relatively life-sized statuary in stone. > Softer stones, such as limestone, were worked at first, and later harder stones such as marble. > It is generally agreed that the Greeks were inspired to create large-scale free-standing sculpture in harder stones after being exposed to Egyptian stone carving. > During the reign of the pharaoh Psammetichos I (664-610 B.C.E.), Greeks were hired as mercenaries in the pharaoh's army. During their lengthy stay in Egypt, Greeks had the opportunity to observe not only how to quarry harder stones, but how to carve and build with them. > These early Greek stone sculptures are rendered in a style called Daedalic, . Daedalic style figures were made from ivory, terracotta, and bronze, to name a few. > Daedalic figures are characterized by a U or V shaped face, the wig-like hair that falls in massive wedges over the shoulders, a strictly frontal body, and often a cinched in waist that may or may not be belted with a wide belt. > The right hand raised to her breast is probably a gesture of adoration, but it may also derive from eastern fertility goddesses, like the Phoenician Astarte, who are shown with one hand raised to the breast and the other often covering the genitals

Lady of Auxerre, limestone, Greek, ca. 650-625 B.C

> The grave goods buried in the shaft graves within Grave Circles A and B at Mycenae are some of the earliest evidence we have of Mycenaean civilization, the main Bronze Age culture of mainland Greece. > Grave Circle A was excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in 1876. When discovering this mask, Schliemann recorded in his journal, "Today I have gazed at the face of Agamemnon." > Agamemnon was a mythological king of Myncenae, who ruled during the Trojan War and was the leader of the Greek force against the Trojans. However, discoveries were centuries older than the Trojan War, if it indeed happened. > In these shaft graves, the deceased were buried with exceedingly rich grave goods, most of which are made of imported materials and are of foreign, particularly Minoan, craftsmanship. However, the gold grave masks, which were placed over the faces of male burials, appear to have been of local manufacture. > The skill in metalworking is far less sophisticated than that of the contemporary Minoans. > It is unknown how the Mycenaeans came into wealth at this time, but it probably came from control of certain trade routes, such as gold or tin from the north, or from serving as mercenaries. > It is unknown who was buried within the grave circles, but clearly they were of importance to the Mycenaeans for centuries later when a massive fortification wall was built around the citadel at Mycenae, Grave Circle A was enclosed within the protection of the citadel. > Allowing graves to be within the boundaries of cities and settlements is very unusual in antiquity and is always a gesture of honor towards the deceased. Presumably the later inhabitants and rulers of Mycenae saw them as important ancestors.

Mycenae: Funerary Mask from Grave Circle A (Mask of Agamemnon), gold, Mycenaean, ca. 1600-1500 B.C.

> This gate, the main entrance into the citadel at Mycenae, was built around 1250 as part of the expansion of the walls of Mycenae, which also enclosed Grave Circle A within the citadel. > In the 14th and 13th centuries B.C., at least, Mycenaean civilization seems to have been based on a number of kingdoms that were probably independent, but may have recognized one of the larger centers as sovereign. Each kingdom had a central administrative capital (e.g. Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, etc.) which was usually fortified and served as the home of the king and the bureaucratic and religious center. > These centers are contained within massive Cyclopean walls and well-planned defenses. What these Mycenaean rulers were so afraid of. Were they afraid of each other? > This gate contains the earliest monumental sculpture in Europe and is the only example of monumental sculpture in Mycenaean art. > It consists of a sculpted piece inserted into the relieving triangle. > Depicted are two heraldic lions that flank a Minoan-style column standing on a raised pedestal. The heads, which originally faced outwards towards the viewer, were probably made of another, lighter, type of stone. > Some scholars even believe that the animals were sphinxes with heads that would have been in human form, a solely Mycenaean aesthetic. > Pillars and pillar shaped stones appear to have been the focus of cult worship on Crete. On seals we see free-standing columns shown within small enclosures and surrounded by worshippers. This column may represent a deity, but in this instance is more likely a symbol of the palace of the king. > In this sense, the flanking animals serve as "protectors," serving as a warning to all those that enter that the king is protected by both mortal and divine forces.

