Classical Art and Archaeology Midterm

Attica

region in Greece

capital city of greece

athens

countries capital

known for archaeological sites

democracy, philosophy, and art

peloponnese

southern part of mainland

corinth

city-state known for trade and culture

crete

greece’s largest island

rugged mountains, rich history, and unique cultural heritage

macedonia

The largest geographical and administrative region in the northern part of the country

zeus

Ionia

Settled by Greeks from the Peloponnese around the 11th century BC, Ionia became a hub of Greek culture and intellectual life.

Magna Graecia

8th century BC, southern Italy

cycladic islands

5000 BC

marble figurines

Bronze Age

Sicily

a rich tapestry woven by many civilizations, beginning with early inhabitants and Phoenicians before becoming a major center of Greek culture and colonization

Mycenae/Argos

major center of the Mycenaean civilization, which dominated the eastern Mediterranean from the 15th to 12th centuries BC, while Argos was a historically prominent city-state on the Peloponnese that was a major Late Bronze Age settlement

Thera/Santorini 

spans from a thriving Late Bronze Age settlement buried by the massive Minoan eruption around 1600 BCE

Minoan 

Bronze Age Mediterranean

time period 3000 - 1000 BCE

don’t have an empire

dominant culture and political force of the middle and early part of the late Bronze age

Mycenaean

houses built against each other

corridor houses

contemporary with pre-palatial crete

megaron

a large, rectangular hall, central to Mycenaean palaces and private dwellings, featuring a central hearth, four supporting columns, and a smoke oculus in the roof

thalassocracy

sea based control

Akrotiri

The “Minoan Pompeii”

located on the island of santorini/thera

destroyed by the Theran eruption of 1628 BC

-houses, wall paintings, religious structures, streets, storage, pottery

knossos

is a prominent Bronze Age archaeological site on the island of Crete, best known for its palace complex and its connection to the Minoan civilization and the Greek myth of the Minotaur. 

pylos

a town and region in Greece that was the site of an important Mycenaean palace

Mycenae (including the Lion's Gate, Grave Circle A and the Treasury of Atreus

Lions Gate: built around 1250 BCE

cyclopean Masonry

relieving triangle

Grave Circle A: originally built in the 16th century BCE, included in the walls 13th century BCE

kylix

an ancient Greek cup with a shallow bowl and a tall stem

stirrup jar

international style

arises out of a transnational elite group that creates its own culture separate from local cultures

luxurious, regal, iconography

walkover survey

to inspect the ground for evidence of past human activity and to identify unknown archaeological sites. 

LIDAR

uses a laser-based technology called Light Detection and Ranging to map large areas quickly and precisely, revealing hidden ancient structures, settlements, and earthworks

polis

def: city

used to describe the rise of a city marked by certain urban and political features

chora

problems: based largely on a few cities and doesn’t fit all the regionally important Greek politics

Panhellenism

idea that Greek language, religion, and culture unify people across polis boundaries

develops as early as the 8th century BCE, intensifies through the 5th century BCE

often expressed through competition shared sanctuaries

Delphi

archaeological museum

Siphnian treasury at Delphi

was a building at the Ancient Greek cult centre of Delphi, erected to host the offerings of the polis, or city-state, of Siphnos.

severe style

a transitional period between the Archaic and Classical styles, characterized by naturalism, serious facial expressions, and increased structural understanding of the human body

Eretria

major iron age burial center of the middle and late geometric period

• series of cremation pyres and burial

• 6-7 cremations pyres of adults in cauldrons

• - burials thought to be organized by family, store enclosure added later in the 7th century BCE

nestor’s cup

-from Pithekoussai in Magna Graeca

-writing as a technology

derived from the Phoenician alphabet

Lefkandi

long apsidal building housing two shafts graves (male cremation and female inhumation)

• lavish grave goods, lots of metals

• horses buried nearby

• imported objects: Cypriot amphora, Babylonian jewelry

Kouros

dated to 540-515 BCE

• used as a grave marker

• development towards a more naturalistic style

• inscription

Genelaos monument from Samos

tholos tomb

is a circular or beehive-shaped burial structure, typically found in Mycenaean Greece, characterized by a domed roof constructed from corbelled stone blocks.

doric architecture

the earliest, simplest, and most massive of the three classical Greek orders,

ionic architecture

is an ancient Greek classical architectural style known for its elegant columns featuring prominent scroll-like volutes on the capital, a detailed base, and fluting on the shaft.

linear b

the archaic script of the Mycenaean civilization,

Hero cult

bronze age ruins and artifacts still visible in the landscape

ritual veneration of earlier remains and creation of myths

greek colonization

active and durable Mediterranean trade routes

• further development of the polis system, polis identity

• increased cultural contact

• long distance “kinship” ties

The Tyrannicides

the killing of a tyrant

black figure pottery

important vector for standardizing myth and culture

horror vacui

fear of empty space

Temple of Aphaia on Aegina

is an Ancient Greek temple located within a sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Aphaia

Erectheum

Key archaeological discoveries include the ruins of earlier structures, fragments of the building's original architectural elements, and the iconic Caryatid figures. 

chryselephantine sculpture

sculpture made with gold and ivory

orthogonal grid plan

an urban design system where streets are laid out at right angles to each other, forming a regular, rectangular pattern of blocks and streets.

Daedalic Style

The earliest example of Greek free-standing sculpture is done

• active from mid 7th century BCE into 6th century BCE

kleobis and biton kouri from olympia

first kora

date to the mid 7th century BCE, closely related to the Daedalic style

Nikandre of Naxos statue for Delos

n ancient Greek marble sculpture created around 650 BCE by Nikandre of Naxos as a votive offering to the goddess Artemis on the island of Delos.

Phrasikleia Kore from Myrrhinous, Attika

made 550-530 BCE bured in Myrrhinous in Attika 

• rare artists signature: artistion of paros 

• key features: jewelry zone, pinecone, 

Kerameikas cemetry of Athens

cemetry area used from the Bronze Age, grew in importance during the 6th century

• rise of elite family burials

• also used for firing pottery and other forms of manufacturing

• competition of mound building

• cremation popular

Proto-Corinthian pottery

minature vases,decorated with animals and earliest black figure painting techniques

Temple of Hera at Olympia

an ancient Greek temple built around 600 BCE in Olympia, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Hera, the Queen of the Olympian gods and protector of marriage

Temple E at Selinum, Siciliy

a well-preserved ancient Greek temple located in the archaeological park of Selinunte in Sicily.