AP Art History Unit 2B: Ancient Greece

Peristyle

colonnade around the perimeter of the building - Acropolis

Cella

the main shrine room of a temple where a cult statue is housed - acropolis (parthenon)

context of Athenian Agora

- 480 BCE: persians sacked/destroyed athens → many buildings in agora destroyed → repaired and added on - main site of festival held every 4 yrs for Athena: panathenaic procession along panathenaic way → gets to acropolis, leads to large event at top of acropolis at Parthenon (temple for Athena) - significance of agora art historically: agora is precursor to Roman forum

form of Athenian Agora

- acropolis is nearby, agora is on an unnaturally flat wide ground (unusual for greece) → perfect space for town center - large pathway thru center → panathenaic way (ceremonial road for a procession built to honor Athena) → leads you to top of Acropolis - stoa: most buildings outlined with this, covered walkway attached to a building (aka portico → little patio you enter thru row of columns)

context of Anavysos Kouros

- anavysos → name of town - archaic greek style has been inspired by ancient egyptian art (sculpture of menkaure and queen) - saw egyptian art and since its all the same, you can see similarities bt this and menkaure - characteristics are shared with egyptian art: even weight, single step forward, arms down by side, idealized muscular body, hands in first - greeks do NOT adopt the quality of nudity (in egyptian art is was for little children) but for greeks nudity is superior way of illustration, pure

function of Athenian Agora

- center of policial, commercial, administrative and social life - center of Athenian life, couple w/ Acropolis (religious) → everything u need for life

context of Niobides Krater

- greek vases have huge variety of decorations and purposes, very popular - more decorated = more $$$ - greeks would often hold huge banquets called symposiums: hours long of drinking, watered down wine so no hangover

form of Niobides Krater

- historians have named it niobides krater, not greeks - don't know artist name so Niobid painter is name - example of decorative arts → art that is beautiful and utilitarian (vases, jewelry, clocks, furniture, dishware, ceramics) - this is a calyx krater - kraters are used to mix water and wine - have handles and are large - opening at top is called mouth, wide mouth - no neck, straight to body from mouth - hands (handles) then ankle at bottom, wide foot illustrations - black figure technique: came first,black figures on red background, red clay pot covered with black, fired it, scraped off black slit to reveal red - for more naturalism they moved to red figure technique: taking red pot and painting black slit where you want it, more natural with skin color, more detail (this is in this technique) - kiln: an oven used for making pottery, hardens the pot bodies: from classical period, humanism, rationalism, idealism - humanism: accurate body, observant - rationalism: keep control of emotion - idealism: perfect male body, muscular, small genitalia surface: technique of isocephalism has been ignored → (heads being isolated, standing one ground line) but they are actually scattered around in this

form of Acropolis (overall)

-Acropolis: Greek, "high city", means a rugged, raised rock; site of the city's most important temples

context of Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

-After Alexander the great died, empire broke into 4 kingdoms: Attalid kingdom centered in Pergamon, was one of them (named for Attalos I) -Attalid history: in 3rd century BCE, king Attalos I defeated the Gauls -Attalid kingdom had great wealth and power -175 BCE, construction on the temple occurred under Eumenes II -Attalid kingdom was absorbed into roman empire in 133 BCE -Altar was removed from Pergamon in 19th century by German archeologist -Reconstructed and placed in a museum in Berlin -Archaeologist took it down stone by stone from turkey and moved it to berlin -Hellenism: begins after the death of Alexander the Great: strain and change because of the restructure of the empire, artists feel stressed and strained and chaotic -Helps artists want to explore a wider range of emotion than before in classical system

form of Seated Boxer

-Bronze is an expensive and reusable material- often Greek original bronzes don't survive -Is one of the few surviving Greek bronzes -Created using Lost-Wax Casting process -In addition to bronze- 2 materials added- had eyes inserted (ivory eyes), has copper placed onto the bronze (show the bleeding of the figure) -In Hellenism we have kept the ideal physical body, but abandoned classical restraint (added realistic depictions of emotions and pain)