Mycenae: Lion Gate, stone masonry, Mycenaean, ca. 1250 B.C.

> During the mid 5th century, the start of the High Classical period, major innovations began in another artistic medium, that of large scale wall-painting by artists such as Polygnotos of Thasos and Mikon of Athens, who worked principally at Athens and Delphi. > We have descriptions of their work, but no original piece survives. > Their paintings were quite novel in composition, being major friezes with figures at least half life size and disposed up and down the frieze, which was itself one-and-a-half or two figures high. > There was no question of perspective in these pictures and the upper figures were not smaller or deemed to be further away, or even less important. But this introduction of varied ground lines within the composition offered the possibility of cutting off some figures (as if behind rocks or a hill crest), > Introducing new relationships between figures and within groups, no longer bound to a single ground line. Their innovations opened a road which led on to shading, highlighting, and perspective, the qualities of European painting. > Although none of these monumental wall paintings from Athens or Delphi survives, this influence is seen in contemporary vase-painting. > From this point on, Greek vase-painting is no longer particularly experimental in and of itself, but rather seems to imitate other media, such as wall-painting and sculptural relief, which eventually led to an ultimate decline in quality. > The Niobid Painter was the first Greek vase-painter to attempt to depict his figures in a three-dimensional space by staggering his figures up and down across the field (rather than a singular ground line) and cutting some figures off to indicate that they are standing behind landscape elements. > Artemis and Apollo killing the children of Niobe (the Niobids) with their arrows. > Niobe boasted of her fecundity and insulted Leto, the mother of the gods Apollo and Artemis, so Leto asked her children to slaughter the Niobids as punishment. > The Niobids flee and fall in a rocky landscape, which the painter has constructed on a number of different levels. The various ground lines were originally indicated in added white which has drastically faded and thus is barely visible in photographs. > Below Apollo is a fallen Niobid, who is partly hidden by a rise in the ground on which his body rests. In front of him is another arrow, cut by the fold of the hill. > This is most unusual. Since Apollo's arrows never miss their mark, this arrow must be understood as emerging from the body of an unseen Niobid behind the mound. The implied presence of a body that is not actually represented is a remarkable development that places the work of the Niobid Painter in a new era.

Niobid Painter: Artemis and Apollo slaying the Children of Niobe (Athenian red-figure calyx-krater), terracotta, Greel, ca. 460-450 B.C.

> The sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia was one of the most important Panhellenic sanctuaries of the ancient Greek world. > It owes much of its fame to the Olympic Games which took place there every four years, starting (according to legend) in 776 BC. > Olympia was one of the few sanctuaries where citizens from all the Greek city-states could gather together after the conclusion of the Persian Wars in the decades after 480 BC. > The construction of the Temple of Zeus was the first on the site dedicated exclusively to the head of the Olympian gods and was one of the first major building projects in Greece after the Persian invasions. > The subject of the east pediment, which faced the Olympic stadium and the altar where the athletes swore to participate fairly in the Games, was a story of deep local significance. > The chariot race between Pelops and King Oinomaos, who was the local king of the neighboring town of Pisa, which ran the sanctuary. Oinomaos had only one child and heir, a daughter named Hippodameia. > He was told by an oracle that he would die at the hands of his son-in-law, so he devised a formidable safeguard by stating that any man who came to be Hippodameia's suitor had to first compete against him in a chariot race from Olympia to Corinth. > The suitor would start first, taking Hippodameia in the chariot with him. Oinomaos would then set off in pursuit after making a sacrifice to Zeus. > Oinomaos' horse were divine, given to him by the god of war, Ares, so he quickly caught up with the prospective suitors. > When he did, he speared the suitor in the back, thereby killing him. In order to ensure his victory, Pelops bribed Myrtilos, the Oinomaos' charioteer, to substitute the metal lynch pins of the king's chariot with those made of wax. > When Oinomaos started his team to follow Pelops, the wheels of his chariot came off, throwing Oinomaos to the ground and killing him. > Pelops happily took Oinomaos' daughter and kingdom, but did not want to pay Myrtilos for his services, which according to one account was no less than the favors of the newly-wedding Hippodameia. > Pelops decided to kill Myrtilos by drowning him, but Myrtilos, with his dying breath, cursed Pelops and his descendants. > This curse led to the murder of Pelops' son Atreus and the events that figure prominently in some of the greatest tragedies of the Classical period. >These stories would have been widely familiar to Greeks of the day through oral traditions, written literature, and dramatic performances. > He is a remarkable figure for both his clear emotional reaction, seen in the shrinking back of his body and the raised hand to the open mouth, as well as his clear depiction of old age with a balding, wrinkled head and sagging musculature. > Both of these features are rare in Greek art before the Hellenistic age and appear only briefly in early Classical sculpture. > His reaction is the essence of the feelings experienced by Greek audiences during the performance of tragedies, a relatively new performance form at the time of this temple's construction.

