DRK - RIO - ARH101-Chapter 5- Art of Ancient Greece

The Canon of Polykleitos

Polykleitos was the best known theorist of the High Classical Period. He developed a set of rules for constructing the ideal human figure (idealization), which he set down in a treatise called "the canon". Polykleitos created a bronze statue - the Spear Bearer -to illustrate his theory.

Grave stele of Ktesilaos (husband) and Theano (wife)

Presumably, this was a tombstone for a joint grave, since both names are inscribed on it.

Hermes and the Infant Dionysos by Praxiteles

Probably a copy after the original by Praxiteles. This statue was discovered in the rubble of the Temple of Hera in Olympia. The scene humanizes the two gods, caught in a moment of absorbed companionship.

Hippodamos (of Miletos)

The father of urban planning, believed that the ideal city should be limited to 10,000 residents, divided into three classes - artists, farmers, and soldiers - and three zones - sacred, public, and private.

cella

The main room of a temple, surrounded by peristyle columns.

stelai

(singular, stele) were upright stone slabs, used as gravestones, usually carved in low relief with an image of the person remembered.

Parthenon frieze - interior

A 525 foot Ionic frieze along the exterior of the cella depicts a procession celebrating the festival for the goddess Athena. Other art historians have interpreted the scene as being mythological history and is perhaps a procession following the sacrifice of King Erechtheus' daughter.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

A Corinthian temple located in the lower city of Athens at the foot of the Akropolis. The temple was designed by Roman architect Cossutius but not completed until centuries later under the patronage of Hadrian.

Poseidonia (Roman Paestum)

A DORIC temple built during the Archaic period that is still standing today. Dedicated to Hera, the wife of Zeus. Known today as Hera the 1st to distinguish it from another temple to Hera built a century later. The temple has 9 columns across the short end of the peristyle. (9 X 18 columns)

Lysippos

A Greek artist of the Late Classical Period often compared to Praxiteles because he also departed from Polykleitos' canon of standard proportions. None of his work survived but many copies can be found.

Stag Hunt by Gnosis

A Pausian design frames a mosaic floor from a palace at Pella. The floor featured a series of hunting scenes. The work is remarkable because it was made with a careful selection of natural pebbles.

kylix

A broad, flat, drinking cup.

lost-wax process

A bronze casting process where molten metal is poured into a mold created from a wax model

tholos

A circular structure used as the meeting place for the 50-member executive committee of the boule.

peristyle

A colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a courtyard.

stoa

A columned pavilion, open on three sides.

Nike Adjusting her Sandal

A surviving fragment of relief decoration from the original parapet, Temple of Athena, Nike

lekythoi

A tall, slender vessel for holding water and oil.

The Corinthian Order in Hellenistic Architecture

A variant of the Ionic order - previously reserved for interior spaces-called the Corinthian challenged Doric and Ionic orders. In Corinthian capitals, curly acanthus leaves and coiled flower spikes surround a basket-shaped core. The also have a stepped architrave and a continuous frieze.

Greek Theater

A. Tiered seating area B. Parados C.Skene D. Parados E. Altar to Dionysos F. Orchestra

Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi

According to Greek myth, Zeus was said to have released two eagles from opposite ends of the earth and they met exactly at the rugged mountain side of Apollo's sanctuary.

The three great Greek tragedians

Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

The death of Alexander the Great

After the death of Alexander the Great, the empire fell apart and was divided among three of Alexander's generals - Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Selecus. Over the course of the second and first centuries, Alexandria flourished as a prosperous seaport and great learning center. By 31 BCE all three of kingdoms had succumbed to the Romans.

Amphora by Athenian artist Exekias, a presentation of a narrative episode of the Trojan War. Achilles is shown wearing his head gear.

Ajax and Achilles Playing a Game, both heroes die shortly afterward, Achilles in battle and Ajax by suicide.

Kritios Boy

An Early Classical marble sculpture from the Akropolis, Athens (475 BCE) believed to have been created by the sculptor Kritios

Andrew Steward

An archaeologist who suggests that the sculptures of the west pediment have been misdated and are actually from the period after the Persian Invasion (580 -579 BCE) and suggests that Greek victory may have been the reason for the stylistic change.