form of Winged Victory of Samothrace

-Carving is a deeply carved, heavily incised sculpture in the round -Dramatic figure showing energy and intensity -Huge display of movement with the dramatic twist and push forward and an extreme contrapposto of the figure -Wearing wet drapery helps fabric look like it is wet and clings to the body showing viewers female form under the fabric -Monumentality: larger than life-size- 9 ft tall

context of Grave stele of Hegeso

-Classical artwork -Humanism (real human bodies), rationalism (control of body), idealism (perfect expression of the body) -Change in funerary sculpture -In the archaic, it was popular to use Kourous figures -In the classical, the Steles were more popular -Steeles allow viewer to learn more about the deceased Steeles were more personalized -Athenian women were very restricted- but looking at hegeso, has a high status, but still in home -Women are defined by their relationship to men: no male figure depicted, clear that Hegeso is wealthy and enjoying life, learn about her father: "Hegeso, daughter of Proxenos" (at the bottom of the pediment- triangular piece)

content of Grave stele of Hegeso

-Deceased woman Hegeso on the right -Quiet moment of daily life is shown -4 expressions of wealth and social status: 1. elegant clothing (reserved for elite women) 2. elegant and expensive furniture (distinctive legs, workshop) 3. jewelry box on lap, and going through jewelry, sign of status 4. has a servant

function of Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

-Dedicated to Zeus primarily, and then followed by Athena -Temple also commemorates 3 major events: --Commemorates gods defeat over the Giants (led by Gaia) Gigantomachy (battle between gods and giants in Greek mythology, gods win) --Temple commemorates Alexander the Great's defeat of the Persians, without this the kingdom would never have happened --Commemorates Pergamon's defeat of the Gauls -Of the 3 major events, only 1 of them are illustrated- the gigantomachy -2nd and 3rd events are still commemorated, but using the metaphor of the gigantomachy

acropolis subimage: parthenon form

-Designed by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates -Decided to use native marble to construct the building -Marble is cheap and native and available -Roof was originally timber and capped with marble tiles -All of the carving and sculpture would have been painted so that the viewer standing on the ground level could easily read and interpret the decoration -Type of floor plan: Peripheral temple- has a peristyle (a colonnade around all four sides of a building) -on the Parthenon there are 2 orders (a style with characteristic designs of columns and entablature) that are being used: Doric and ionic -Doric: characterized by a simple capital, does not have a base, and also characterized by 2 types of designs called entablature- spaces called metophys, space used for relief carving, metophys alternate with blocks of 3 vertical grooves with a triglyph -Ionic: has capital with volute (scroll-like shape), and column has a base, entablature: no metophys and triglyphs that are alternating, but is one entire Frieze -Basic layout of temple starts with the floor (stylobate), then column (capital + shaft + sometimes base), most column shafts are fluted (shallow vertical grooves running along body of column) -2 orders are combined -Doric order: simple capital, fluted shaft, no base -Small building set inside the larger building with the Ionic interior -Mixing 2 orders- Doric was the style most preferred on the mainland, and ionic was the one most preferred on the Greek islands: when Athenians combined 2 orders together wanted to show that Athens is the leader of the Greeks and trying to reference Greek notion of Greek unity -The ionic order is not even a "true" ionic order (it still has Doric columns) -5 mathematical adjustments made to compensate for optical illusions: --1. curved stylobate and entablature (deflects the appearance of sagging in the center, have to curl the floor) --2. columns that lean inward --3. column spacing: not evenly spaced to create the illusion of even spacing --4. Entasis: a building of the column in the center so that they actually appear straight and as if they taper upward --5. corner columns are 2" thicker all around to counteract the slimming effect of light -Every block of the Parthenon has to be carved singularly and uniquely carved