Olympia: Temple of Zeus, East Pediment- Seer, marble, Greek, ca. 470-456 B.C

> Sculptural decoration on Greek temples were the most expensive part of a building's construction and thus its subject matter was chosen with great care > Often relating to the divinity worshipped within the temple or mythological stories with connections to the sanctuary itself. > Each metope represents a labor undertaken by Herakles and may have influenced the canonization of the "Twelve Labors" and the tasks included within them. > Each metope celebrates the human ability to conquer seemingly impossible challenges, usually requiring great physical strength, which might allude to the Olympic Games, which Herakles was said to have founded. > Herakles is also a son of Zeus, and most of these labors took place in the Peloponnese, one in fact at Olympia itself. > Herakles undertook these labors while serving Eurystheus, king of Argos, for twelve years by the command of the Delphic oracle to serve as punishment for the murder of his wife and children. > Herakles was charged with getting golden apples of immortality from the tree of life which grew in the garden of the Hesperides, at the far West of the world. > The garden was guarded by a golden dragon, and only Atlas, who stood in the west supporting the heavens knew where the garden was located. > In the version depicted on this metope, Herakles has persuaded Atlas to get the apples for him, offering to carry the burden of the sky while he does so. Atlas agrees and does so, but when he returns and sees Herakles trapped, he has the inspiration to leave him there for good. > Herakles, realizing that he was trapped, concedes to Atlas that he will carry the heavens for the eternities, but asks Atlas to hold the sky for just a moment, while Herakles adjusts a cushion on his neck to help support the weight. As soon as Atlas has took the burden, Herakles quickly made his get-away. > Herakles is now clearly older and the years of toil have worn on him, but his courage is undimmed, and there seems to be a glimmer of a triumphant smile in the set teeth. Athena appears with her spear, but no other armor, and is rather distant in her support (which for her is effortless). She almost appears to be unseen by Herakles. This is an excellent example of how the sculptor cleverly used the architectural framework around the metope to enhance the scene. It appears that Herakles (with the help of Athena) is shouldering the burden of the sky in the form of the entire roof above him.

Olympia: Temple of Zeus- Athena, Herakles, and Atlas with the Apples of the Hesperides Metope, marble, Greek, ca. 470-456 B.C.