Berlin Kore

An early Archaic korai as severe and stylized as the male figures of the period. This sculpture was a funerary statue found in Keratea (570-560 BCE) and stands more than 6 feet tall. The figure holds a pomegranate in her right hand, a symbol of Persephone.

pronaos

An enclosed vestibule, the space, or porch, in front of the cella, or naos, of an ancient Greek temple

East Pediment of the Parthenon

Flanking the missing central figures are Zeus, seated on a throne with the newborn adult Athena, at his side. The sun god Helios in a horse drawn chariot rising from the sea, the moon-goddess Selene descends into the sea. The relaxed male is believed to be either Herakles or Dionysos. The seated women are believed to be Demeter and Persephone.

Late Classical Sculpture

Fourth century artists began to challenge and modify the standards for ideal proportions established by Pheidias and Polykleitos. The new canon of proportions became associated with the sculptor Lysippos.

Kore (plural Korai)

Greek for young woman. The female equivalent of a Kouros. Females were always depicted fully clothed.

Geometric Period (c. 900-600 BCE)

Greeks begin trading with their neighbors to the east and creating vessels and sculpture decorated with abstract designs, i.e. linear motifs, spirals, diamonds, and cross-hatching.

The Hellenistic Period (c 323-31/30 BCE)

Hellenistic artists shifted the focus to the individual and the specific; away from heroic to the everyday, from the gods to mortals. The period is marked by two broad and conflicting trends, one emulated earlier Classical models, the other experimented freely with new forms and subjects. The Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, and the death of Cleopatra, marks the end of the Hellenistic Period.

symposium

In ancient Greece, symposiums were gatherings of rich and powerful men and often included amorous interactions between older and younger men. The calyx krater depicting the death of Sarpedon was created to be used an events such as symposiums.

The Early Classical Period (c. 480-450 BCE)

In the period between 480 and 323 BCE, the Greeks established an ideal of beauty that has endured to this day. This period begins with the defeat of the Persians (480-479 BCE) by the city-states of Athens and Sparta. Some historians believe that the victory over the Persians gave the Greeks the confidence to accelerate artistic development and to pursue new stylistic directions.

red-figure technique

In this technique, artists paint the negative space (background) around forms and draw figures with a fine brush dipped in liquid slip (a mixture of clay and water)

Painted Stoa of the Athenian Agora

Known to have been decorated with paintings by the famous artist Polygnotos of Thasos.

mosaics

Motifs or images created by an arrangement of colored glass or stone, many Roman mosaics were based on Greek paintings and murals.

Erechtheion

Named for Erechtheus, the mythical king of Athens. The Erechteion is the second most important temple on the Akropolis. The building served multiple functions and housed several shrines. The structure stands at the site of the mythical contest between Poseidon and Athena for patronage over Athens.

Bronze sculptures

New bronze casting techniques enabled sculptors the potential to create more complex poses of subjects, that were very difficult to create with marble.

Aphrodite of Melos by Alexandros, son of Menides

Not all Hellenistic artists followed the descriptive and expressionist tendencies of Pergamon and Rhodes, some returned to the past and borrowed elements from Classical styles, combining them in new ways. Some people refer to this sculpture as Venus De Milo.

Euphronios

One of the best-known RED-FIGURE artists of the Archaic period.

Treasury of Siphnians

One of the structures at Delphi constructed by the residents of the island of Siphnos in the Cyclades to house and protect their offerings. Instead of columns, two caryatids are used to support the entablature. The entablature conforms to the Ionic order and includes a continuous carved frieze.

The Parthenon

One of the structures of the Akropolis, Athens. The orignial temple to Athena Parthenos was destroyed. During the reconstruction, a larger, more extravagant temple was built - The Parthenon. (DORIC)

Ionic order

One of the three classical Greek architectural orders characterized by fluted columns with distinctive spiral scrolled volute capitals. Friezes were sculpted or decorated with rich moldings and features a plain architrave.