content of Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

-Frieze wrapping around the entire temple -Depicts the Gigantomachy -2,38,A: Athena frieze- --Hellenistic sculpture- rejecting rationalism of classical era --Still maintaining the physical perfection of the human body, but adding in exaggerated form, dynamic poses, and emotional drama --See high relief, deeply carved figures --Was vividly painted --Seeing the gods tremendous power over the giants- they are no match to the power of the gods --The Greek Olympian gods fighting the offspring of the giants like Gaia and Ouranos --See Athena grabbing the hair of giant Alcyoneos, she is in control and graceful and smooth when battling the giant --One of Athena's snakes is wrapped around Alcyoneos and is biting him --Gaia emerges from the ground (mother earth, and also mom of Alcyoneos)- emerges to plead for the life of her son --We don't see the lower half of her face, but in her eyes and eyebrows, there is tremendous fear and emotion --Nike is flying in to crown Athena, who has a victory over the giants --See the frieze as a whole the gods are fighting the giants along the sides -But at the staircase, the scene changes: gods are dragging and pushing the giants up the stairs- giants are forced to go to the top, courtyard, and are going to be made to worship Zeus -Gods are very strong

form of Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

-Great altar built on the Pergamum acropolis -800 ft above the city below -Temple was a sort of block A shape -Enclosed courtyard with 2 sides extending out into arms -Temple was raised up with a massive podium with a lot of stairs -Verticality means emphasis towards the heavens -Order of the columns used was the Ionic order -Top of the temple has sculptures: Acroterion (sculpture in the round placed on a roof-line) -Starting at the stairs and wrapping around the entire building would have been a huge frieze -Frieze carved in high relief -Hellenistic qualities: quality of energy, dynamism, movement, emotion -Height of the narrative: story was the most dramatic intense moment at the peak of the story

context of Seated Boxer

-Hellenism emerges after death of alexander the great -When he died, the empire was broken into 4 smaller kingdoms -Subject hasn't changed (still seeing perfect men), but subjects are infused with emotion -Seated boxer placed in baths of Diocletian, which was bathhouse primarily for athletes -Found buried -If he was found in the roman baths of Diocletian then why Greek? Greek city sates are not independent anymore but part of roman civilization

context of Winged Victory of Samothrace

-Hellenism starts after the death of alexander the Great 323 BCE -Artists wanted to move away from the restrained, controlled classical models of the classical period -Sculpture found on island of Samothrace and placed next to the water -Stylistic development of Greek female body, went from static and rigid and covered up-to greater expression of wealth for women and increased scenes of daily life, perfect body- to more dynamic arrangement of figures

acropolis subimage: Temple of Athena Nike

-Located on the corner of the acropolis, squeezed into front corner -Amphiprostyle: having 4 columns in both the front and the rear of a temple -Temple is ionic in order- has capitals with volutes, fluted shafts, base, has continuous frieze of relief carving -Oddly sitting on the edge of the acropolis -So close to the edge that the Parapet (low protective wall or barrier) to prevent people from falling -Situated there so that people could pay homage to Athena Nike without paying homage all the way to the top -"drive thru" temple, people could just gather below and pray up to the temple -Dedicated to Athena Nike (not Nike, but Athena Nike- victorious Athena) -Dedicated to victorious Athena because the building is also commemorating Greek victory over the Persians in the battle of marathon in 490 BCE -Inside there would've been a statue of Athena Nike - now lost -Was rebuilt over the ruins of a previous temple to Nike that the Persians had destroyed

content of Seated Boxer

-Looking at an athletic figure, but is not young or beautiful in the traditional sense -Boxer wo had a long career -Rare in Greek culture to see seated figures -When they are seated, it indicates something important -Seated boxer doesn't have a perfect face or body -Has strong body but is physically battered, defeated, body language is slumping forward and has a sad painful gaze looking forward -His face is battered, his nose is broken, teeth have fell out, cheeks and forehead are scarred, and swollen ears caused by blood clots (blocks hearing and is very painful) -Has bleeding hands with leather straps over them to stop the bleeding

content of Winged Victory of Samothrace

-Nike landing on the prow of her ship -Messenger goddess who spreads news of victory Missing right arm may have held a victory crown or been held up in greeting -Moment when she landed on the prow of the boat just before she pulled her wings in and folded them behind her back -Positioned in such way it is angled in direction where wind is usually blowing -Actual wind looks like it is pushing her drapery -Not just a fountain but also set on the coastline, so water is spraying up on her making her wet drapery look wet and like she is actually on the prow of the boat -Light: add quality of movement to the sculpture Makes the statue seem alive and breathing

