Greek Art 600 B.C.E. - 30 B.C.E. (VOCABULARY Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, places, and concepts from Greek art (Geometric to Hellenistic) as presented in the notes.

Geometric Art

The early period of Greek art (c. 1000–700 BCE) characterized by geometric motifs and abstract patterns.

Archaic Art

Greek art (c. 600–480 BCE) featuring kouros/kore figures, the archaic smile, and beginnings of naturalism.

Classical Art

Greek art (c. 480–323 BCE) known for ideal proportions, contrapposto, and the Polykleitan canon.

Hellenistic Art

Greek art (c. 323–30 BCE) marked by drama, emotion, and dynamic human movement.

Kouros

Archaic male youth statue; standing figure often rigid and frontal.

Kore

Archaic female figure (peplos Kore) statue; often clothed and frontal.

Anavysos Kouros

Archaic Greek statue of a standing youth, example of a kouros with archaic features.

Peplos Kore

Archaic female statue wearing a peplos; one of the famous Acropolis works.

Kritios Boy

Early Classical statue; first known example of contrapposto and lack of Archaic smile.

Riace Warrior

Bronze Classical Greek statue (c. 460–450 BCE) known for contrapposto and idealized musculature.

Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

Polykleitos’ Classical statue illustrating the Canon of Proportions (head = 1/7 of body) and contrapposto.

Polykleitos

Classical Greek sculptor who formulated the Canon of Proportions.

Canon of Proportions

System of ideal body proportions in Greek sculpture; Classical uses 1:7; Late Classical uses 1:8.

1:7 head ratio

Classical proportion where the body is seven heads tall.

1:8 head ratio

Late Classical proportion (Praxiteles) where the body is eight heads tall.

Phidias

Sculptor who oversaw the Parthenon sculptures and Phidian style.

Iktinos

Architect of the Parthenon (with Kallikrates) on the Acropolis.

Kallikrates

Architect of the Parthenon; collaborated with Iktinos.

Parthenon

Temple of Athena Parthenos on the Acropolis (c. 447–432 BCE) with peristyle, cella, frieze, and pediments.

Peristyle

Row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building.

Cella

Main chamber of a temple housing the deity.

Panathenaic Procession Frieze

Frieze on the Parthenon depicting the Panathenaic procession.

East Pediment

Sculptural group on the Parthenon's east end illustrating the Birth of Athena.

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal

Relief sculpture at the Parthenon showing Nike (Victory) in a dynamic, detailed pose.

Phidian Style

“Wet drapery” style associated with Phidias and high-detail drapery in sculpture.

Amphiprostyle

A temple with four columns in front and back.

Doric Order

Greek temple order with sturdy columns, simple capitals, no base, and metopes.

Ionic Order

Greek temple order with slender columns and volutes (scrolls) on capitals.

Corinthian Order

Greek temple order with ornate acanthus-leaf capitals.

Metope

Rectangular panel in the Doric frieze, often sculpted.

Triglyph

Vertical channelled groove in the Doric frieze; alternates with metopes.

Architrave

Lintel; the lowest part of the entablature above the capitals.

Frieze

Broad horizontal band of sculpted decoration on the entablature.

Metope

Square or rectangular panel between triglyphs in Doric frieze.

Pediment

Triangular gable above a temple, often filled with sculpture.

Entablature

The horizontal structure on a building above the columns (architrave, frieze, cornice).

Cornice

Projecting decorative edge at the top of a building’s entablature.

Portico

Entrance porch supported by columns.

Tholos

Circular building used for special government meetings.

Bouleuterion

Assembly house for the council (boule) in Greek city-states.

Agora

Public square/marketplace in a Greek city; civic, religious, and social life.

Stoa

Covered walkway with columns, used for commerce and social/political life.

Panathenaic Way

Ceremonial processional road to honor Athena.

Caryatid

A sculpted female figure acting as a column supporting a structure (Erechtheion).

Erechtheion

Temple on the Acropolis noted for Caryatid columns.

Acropolis

High hill above the city where major temples, like the Parthenon, were built.

Winged Victory (Nike) of Samothrace

Hellenistic sculpture (c. 190 BCE) celebrated for dramatic movement and form.

Laocoön and His Sons

Hellenistic sculpture group illustrating intense drama and emotion.

Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

Hellenistic monumental altar with a Gigantomachy frieze; located in Asia Minor.

Gigantomachy

Mythic battle between the giants and the Olympian gods depicted in Pergamon’s frieze.

Isocephalism

Heads of figures depicted on the same level in composition (Niobides Krater example).

Niobides Krater

c. 460–450 BCE red-figure krater; noted for isoecephaly and narrative scenes.

Encaustic

Painting medium of pigment mixed with melted wax.

Kalokagathia

Ancient Greek ideal of a balanced, virtuous, and physically attractive person.

Praxiteles

Late Classical sculptor known for a more humanized canon and 1:8 proportion.

Praxiteles' 1:8 canon

Late Classical proportion where the body is eight heads tall.