Corinthian order

One of the three classical Greek architectural orders, a variant of the Ionic order, characterized by fluted columns and elaborate capitals with a distinctive volute. The flutes are deeper than those found on Doric columns and are separated by flat surfaces called fillets.

Doric order

One of the three classical Greek architectural orders. Doric columns are tapered and have no base, Doric friezes are distinguished by alternating triglyphs and metopes.

temenos

Sanctuaries where an outdoor altar stood within an ENCLOSED sacred area. Over time, columned shelters and other architectural elements were added to these sanctuaries.

Archer from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia

Since the 1980's, German scholars have analyzed the traces of paint found on the pediment sculptures and have recreated an image of the Archer from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina.

By the end of the first century BCE, the influence of Greek painting, sculpture, and architecture was widespread.

So strong, in fact, that much of what we know about Greek achievements comes from Roman replicas made by admiring artists.

Orthogonal city plans

Sometime around the 8th century BCE, builders began to use a mathematical concept of urban development based on the orthogonal (or grid) plan. New cities were designed with straight, evenly spaced, parallel streets that intersected at right angles. Blocks were subdivided into identical building blocks.

anti-Classical or Baroque

Terms used to describe the experimental trends in art that emerged in the Hellenistic period. This trend was prevalent in the city/state of Pergamon.

The Akropolis

The "city on top of a hill". As the city grew it became the religious and ceremonial center devoted to the goddess Athena, the city's patron and protector. Destroyed in 480 by Persian troops. The city was extravagantly rebuilt under Perikles.

The Propylaia

The "front doors" of the Akropolis, Athens. The monumental gatehouse has no sculptural decoration. The original structure included a dining hall that was later converted into the earliest known museum. The Propylaia is flanked on the right by the Temple of Athena Nike.

kantharos

Type of wine cup associated with Dionysos

oinochoe

a wine jug

frieze

an ornament consisting of a horizontal sculptured band

Around the mid eleventh century, Athens began to develop as a major center of ________________ production.

ceramic

In the ninth and eighth centuries, Greeks began to form independently governed ____________

city-states. Each city-state was an autonomous region within a city (Athens, Corinth, and Sparta).

Greek artists of the Geometric period also produced ______ made of wood, ivory, clay, and cast bronze.

figurines

Greek Classical Art is associated with three concepts:

humanism, rationalism, and idealism.

Archaic smile

in Archaic Greek sculpture, the smile indicated that the person portrayed is alive.

Structures at the sanctuary of Apollo

main temple, performance and athletic areas, treasuries, theater, meeting hall, and other buildings.

pediment

the triangular top of a temple that contains sculpture

propylon

An outer monumental gateway standing before a main gateway

White-ground ceramic painting

In this technique, painters first applied refined white slip as the ground on which they painted designs with liquid slip and tempura. This technique was favored for funerary, votive, and non-utilitarian vessels.

boule

A 500 member council, that met in a building called the bouleuterion, adjacent to the agora.

stereobate

The LOWERMOST step of the platform that supports the columns in a classical Greek temple.

Parthenon frieze - exterior

92 metope reliefs depicting legendary battles - a centaur and a Lapith; a god against a Titan, a Greek against a Trojan, a Greek against an Amazon.

tempura

A painting technique using pigment mixed with glue and egg whites.

Expressionism

A deliberate attempt by an artist to elicit a specific emotional response. Expressionism became a characteristic of Hellenistic art.

Pausias

A famous painter whose opulent floral borders became so popular they have come to be known as Pausian frames.

Dying warrior

A figure from one of the best-preserved fragments from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. The figure originally would have been fitted with authentic bronze accessories.

Alexander the Great Confronts Darius III at the Battle of Issos

A first century CE Roman mosaic, replicates a Greek painting of 310 BCE.