Acropolis subimage: Parthenon content

-On the temple front and back are designed to look the same- intentional -Encourage the viewer to seek out the divine -Exterior decoration: triangular pediment or in the frieze in the entablature -Decoration is about the strength of the gods, importance of Athena, Athenian piety, or Greek victories -Cella: main shrine room of a temple where a cult statue is housed- -Cult statue no longer remains- sculpture would have been massive and made out of chryselephantine (gold and ivory combined together), know that Athena Parthenon would have been standing, fully armed, shield, spear, helmet, column next to her, and on the column next to her was the goddess Nike (goddess of victory) -After the Greeks were conquered by Byzantine, the Parthenon was converted to a church, when Byzantines collapsed, and western Christianity took over, converted to catholic church, after ottomans conquered them, made into a mosque -1670s the Turks used it as storage for ammunition, and an explosion blew out the center of the building, also ruined the remaining roof

acropolis subimage: Victory (nike) adjusting her sandal from the temple of Athena Nike

-Relief panel, part of the parapet 4 ft wall that ran around the temple of Athena Nike -Nike is standing In beautiful graceful pose Carved in high relief -Wearing wet drapery, gives us a sense of the weight of the clothing that she is wearing, and also the female body underneath the clothing -Just one of many that were on the parapet wall -Unlike the other panels running along parapet, Nike is in a normal daily moment- just adjusting her sandal -Causes strap of her dress shoulder to slip off- awkward posture rendered elegant and graceful

function of Winged Victory of Samothrace

-Statue of Nike was built to commemorate a naval victory by the Greeks -Could be the battle of Cos, between the Macedonians and Egyptians -Part of a fountain -Fountain part of a temple complex along the water on island Samothrace -Sculpture of Nike was meant to sit on a fountain -Fountain designed to look like a boat -Showed that the goddess Nike blessed the Greeks with their naval victory because Nike favored the Greeks -Would've had water splashing up and make it look like the water from the fountain is splashing against the boat and Nike like waves -The statue would have also had light bouncing on it, the light coming from the reflection of water- gives a sense of movement

context of Acropolis (overall)

-Used the acropolis in Athens as a place for the important building because of divine, royal and physical reasons -1. historians found evidence of temples on the top of the acropolis since Neolithic times- an area that people had come to respect as a site of importance -2. natural elevation: high up, centrally located, make it visible, and because of elevation, it is almost always defensible -3. place where debates or battle between Poseidon and Athena is settled: -Athena and Poseidon battled over who was going to be the patron god over that town- each god would give a gift to the city, and the citizens would chose the gift they liked the best -Poseidon gave Athens a salt spring- represent Athenian reliance on the sea -Athena gave them an olive tree- represent Athenian reliance on olive oil -City liked Athena's better, so they chose her as the patron of the city and named themselves Athens -That battle happened on the acropolis -4. as an Athenian you would have no choice other than rebuilding over the site, triumph against adversity -Greeks fought the Persians in the Persian war 499-449 BCE -Athens was sacked in 480 BCE -Athens under leadership of peraclytes -Peraclytes says that they need to rebuild the acropolis as a sign of Athenian power over the Persians -Turns out peraclytes used extra money from the Delian league: name for Greek city state allies who banded together to fight against the Persians -Athens was the holder of the money, and peraclytes said that they should be able to use the leftover money to rebuild the acropolis -Downside: Greek allies were mad, and that was what caused the Peloponnesian war, between Athens and Sparta- ultimately leads to the collapse of Greek civilization

form of Grave stele of Hegeso

-stele (stone slabs) -Greek art was often painted, used to be painted -Colors were bright and vivid -Portrait because the woman is supposed to be Hegeso Artist wants to idealize Hegeso -Red hair because it was one of the most expensive pigments (the more you use, the better) -Combination of high and low relief to make it look more naturalistic -High relief in sections closer to the viewer; Low relief in the sections farther from the viewer -No hierarchy in scale- servant on the left was most often children or teens No hierarchy of scale for Greeks -Greeks are interested in human body and idealism and naturalism

function of Anavysos Kouros

1. gravemarker (headstone/tombstone) for a soldier named Kroisos 2. a monument to honor the soldier Kroisos, funerary monument 3. protect the dead (kroisos) (the monument is dead and smiling meaning he is happy, so our family member that died will also be happy, foreshadowing what the family member will experience) "stay and mourn at the monument of dead Kroisos, who the raging Ares slew, as he [kroisos] fought in the front ranks" - this inscription was on the base of the monument (not there anymore) - metaphorical way of saying Kroisos died in battle

function of Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

1. the Greek function - this sculpture was the model of the details in his book - embodiment of his book 2. roman function - Grecophiles → romans obsessed with greek stuff - in Pompeii, in a roman bath house for athletes (gym shower), fitness inspiration for athletes