> Most of the Classical Greek statues that exist today are in fact marble copies that were produced, sometimes in mass numbers, during the Roman era. > Wealthy Romans frequently used copies of famous Greek bronze works to decorate their homes and gardens, and replicas of Greek sculptures were also used to decorate public areas and buildings. > We can easily identify marble copies of bronze originals by the use of supporting elements such as tree-trunks, etc. as well as struts to support appendages, both of which would have been unnecessary in the originals. > This figure is named for the spear that he once carried and rested against his shoulder. This sculpture is believed to have been the statue created by Polykleitos of Argos to illustrate his Canon, his treatise on the art of ideal sculpture. > Polykleitos, likely influenced by the teachings of the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras of Samos, wrote his text on the premise that perfect sculpture could be created through the use of ideal proportions between the various parts of the body (symmetria). > Polykleitos' proportional system was dynamic, but flexible enough to accommodate depictions other than nude males, including females and figures young and old. > He carries further the stance of Early Classical males (e.g. the Kritios Boy, but here the loose leg trails even more, with the foot turning and barely resting on the ground, the straight but limp arm on the side of the straight but taught leg. > Here the figure is walking- his has come to rest on his right foot and is on the point of lifting the left. This is a timeless crystallization of movement. This achievement is one of the greatnesses of classical art. > Here we have a visible harmony of counterbalancing forces achieved by arranging the parts of the body in a chiasticthe free but flexed left leg is balanced by the free but straight arm; the raised knee opposes the lowered left hip and vice versa; the head turns to the right while the torso and hips are twisted slightly to the left.

Polykleitos: Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), Greek, Roman copy of Greek bronze original of ca. 450 B.C.

> One of the major innovations in Greek sculpture of the early Classical period was the of bronze to create statues that were life-sized (and larger!) using a method of hollow casting producing bronze sculptures required less metal as well as created an object that was lighter and easier to transport than a solid-cast piece. > Pieces could also be cast separately and then soldered together. > Bronze quickly became the preferred medium for sculpture in Classical Greece. Its appeal was multifold: 1) Bronze is more versatile than marble as it can hold its shape, no matter how complex, allowing sculptors to more easily experiment with less rigid poses. 2) Bronze is a stronger, lighter medium that alleviates the problem of statues toppling over or cracking from internal stress as leaden weights could be placed inside the hollow feet. 3) The luminosity of newly cast bronze is breathtaking. > Bronze is material that is melted down so easily, most Classical bronze statues have been lost. > Those that survive are only due to extraordinary circumstances, such as sinking in a shipwreck, etc. > This particular statue was damaged in a rock fall in the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi and was intentionally buried in antiquity. > It is made of seven parts, each cast separately, as was typical: skirt, upper torso, limbs (one can see where the lost left arm was attached), and the side curls were made separately from the head. > The right hand held the reins, parts of which survive. He may have held a goad in his left hand. He was part of a larger sculptural group consisting of a horse-drawn chariot, charioteer, and perhaps also a groom. > Parts of the chariot, horses' legs and tails have also been found. > The young man wears the approved dress for charioteers (a windy sport)- a long chiton with shoulder cords to stop the dress billowing. The fillet tied around the head is the indication of his victorious status. > The inscription on the statue's base tells us that the sculptural monument was dedicated by Polyzalos, a ruler of a Greek city probably commemorates a victory in the chariot race at the athletic games. > Although this young man has won a major athletic event, he shows great self-restraint and modesty. This serious, aristocratic, taut self-control was considered to be ideal behavior by the Greeks. > The translucency of the stone and glass used for the chestnut brown eyes endows the figure with a spiritual vitality and intensity that could never have been achieved by casting the eyes in bronze. > The head turns almost 30 degrees to the right from the front plane of the body while the left foot points leftward in a subtle countertwist to the direction of the head and its glance. Note how the sculptor observed the way the bulk of the figure's torso lifted the hem of the skirt very slightly both fore and aft, thereby giving an organic, springing quality to material that would otherwise have appeared heavy and inert. > This choice of moment, after not during the competition, is distinctive of the Severe style, which usually chooses to portray anticipation or aftermath, rather than the action itself.

The Delphi Charioteer, bronze, Greek, ca. 475 B.C.

> Not only were statues of standing women created of stone starting in the 7th century BC, but also those of nude men. > These statues of nude young men produced during the Orientalizing and Archaic periods were called kouroi (singular: kouros). > They mark the beginnings of a main sculptural type that pervaded until the end of ancient Greek art: the nude male youth. > Representation of musculature and bone, often incised into the stone rather than rendered three-dimensionally. > Other physical features are transformed into regularized patterns of geometric derivation such as the hair and the volute ears. Individually these patterns of human anatomy transformed into pattern are unnaturalistic, but together they clearly depict a human figure. > The kouros is a type of statue whose form is established from its earliest examples and changes relatively little in its stance for roughly 150 years. > It stands upright with straight or lightly flexed arms at the sides. > The fists are clenched and one foot is advanced in front of the other. There is frequently a faint smile on the lips, the so-called "Archaic smile." > Although the pose imitates walking, it is in fact quite static, providing little sense of movement. > Although they used to be called "Apollos" they are given no attributes to determine their identity. Only much later does this happen. > They served either as dedications to sanctuaries (usually male deities), where they would be permanent and silent servants to the god, or served as grave markers. > In the latter use, they were not to serve as portraits of the deceased, but rather to summon up the remembrance of the youth and vigor or the dead, taking a craftsman a year to produce a single one. Thus, they quickly became associated with the elite and the idea of kalokagathia, the concept that one's external beauty was a reflection of one's inner character and nobility. > It is clear to see the Greeks' direct borrowings from Egyptian statues of standing males, but there are some very significant differences, and this true of all Greek art. > The Greeks were certainly inspired through their contacts with other cultures, but they never replicated exactly what they say, they always applied the imagery in their own way. The Greeks did not include the extra supporting plinths behind the statue and between its legs. > However, the largest difference Egyptian statues and early Greek marble male statues is that the Greek kouroi are nude. Greek athletes competed in the nude, and perhaps it was chosen to represent men in this manner as a representation of prime physical prowess. Thus heroes and gods are represented in nude form, and it is in a sense a type of costume intended to make particular men stand out, giving him an elevated status. > However, with the exception of athletics, Greek males would have been dressed.

The New York Kouros, marble, Greek, ca. 600-590 B.C.

> Unlike in Minoan imagery, scenes of violence and warfare was on Mycenaean art, their wealth was derived from mercenary activities and military conquest. > The Mycenaeans' major military achievement was the conquest of the island of Crete around 1450 BC. They destroyed the Minoan palatial centers one by one, the last being that at Knossos. The conquering of the Minoan world meant that the Mycenaeans suddenly had access to massive amounts of artistic and financial resources. > Cretan artisans were likely brought back to mainland Greece to produce works of art for their new Mycenaean masters, which is why many elements in Mycenaean art are derived from Minoan prototypes. > Mycenaean art came into its own, often abstracting and formalizing earlier Minoan elements. .> There is archaeological evidence that Mycenaeans were involved in the destruction of the site of Troy around 1200 BC, but it was probably more of a glorified cattle raid than the extended struggle described in the Homeric epics. > The warrior ethos and the political organization described in the Homeric epics correspond well to what the archeological record has preserved. > In the 14th and 13th centuries BC, at least, Mycenaean civilization seems to have been based on a number of kingdoms that were probably independent, but may have recognized one of the larger centers as sovereign. > Each kingdom had a central administrative capital (Mycenae, Tiyrns, Pylos, etc.), which was usually heavily fortified and served as the home of king ("wanax") and the bureaucratic and religious center. > This krater, or mixing bowl, was used to mix wine and water at drinking parties. > It shows a woman at the far left bidding farewell to a column of heavily armed Mycenaean warriors. The figures are depicted using both silhouette and outline and a combination of frontal and profile views. > 6 soldiers have similar features though some of them have pointed noses- they are bearded.

Warrior Vase, terracotta, Mycenaean, ca. 1200 B.C.