Alexander of Macedon

A former student of Plato, and son of Philip II, assumed the role of king after his father was assassinated. He led a unified Greece in a war against the Persians, conquered Syria and Phoenicia. Later, he occupied Egypt and established the city of Alexandria. He continued east until reaching present day Pakistan where his troops refused to go any farther. He died on the way home at the age of 33.

contrapposto

A graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees where one leg seems to bear more weight than the other (discussed in regard to Greek art). This stylistic convention is a hallmark of Classical art.

Dying Gallic Trumpeter by Epigonos

A monument commemorating the victory in 230 BCE of Attalos I over the Gauls, a Celtic people. The monument extols the dignity and heroism of the defeated enemies. The subject of the work wears a twisted neck ring called a torc. This statue was found in Julius Caesar's garden in Rome.

Anavysos Kouros

A more lifelike rendering of a human figure can be seen in this kouros dated about 530 BCE. The statue was a grave monument to a fallen war hero and is inscribed "Stop and grieve at the tomb of Kroisos, slain by Ares in the front rank of battle".

torc

A neck ring, important ornament worn by the Celts. The only thing the Gauls wore into battle. To most Greeks, the torc identifies the subject as a barbarian.

architrave

A plain, unornamented lintel on the entablature

psykter

A psykter is a strangely shaped pot used as a wine cooler, made to float in a krater filled with chilled water.

A Youth Pouring Wine into the Kylix of a Companion by Douris

A red-figure tondo on a kylix. The picture is visible only to the user of the kylix when it is tilted up for drinking. The youth in the picture is pouring wine from an oinochoe into the kylix of a bearded older man - Athenian king Kekrops. In this picture, Douris uses foreshortening to project the oinochoe over the kylix.

oracle

A sacred shrine where a priest or priestess spoke for a god or goddess. Apollo communicated through the Pythia at Delphi.

Battle Between the Gods and the Giants

A scene depicted on the north frieze of the Treasury of the Siphnians at the Sanctuary of Apollo. Notable for its complex representation of space. Figures are overlapped at various depths. Sculptures were originally painted with bright colors.

colonnade

A series or row of columns, usually spanned by lintels.

The Riace Warriors (460-450 BCE)

A shipwreck protected these bronzes from recycling. Discovered by scuba divers in 1972 off the coast of Riace, Italy. The lifelike quality of this bronze is heightened by inserted eyeballs of bone and colored glass, copper inlays, silver plating on the teeth, and attached eyelashes of separately cast strands of bronze.

peplos

A simple long woolen belted garment worn by ancient Greek women.

Sanctuary

A site that is believed to be sacred to the gods. Early sanctuaries included an outdoor altar or shrine and some type of natural element. Later sanctuaries were palatial homes for the gods.

entasis

A slight swelling in the shaft of a column

astragal

A small semicircular molding around the top or bottom of a column.

Sarpedon

A son of Zeus and a mortal woman, killed by the Greek warrior Patroclus while fighting for the Trojans. In the scene on the krater, Sarpedon is being carried off to the land of the dead.

Greek goldsmiths

A specialty of Greek goldsmiths was the design of earrings in the form of tiny works of sculpture. Often placed on the ears of marble statues, but they adorned the living as well.

The basic Hippodamos plot

A square, 600 feet on each side, divided into quarters. Each quarter was subdivided into six rectangular building plots (100 x 150 ft each). His plan is still used today.

Pergamon

A state within the Seleucid realm - Asia Minor, that became a leading center of the arts and a hub of an experimental sculptural style.

Figures in the Pergamon frieze

Athena, Alkyoneous, Ge, Nike

acroteria

An ornament at the corner of a roof.

Temple of Aphaia

Another DORIC temple dedicated to the goddess Aphaia, built on the island of Aegina. Entasis is evident in this temple as well. (6 x 12 columns) Like most temples, it was situated in relation to an outside altar.

Polygnotos of Thasos (475-450 BCE)

Artist, praised for his ability to create the illusion of spatial recession. Writings praising his work have been discovered but none of his work survived.

The Athenian Agora (Marketplace)

As in most Greek cities, life revolved around the agora (marketplace). The Athenian Agora began as a marketplace for farmers and artisans to display their wares. Over time, several buildings were constructed around it. Most were constructed for specific administrative functions.