Agora

An open square or space used for public meetings or business in ancient Greece - athenian agora

acropolis subimage: Plaque of the Ergastines

Form: --Isocephalism (tradition of depicting head of figures on the same level; implies a single ground line) --Heads of all women and men were in a single row, single groundline --Means the artist is not using hierarchy of scale, everyone is relative in size naturally to everyone else --Plaque would have been painted, background painted blue, hair in gold --Low relief with sections of high relief --Part of a 525 ft long frieze on the inside of the ionic interior of Parthenon --Bodies: standing in contrapposto: weight is not evenly split, more of weight is on one leg more than another- stand with at least one bent knew Function/content: --Panathenaic procession: occurs every 4 years to honor Athena that culminates in the Parthenon --See social status of those selected to participate, and the religious piety of the Athenian upper class --Humanism, rationalism, idealism exhibited --Absolute control and constraint of the bodies Perfect physical forms --2 theories: show the Panathenaic procession or may be showing story of legendary Athenian king erechtheus --Ergastines were young Athenian aristocratic women who were in charge of weaving a peplos (outfit Athenian women wore), sewing a life size peolos that would have been draped over cult statue of Athena (tremendous honor)- 6 women standing with 2 male priests as they march towards the Parthenon --Erechtheus sacrificed one of his daughters to save Athens- hears it form the Oracle, so has daughter killed to save the city- could be seeing the funeral procession of the daughter --Shows civilian dedication to the city, gods must be honored, personal happiness is not as good as personal good of society

Acropolis (definition)

Greek, "high city;" means a rugged, raised rock; site of the city's most important temple(s) - near athenian agora - acropolis - peplos kore found there

content of Acropolis (overall)

Parthenon- Helios, horses, and Dionysus/ Heracles- Plaque of the Ergastines- Temple of Athena Nike- Victory (Nike) Adjusting Her Sandal

Frieze

a broad horizontal band of decoration and/or sculpture on architecture - Acropolis - Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

Panathenaic way

a ceremonial road for a procession built to honor Athena - athenian agora - acropolis

Peplos

a garment worn by women in ancient Greece, usually full length and tied at the waist - peplos kore

Contrapposto

a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees - Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) - Victory (nike) adjusting her sandal from the temple of Athena Nike (acropolis)

Krater

a large ancient Greek bowl used for mixing water and wine -Niobides Krater

Lost-Wax Casting

a sculpture is carved out of clay and dipped into wax; the sculpture is put into a clay casing and heated, so that the wax will drip out of a hole at the bottom; as a result, space is left between the clay casing and clay interior; molten metal is then poured into this space; after cooling, the case is cracked so that the now-metal sculpture can be released - Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) - seated boxer

Acroterion

acroteria (pl); sculpture in the round placed on a roof - Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

content of Athenian Agora

agora: an open square or space for public meetings or business in ancient Greece (town center) - contained council chambers, public office buildings, law courts, marketplace, many courtyards w/ statues and commemorative monuments, library, concert hall, multiple shrines/alter/temples, senate headquarters

Kouros (m) / Kore (f)

an archaic Greek sculpture of an idealized standing youth - Anavysos Kouros - peplos kore

function of Peplos Kore

an offering to the goddess athena - why could it possibly be artemis then? all related to each other, common to give gift of one goddess to another - patron: group of young men - group bc these were quite expensive sculptures - young men bc women are socially restricted so they couldn't do it and all the god/goddesses are young so young men usually commission young gods - for these men, this is sign of status and also piety (how religious they are)