Dionysos with Maenads (attributed to the Amasis Painter)

Black figure decoration on an amphora (540 BCE). An amphora was a kind of all-purpose jar. The scene on this vessel depicts two maenads presenting offerings to Dionysos, the god of wine.

black figure technique

Black figure technique is a style in Greek pottery decoration composed of black figures against an unpainted background. Linear details were incised within the silhouetted shape with a sharp tool. Touches of red and white were added to liven the design. Corinthian black figure technique became the principal mode of decoration in the sixth century BCE.

Women at a Fountain House by Priam Painter

Black-figure decoration on a hydria. The scene is one from everyday Greek life, women collecting water from the fountain house in the agora.

classic and classical

Both words come from the Latin word "classis", referring to the division of people into classes based on wealth. Generally speaking, a "classic" is a work of lasting quality and universal esteem. When referring to ancient Greek art, we use the term "classical" to refer to the Greek practice of creating ideal images based on strict mathematical proportions.

Thomas Bruce (19th century)

British ambassador to Constantinople, acquired much of the surviving sculpture from the Parthenon. The sculptures were eventually sold and most are now in the British Museum.

The Charioteer (470 BCE)

Bronze, copper, silver, and onyx Early Classical sculpture found in the sanctuary of the Apollo at Delphi. The statue commemorated the Pythian games of 478- or 474. Survived because it was buried in an earthquake.

The Temple of Athena Nike

Built in 425 BCE, the original temple was reduced to rubble during the Turkish occupation of Greece (17th Century BCE), the temple has since been rebuilt with refined Ionic decoration.

Perikles

Charismatic leader of Athens during "Greece's Golden Age" fifth century BCE

caryatids

Columns carved in the form of clothed women in finely pleated, flowing garments raised on pedestals.

Peloponnesian War

Conflict between Athens and Sparta. Sparta dominated the Peloponnese peninsula and mainland Greece, Athens controlled the Aegean and became a maritime empire.

Commonalities (Nike of Samothrace and the Old Woman)

Despite portraying two very different subjects, both works stretch out assertively into the space around them, both demand an emotional response from the viewer, and both display technical virtuosity in the rendering of forms and textures.

black figure vessels

During the Archaic period, Athens became a dominant center for pottery manufacture and trade. Earlier versions had horizontal bands of images, later versions had fewer bands and often depicted a single narrative scene.

Polykleitos

Earliest artist to observe the human body's shifting of weight in order to achieve balance

The three phases of the Greek classical period

Early Classical (480-450 BCE), High Classical (450-400 BCE), and Late Classical (400-323)

Kouros (plural Kouroi)

Greek for young man. These free standing terra cotta sculptures emerged during the Archaic period and were usually commissioned for a commemorative purpose. Often found marking graves and in sanctuaries. Almost always displayed nude.

Exekias

Perhaps the most famous of all Athenian BLACK-FIGURE painters. Often took his subjects from Greek mythology. Signed many of his works.

What is the name of the sculptor who supervised the rebuilding of the Akropolis, Athens?

Perikles enlisted the help of his friend, Pheidias to oversee the project.

Reconstruction of the Akropolis

Perikles spared no expense rebuilding the Akropolis, Athens. He was severely criticized by his political opponents but revered by the workers he employed to complete the project. (fifth century BCE)

Sculptural Decoration at the Parthenon

Pheidias, a sculptor, decorated the Parthenon following his own aesthetic vision and a number of political and ideological themes.

Delphi was also the site of the ______________.

Pythian Games. An athletic competition, in honor of Apollo, that attracted participants from all over Greece. Hundreds of statues depicting the victors of competition fill the sanctuary grounds.

The Death of Sarpedon by Euphronios and Euxitheos

Red-figure decoration on a calyx krater (515 BCE) depicting Hypnos and Thanatos on either side of Sarpedon, a fallen warrior. Euphronios uses foreshortening to project the image into the viewer's space. This vessel was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of New York in 1972 from a private collector. In 1995, Italian and Swiss investigators discovered that the krater was stolen and demanded that it be returned. The krater was returned in 2006.