Kiln

an oven used for making pottery - Niobides Krater

Nike

ancient Greek goddess of victory

Niobides Krater

artist: niobid painter culture: Greek medium: Clay, red-figure technique (white highlights) date: 460 - 450 BCE size: 2' tall style: Greek (Classical) learning objective: greek vase themes: deities, utilitarian, violence, war, status, family, victory, decorative arts

Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

artist: polykleitos culture: Greek (Roman copy) medium: Roman marble copy after a Greek bronze original date: 450 - 440 BCE location: Roman copy in Pompeii, Italy size: 6'11" style: Greek (Classical) learning objective: classical male sculpture themes: ideal man, nudity, athlete, philosophy (very important piece)

Gigantomachy

battle between gods and giants in Greek mythology - Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

form of Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

contrapposto: a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders, hips, and bent knees, resulting in a uneven distribution of weight (very important term) - not weight only on one leg but natural harmony of opposites: opposites coming together and balanced - 1. twisting, some parts facing left corner, some facing right corner - 2. angles, angle of head is opposite of hips angle/knees, ankles are with head - 3. right vs left: our left side: straight limbs vs bent limbs on other side - 4. relaxed bs engaged: engaged leg (straight) but relaxed arm (straight) - complex to look real canon of proportions: human head (men) is 1/7 of body Lost-Wax Casting Process (look at notes) how to know if its a copy of greek - romans preferred to copy works in marble ($$$ → sign of status, also more permanent than bronze) - why not bronze: bronze can be dented - crusaders melted them down to make shields and protection - downside of marble: extremely heavy, in contrapposto → likely to tip over - fixed by the tree trunk behind him that is like a kickstand, anchored sculpture (so romans often add this is or a column) - strut: piece b/t wrist and hip and under foot → extra support, bears the weight

Stoa

covered walkway attached to a building; used as a framing device for the structure - Athenian Agora

Seated Boxer

culture: Greek medium: Bronze date: 100 BCE location: size: 4'6" style: Greek (Hellenistic) learning objective: Hellenistic male sculpture themes: athlete, ideal man, psychological

Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

culture: Greek medium: Marble date: 175 BCE location: Pergamon, Turkey size: 117' by 109' style: Greek (Hellenistic) learning objective: Hellenistic religious complex themes: religious complex, Deities, politics, architecture, commemoration, war, ceremony, victory

Winged Victory of Samothrace

culture: Greek medium: Marble date: 190 BCE location: size: 9' tall style: Greek (Hellenistic) learning objective: Hellenistic female sculpture themes: commemoration, Deity, victory, religious complex

Acropolis (overall)

culture: Greek medium: Marble date:447-410 BCE location: Athens, Greece size: 1,150' Long style: Greek (classical) learning objective: Classical Greek religious complex themes: religious complex, victory, war, Deities, civic, community, place of worship, site-specific, politics, architecture, religion, appropriation, devotional object, status

Grave Stele of Hegeso

culture: Greek medium: Marble and paint date: 410 BCE location: size: 5' style: Greek (classical) learning objective: Classical Greek funerary sculpture themes: funerary, domestic, ideal woman, status, commemoration, portrait, male-female relationship, private

Peplos Kore

culture: Greek medium: Marble with painted details date: 530 BCE location: Acropolis, Athens, Greece size: 4' tall style: Archaic Greek learning objective: archaic female sculpture themes: ideal woman, deity, offering, religion, community, status

Anavysos Kouros

culture: greek medium: Marble with remnants of paint date: 530 BCE size: 6'4" style: Archaic Greek learning objective: archaic male sculpture themes: funerary, ideal man, nudity, commemoration, cross-cultural, afterlife, war, violence, death

Athenian Agora

culture: greek medium: plan date: 600 BCE - 150 CE location: Athens, Greece style: greek (archaic through hellenistic) learning objective: greek civic center themes: civic, community, architecture, religion, public

Wet drapery

deeply incised drapery that is clingy and tight, so that it reveals the shape of the body - acropolis: Victory (nike) adjusting her sandal from the temple of Athena Nike - acropolis: Helios, horses, and Dionysus (heracles?)

Erechtheus

early king and founder of Athens; sacrificed one of his daughters to save Athens, due to what the Oracle of Delphi told him; during his reign, a wooden idol of Athena fell from the sky

Niobe

grieving mortal mother whose fourteen children were killed, after boasting that her fourteen children were more beautiful than the goddess Leto's - Niobides Krater

Amphiprostyle

having four columns both in the front and rear of a temple - acropolis (temple of Athena nike)

context of Peplos Kore

how do we know this was offering to athena → bc of where it was found - found in debri of acropolis so was probs related to athena/parthenon athenian religious life: active (almost daily commitment) - athenian women are very socially restricted → can't leave house w/o escort so women literally can't be active in religion - that's why men probs commissioned this

Red-figure

in later Greek pottery, the silhouetting of red figures against a black background, with painted linear details; the reverse of black-figure painting - Niobides Krater

Zeus

king of the ancient Greek gods; known as Jupiter to the Romans; god of the sky and weather

content of Peplos Kore

kore: an archaic greek female sculpture of an idealized youth - female counterpart to kouros - NOT nude a representation of a goddess, probs Artemis or Athena 1. bc she would've had her left hand up holding some object which is common stance of goddesses → holds something relating the goddess to identify them 2. holes in head that were used to (anchor crown/headdress artemis: crown) athena: war helmet called peplos kore bc.. - peplos: a garment worn by women in ancient greece; usually full length and tied at the waist; loose-fitting

Entablature

lintel above the columns; contains the architrave and the frieze - acropolis

Parapet

low protective wall or barrier - Temple of Athena Nike (Acropolis)

form of Peplos Kore

medium: marble with painted details, remnants of paint on her eyes/hair/dress paint → encaustic: pigment mixed with wax - very very bright, greeks used vivid colors bc the brighter the pigment the rarer it was and the more expensive it was characteristics of kore: (mostly mirror male kouros but not completely) - never nude, soft/rounder (not muscular), braided hair down, arm by side, hand in fist, no step forward, archaic smile, legs always covered

content of Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

originally held a spear but was probs wooden so in pompeii it didn't survive not portrait but generic athlete exhibits the 3 popular greek philosophies: - humanism, rationalism, idealism - humanism: natural moving body - rationalism: 1. control with his face/no emotion 2. total control with body 3. small genitalia/penis bc indication of rationalism (uncontrolled sexuality was bad, you need to be in control and you hv to allow it so they shrink size of penis to indicate mental) - idealism: perfection, physical ideal

context of Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

polykleitos: artist, wrote a book called "Canon, a Treatise" (how to create an ideal statue of male nude), book is lost but romans copied some of it 1. statue should have perfect proportion - all parts relate well to another 2. statue should have symmetria (= balance) (not symmetry) - "balance of all parts" - action and reaction → moving body in a way moves other parts of body naturally - balance and counterbalance - no action is isolated 3. proportion + symmetria = harmony/beauty ideologies in classical greek art (3 philosophies create classical art style!, reasons why they abandoned archaic) - humanism: seek an ideal based on the human form, not an arbitrary number (not saying 6' 2" and going with it); focus on natural, observed human body - rationalism: "reason over emotion";calm stoicism and restraint in face/body; expressed by philosophers like plato, aristotle, sophocles; in total control of human body - idealism: "pursuit of perfection"; physical ability to become perfect through discipline; intellectual capacity to understand and execute perfection why the classical style emerged? → artist in athens during golden age when philosophers are discussing these ideas

form of Anavysos Kouros

sculpture in the round medium: marble and painted vibrantly characteristics of kouros - nude, muscular, braided hair down (hair looks a bit more red, remnants of paint), arms by sides, hands in fists, single step forward (evenly split weight), archaic smile (slight gentle smile → showing us that they are transcending beyond the human world, not concerned with daily problems, smile is symbol of peace and calm), sharp shins and knees

Fluted shaft

shallow vertical grooves running along the long, narrow cylinder that comprises the majority of the column - acropolis

content of Niobides Krater

shows us the story of Niobe → she had 7 daughters and 7 sons, she bragged abt them being more abundant and beautiful that those of the goddess Leto - some of her children are artemis and apollo - niobe offended leto - artemis and apollo get revenge → murder all 14 of Niobe's children - moral of story: don't mess with greek gods at the top: artemis and apollo with bows and arrows and underneath are the kids dying on the back: we are maybe seeing athena and heracles, look like them but its weird that they are there, probs there bc vases with gods and goddesses on them sold for more $$$, increasing appeal of vase