The Foundry Painter (490-480 BCE)

Red-figure decoration on a kylix. The workshop scene depicted on this vessel is clear evidence that the Greeks were creating bronze statues as early as the first decades of the 5th century BCE.

Frolicking Satyrs by Douris

Red-figure decoration on a psykter. The red-figure technique was refined throughout the fifth century BCE. This vessel was meant for use in exclusive male drinking parties known as symposia.

The Archaic Period (c. 600-480 BCE)

The Archaic period was a time of great achievement in Greece. Artists, architects, and storytellers contributed to the growing prosperity of the period. The term Archaic was given to the period to differentiate it from the subsequent Classical period.

Corinthian olpe (wide mouthed pitcher)

The Orientalizing style is evident in this Corinthian olpe. Silhouetted creatures - lions, panthers, goats, deer, bulls, boars, and swans stride in horizontal bands against a light background. Stylized rosettes fill the spaces around them.

The Orientalizing Period (c 700- 600 BCE)

The Orientalizing style originated in Corinth, a port city where luxury wares from the Near East and Egypt inspired artists.

Parthenon friezes

The Parthenon had two sculpted friezes, one above the outer peristyle and another atop the cella wall inside. The Parthenon friezes are considered to be the epitome of the High Classical style.

The Late Classical Period (c. 400-323 BCE)

The Spartans defeated Athens in 404 BCE and installed a government so oppressive that within a year the Athenians rebelled and restored democracy.

stylobate

The UPPERMOST step of the platform that supports the columns in a classical Greek temple.

Great Altar at Pergamon

The altar was originally enclosed within a single-story Ionic colonnade raised on a high podium reached by a monumental staircase. The sculptural frieze, depicts the battle between the gods and the giants.

Kalikrates and Iktinos

The architects who designed the Parthenon (dedicated in 438 BCE). The key to the Parthenon's sense of harmony and balance is an attention to proportions - especially the ratio of 4:9. Deviations from absolute regularity were made to create a harmonious effect when viewed from a distance.

temple elevations

The arrangement, proportions, and appearance of columns and the lintels. During this period builders experimented with temple elevations; two elevation designs emerged during the Archaic period - the Doric order and the Ionic order.

Man and Centaur (c. 750 BCE)

The bronze depicts a man and a centaur- a mythical creature- part man and part horse. Battles between man and centaurs were popular themes in art. Most figurines of this type were discovered in sanctuaries.

acanthus leaves

The decorative leaves on the capital of a Corinthian column.

Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles

The first statue by a well-known Greek sculptor to depict a fully nude woman. The acceptance of female nudity in statues may be related to the Greeks' merging of characteristics with those of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, who is nearly always shown nude. Aphrodite is shown preparing for a bath.

The sculptural frieze on the Great Altar at Pergamon

The frieze depicts the battle between the gods and the giants, a mythical struggle that Greeks saw as a metaphor for the conflicts with outsiders, all of which they label barbarians. The frieze depicts the gods fighting with giants, monsters, and snakes.

Erechtheion porches

The north and east porches of the Erechtheion have come to epitomize the IONIC order, serving as an important model for architects since the 18th century. Enclosed within the north porch is the sacred rock believed to bear the marks of Poseidon's trident.

Pythia

The oracle at Delphi. Greek leaders routinely sought advice at oracles. Even foreign rulers journeyed to request help at Delphi.

The Spear Bearer (Doryphoros) by Polykleitos

The original sculpture did not survive, but this Roman copy shows the dynamically balanced body pose - characteristic of High Classical standing figure sculpture.

entablature

The part of a Greek or Roman building that rests on top of a column. Capitals (a decorative cap on a column) support an architrave, a frieze, and a cornice. Collectively referred to as an entablature.

The pediment from Aegina

The pediment represents a creative solution that became a design standard. The subject of the pediment is a military expedition against Troy, rendered in three-dimensions. Athena is represented larger (hierarchic scale) than the humans who flank her. (Surviving portions of the pediment were purchased by Ludwig I of Bavaria and are now exhibited in Munich.)

Grave stele of a little girl

The scene depicts a young girl, wearing a peplos, affectionately bidding farewell to her pet birds. Found on the island of Paros.

The Sanctuary of Zeus near Olympia

The site of many athletic competitions, prototypes of today's Olympic Games.

Porch of the Maidens, Erechtheion

The south porch is the most famous. This porch contains six caryatids supporting an entablature. The porch faces the Parthenon.

Classical Greek architectural orders

The three orders - Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian - constitute a system of independent parts based on mathematical ratios. No element of an order could be changed without producing a corresponding change in the other elements of the order. The basic parts of each order are the column and the entablature. All three column types have a shaft and a capital.

abacus

The uppermost portion of the capital of a column, usually a thin slab. Situated between the capital and the architrave.

The High Classical Period (c 450-400 BCE)

The use of the word "high" to qualify the art of this time reflects the value judgments of art historians who have considered this period a PINNACLE of artistic refinement. "Greece's Golden age"

The Nike of Samothrace

The winged figure of victory.

Peplos Kore

This Kore is dated about the same time as the Anavysos Kouros but is believed to have commissioned as a votive rather than a grave marker. Like the Anavysos Kourous, the Peplos Kore is less stylized and more humanlike than earlier korai. The term peplos refers to her clothing. Her missing left arm may have provided a clue to he identity.

Man Scraping Himself by Lysippos

This Roman copy of the original bronze depicts a young athlete removing oil and dirt from his body with a tool called a strigil.

Laocoon and his Sons by Hagesandros, Polydoros, and Athnodoros of Rhodes.

This complex composition illustrates an episode from the Trojan War, when the priest - Laocoon, warned the Trojans not to bring the giant wooden horse within their walls. Laocoon's warning angered the Gods and they retaliated by sending serpents from the sea to destroy him and his sons. The dynamic diagonals used by the artist have become a hallmark of the Hellenistic period.

During the Geometric Period, large funerary vessels designed for use as grave markers were produced.

This funerary krater provides a detailed pictorial record of funerary rituals associated with the death of an important person. Geometric shapes are used to represent human figures.

Statue of Athena Parthenos

This picture depicts a recreation of Pheidias' figure of Athena. The statue originally stood in the cella of the Parthenon. The original has completely vanished, descriptions and copies were used to recreate this sculpture. (40 feet tall)

Herakles driving a bull to Sacrifice

This picture shows two sides of an amphora depicting the same character using two different techniques - black figure technique (Lysippides) and red-figure technique (Andokides).

Epidauros Theater

This theater is characteristic of most Greek theaters of the period. This theater had an altar to Dionysos in the orchestra area.

Old woman

This work is evidence of Hellenistic artists' fascination with portraying people from every level of society. This figure is shown carrying three chickens and a basket of produce, perhaps on her way to the agora. Some historians have suggested that the ivy wreath on her head suggests that she may be on her way to a religious festival.

Woman and Maid

White-ground lekythos ceramic, painted with tempura. The scene shows a servant girl carrying a stool for a small chest of valuables. The well-dressed woman is the person being memorialized.

barbarian

Word used by Greeks and Romans for all people who did not share their cultures. Greeks and Romans considered all outsiders to be uncivilized.

Among the most important deities were the supreme god and goddess ________ and ________.

Zeus and Hera

terra cotta

a baked clay used to make pottery, tiles, and sculptures

tondo

a circular painting or relief.

Satyr

a creature that is half-man, half beast, with the horns and legs of a goat

As with most temples, ______________________ filled both pediments of the Parthenon.

sculpture in the round

According to Greek legend, the creation of the world involved a battle between the earth gods, called Titans, and the sky gods. The victors were the ________.

sky gods. Mount Olympus was the home of the sky gods.

tesserae

small pieces of stone or glass or other materials used to make a mosaic

Nike

the Greek goddess of victory