Entasis

slight bulging or curve in the shaft of a column to correct the visual illusion of concavity - acropolis

Metopes

space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze; often decorated with low relief carving - in Doric order in acropolis

Stylobate

the floor of a temple - Acropolis

Pediment

the triangular top of a classical building; typically on top of an entablature and a portico - acropolis - Grave stele of Hegeso - Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon has NO pediment

Isocephalism

tradition of depicting head of figures on the same level; implies a single ground line - Niobides Krater - acropolis (Plaque of the Ergastines)

function of Niobides Krater

- utilitarian: used to mix water and wine - decorated ones were sign of status and expense

Acropolis subimage: Parthenon function

-Dedicated to goddess Athena -Parthenon was a symbol of athen's victory and triumph over the Persians

function of Grave stele of Hegeso

-Grave marker, marked grave of a woman named Hegeso -Funerary monument to honor Hegeso -Sign of her social and economic status

function of Acropolis (overall)

-Major and central religious complex to glorify Athens and their patron god Athena -Religious function: glorification of Athena Parthenos (Greek: virgin, often sued to refer to Athena as Athena Parthenos), social and cultural recognition of enforcer of the rules of modesty for women -Virginity was a huge value for women in the society -Political function: rebuilding of the acropolis displays Athenians power over the Persians -The Persians had sacked Athens and had destroyed what was on the acropolis- most of it is the 2nd version of the acropolis -Social function: sign of Athenian ingenuity, sign of Athenian elite, wealth, religious and social power, and Athenian power

acropolis subimage: helios, horses, and Dionysus

-Pedimental sculpture (part of the triangular section on the east pediment on the Parthenon) -Innovative pedimental carving -Normal pedimental carving; typically sculptors ignored the corners because the space was too small to put any full sized figures in- most pediments only had a few standing figures in the middle and nothing to the sides -The artist named Phidias, decided to arrange the figures in reclining positions to help fill out the corner sides of the pediment and uses the bottom line of the pediment as an horizon line -Carving is very lifelike based on energy and poses, figures are integrate together in complicated way Bodies of figures: men are in nude and represent perfectly idealized bodies, women are clothed in Wet drapery (deeply incised drapery on female figures that is tight and clingy so that it reveals the shape of the nude body), artist gets to represent proprietary of women, and reveals shape of nude body -In total, would have seen story of the birth of Athena Missing sun god Helios riding on his horses pulling up the sun -Dionysus/Heracles whose body is the best example of humanism, idealism, and rationalism -Demeter/Persephone -Unknown standing figure -In the middle, there is a space missing, for sure there would have been Athena and Zeus in the middle Athena was born from Zeus head, Zeus complains abt headache to blacksmith head, so he will split open his head, and then out comes Athena fully developed, fully armed etc. -Arrangement of 3 goddesses: Hestia, Artemis, Aphrodite

Encaustic

paint made of pigment mixed with wax - Peplos Kore

Triglyph

part of a Doric entablature frieze; has three vertical grooves - acropolis in the Doric order

Parthenos

virgin; often used to refer to Athena as Athena Parthenos - acropolis

content of Anavysos Kouros

- kouros: an archaic greek nude male sculpture of an idealized youth - not a portrait but a generic depiction of the dead

function of Seated Boxer

-Supposed to commemorate a real boxer- likely a portrait, but don't know specific person -Boxers popular during roman period when it was made -Audience was athletes seeing this in a roman bathhouse to inspire other athletes -Boxer who had a long career and was very successful, but was shown in a moment of battered defeat -Inspirational because- seen at a low moment, people know that he is great in spite of a sad moment -Tenacity, perseverance, greatness -Shown a moment of loss, but being pictured because he was an amazing athlete -Each sculpture was used by the romans as a model of athleticism and tenacity

Athena

Greek goddess of war and wisdom; patron of Athens; often called Parthenos (virgin) -

Order

a style represented by a characteristic design of the columns and entablature - acropolis - Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon