APAH Ancient Greece

Humanism

What greeks were influenced by in their art and depiction of the human form

Geometric (900-600 BCE)

geometric designs

Archaic (600-480 BCE)

time of artistic and architectural development

Classical (480-30 BCE)

more famous Greece works being produced (characterized by the architectural orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian)

Hellenistic (323 - 30 BCE)

• ideal states are more emotional

• developed concept of democracy

• greeks called themselves “Helens” b/c they developed city-states since they were divided from the mountainous terrains and thus hard to unite

• known for their exports of wine, olive oil, and sheep

Kouros

Male

Kore

Female

Athenian Agora

• Athens, Greece, circa 600-150 BCE, plan

• Center of Athens at the time → lots of social, religious, etc events

  • Lots of important buildings inside and surrounding 

  The Athenian Agora was the central public space in ancient Athens, serving as a marketplace and a hub for social, political, and cultural activities. It was the heart of Athenian democracy, where citizens gathered to discuss politics, engage in commerce, and participate in public events. Key structures included the Stoa of Attalos, the Bouleuterion (council house), and various temples, such as the Temple of Hephaestus. The Agora was essential for civic life in classical Athens.

Stoas (specifically Stoas of Attalo II)

• Greek sculptures normally in the form of a roofed colonnade, provided shade as well as a place for strolling and talking business, politics, or philosophy

  • Stoas – covered walkway

  • Funded by King Attalo II as a thank-you for his study

• Two-story covered walkway, featuring 2 colonnade in the doric style and ionic style

• Made of marble and limestone

• Shaded walkway – could house thousands of people  

• Colonnade : row of columns that support a roof

As the orders evolve..

They gain syllables (2,3,4)

• Unique characteristics to these orders

• Doric order – stylobate (floor, lowest part of order) → column/shaft (complete tapering section, cut into drums) → entablature (frieze, architrave – main beam, capital) → 

• Careful with fluting → won’t damage column b/c of its strength 

• Ionic order → sits on top of base → column → capital (volute design, not simplified) → entablature (diff frieze, 3 bands are stacked on top of each other, frieze isn’t interrupted like doric, 

• Corinthian Order - featuring tall, slender columns with fluted grooves and ornate capitals adorned with acanthus leaves. It was commonly used in temples and public buildings, symbolizing grandeur and sophistication.

what is the athenian acropolis ?

• Athens, Greece, circa 447-424 BCE, marble

• A major symbol of ancient Greek culture, democracy, and artistic achievement; central to Athenian identity.

• Served as a religious center and gathering place for civic activities; a site for rituals and festivals, including the Panathenaea.

• Represents the pinnacle of ancient Greek architecture, influencing Western architectural styles for centuries; considered a model of harmony and proportion.

• The Acropolis is an enduring symbol of Western civilization, representing ideals of beauty, democracy, and cultural achievement.

Parthenon

PART OF ACROPOLIS

Built in the 5th century BCE during the Golden Age of Athens.

Dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens.

Features 8 columns on the front and 17 on the sides, showcasing Doric architecture with a mix of Ionic elements.

Houses a massive statue of Athena made of gold and ivory (chryselephantine).

The frieze depicts the Panathenaic procession, celebrating the city’s annual festival.

• first to be constructed

• miracle that it even survived  (war)

• used by the Byzantines, the Venetians, and served as a church/mosque depending on who ruled Athens 

• no formal entrance

• dedicated to Athena → dedicated to worshipping her but didn’t have a traditional altar for her, not making it a temple in the strict sense 

  • DID NOT WORSHIP INSIDE

• Peripteral – surrounded by columns 

• Doric order/features on the outside 

• Perfection through mathematical proportions → x = 2Y+1 ( 8 columns wide → 17 columns long) 

• Ionic elements, such as interior ionic columns and the frieze

• Perfections of building hides its irregularity → arches slightly in the middle

  • Combatting optical illusions, which is why it’s irregular

  • Blocks were handcarved

• Humongous sculpture at one point → Athena Parthnos, impacted size of Partheon, gold and ivory, 38 ft tall

  • Holding winged nike → referencing the victory over the Persians in 479 BCE

  • Behind her shield is a serpent (symbolized Athena)

  • Imaged behind her foot, which refers to the Centauromachy

Sculpture Around the Parthenon

• Western Pediment – Athena vs. Poseidon

  • Who would be the deity to oversee Athens? → competing for this high honor

    • Poseidon struck down and got saltwater (wasn’t helpful), but Athena struck and grew an olive tree → she won 

  • Competition put forth by King Erechtheus (hence of Erechtheon) 

  • Gods were competing for love for human being → good for society to place that humans can judge the gods

• Eastern Pediment – Birth of Athena  

  • Not born traditionally → Zeus had a horrible headache, and Haphaistos (his kid) struck him in the head and out popped out a ready-Athena in armor

  • The Elgin Marbles

    • Point of contention b/c there’s debate around the belief that the Greek govt should have them even though Lord Elgin sent them away to England ~ wouldn’t be in such good shape today if England didn’t take care of them

  • Lower left corner 

    • Gradually recline from a standing figure → sitting → reclining → body missing ~ to use each inch of impediment 

Friezes of Parthenon

Friezes in North, South, East, West

• Northern Frieze – Sack of Troy (Greek victory over the Trojans) 

• Southern Frieze – Centauromachy (fighting the centaurs) 

• Eastern Frieze – Gigantomachy (fighting the giants) 

• Western Frieze – Amazonomachy (fighting the Amazons) 

• Alluding to fighting an enemy that is worthy → showing that the enemy is strong but you’re able to defeat them, it makes you look even stronger

Erechtheion

PART OF ACROPOLIS

Unique asymmetrical design, built on a sacred site linked to Athena and Poseidon.

Houses the sacred olive tree and the tomb of Erechtheus, a mythical king of Athens.

Famous for the Caryatids, six elegantly draped female figures serving as columns, symbolizing Athenian women.

Temple of Athena Nike (designed by Kallikrates)

PART OF ACROPOLIS

Constructed around 427-424 BCE.

Celebrates Athena as the goddess of victory, emphasizing Athens' military successes.

Known for its elegant Ionic columns and reliefs depicting historical battles, such as the Battle of Marathon.

• Last to be constructed on the acropolis, but the first to be seen 

• Amphiprostyle

  • having a portico on each end and no columns along the sides

  • columns among east and west, not north and south 

  • “a structure consisting of a roof supported by columns among regular intervals, typically attached as a porch to a building” 

• Frieze depicted at the Battle of Marathon (ended the 1st war w/Darius) 

  • ionic order

• At one point, there was a parapet for safety reasons surrounding the temple

  • Nike adjusting her sandal → Nike = victor

  • Sexual aspect to work → emphasizing her body 

  • Also shows great care and detail to the reliefs surrounding the temple

Significance of Persian War

• Persian War ends in 479 BCE with the Greek victory at Platea

  • this victory against the most powerful empire in the world inspired a lot of their art

• Pericles was the leader of Athens (461-429 BCE) → after the defeat of Athens, two supporting groups emerged:

  • Delian League – led by Athens and its smaller islands  in the Aegean Sea

    • Perciles offered protection for the smaller islands from outside invaders

    • kinda threatens them = mafia protection → if we protect you, you have to pay us to be part of the “Delian League” 

    • after realizing Athens was destroyed, he uses Delian League funds to rebuild Athens 

      • Athens was rebuilt from stolen money → nothing could’ve been said b/c of the power and intimidation from the Athenian navy

  • Peloponnesian League – led by Spartans 

The Propylaea (designed by Mneskiles) & 2C. Pinakotheke

• “Gates” in Greek 

• Second to be constructed

• Propylaea – structure forming an entrance to a temple

• Built two separate enryways and had them united in the middle to not worry about the uneven terrain and thus not have to worry about building an uneven building, 

• Doric order

• No relief design 

• No central columns are not the same width apart as the others 

Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon

• present-day Turkey, circa 175 BCE, marble (architecture & sculpture) 

• Hellenistic in style

• Battle between the gods and the giants (alludes to Pergamons vs. Gauls)

• Soldifies the legitimacy of the Attalids through monumental architecture

• Acropolis in Pergamon

• Alexander the Great “Hellenized” or spread Greek influence from Egypt to the Indus Valley throughout his reign

• Hellenistic sculpture – more action, more movement, twisting of torsos

• Can tell its athena b/c snake(athena) of guy she’s pulling hair of 

• Zeus in combat b/c right side guy has his arm off showing eagle (zeus) or thigh is stuck w/thunderbolt

• Stairs at pergamon – battle is coming out into our realm

  • Clawing up stairs to get away 

Dipylon Crater

GEOMETRIC

• Athens, Greece, circa 740 BCE, painted terracotta

• Krater = “to mix” water and wine

• Human figures emerges again after the Aegean Dark Ages

• Libations and grave markers

New York Kouros

• ARCHAIC

• Greece, circa 590-580 BCE, marble with encaustic paint

• Hands joined at the hips

• Left foot front to show power 

• Similar to Egypt – King Menkaure and Queen

Anavysos Kouros

• ARCHAIC

• Greece, circa 530 BCE, marble with encaustic paint

• similar to New York Kouros → left foot is forward, stylized figure

• different in that it’s more realistic, head isn’t triangular, hair falls naturally, smile (defining feature of Archaic works)

  • statues smile in Archaic works (“Archaic Smile”) → doesn’t show figure is happy, but rather than they are alive (at the time)

• Pelvis and hip isn’t hard-cut v, but more realistic  in being more muscular and fleshy

Peplos Kore 

• ARCHAIC

• Greece, circa 530 BCE, marble with encaustic paint

• name comes from garment in wearing peplos → actually wearing 4 garments all at once, but name stuck 

• Archaic smile, traces of paint in hair (most Greek sculptures were painted, but obviously it wore away with time)

• Kore are “marble representations of young women used to mark graves or more often, as votive offerings to the gods in 6-5th century BCE

• Garb emphasizes he rbreasts, but coverings her legs and abdomen → assumes they’re there even though we can’r see them

  • not nude like kouros (males) 

• Broken-off, missing left hand 

• don’t know who she was → has to be a goddess based on her clothes

  • if we saw her left hand, we would know who’s she supposed to be

  • bow & arrow → Artemis

  • Athena, maybe? 

Niobid Krater

• CLASSICAL

• niobid Painter, circa 460-450 BCE, clay in the red figure technique

• black figure → less detail, red figure → more detail

  • made from same process, slip pottery into kiln

  • black figure technique can only have detail so high

  • red figure can have more detail

• red figure technique in Niobid crater reversed system of paint and instead painted fugres’ outline and then put it into kiln

  • didn’t paint then incise (black figure technique), but painting in figure itself 

Doryphoros (also known as the “Spear Bearer” or “The Canon”) 

CLASSICAL

• Polykleitos, circa 450-440 BCE, Roman marble copy of bronze original

• Characteristics of classical works: heroic (god/warrior), aloof (removed from world), ideal (perfect human body), and restrained (doing strenous tasks but taking little effort) 

• Stands in contrapposto (relaxed, natural stance) → all weight on right leg and left bent 

• Right arm is relaxed while left arm is bearing weight of spear he once held 

• Light s-curve created fron the contrapostto

• Epitome of human form as it truly appears 

• Canon of “Polykleitos:

  • Head = 1/7th of your body

  • Height = wingspan

  • Shoulder span = 1/4th of your height

  • Hip to floor = ½ of your body

• Open form  

Hegeso Stele

• CLASSICAL

• Greece, circa 410 BCE, marble and paint (encaustic?)

• Wealthy family commissioned this work of art → stele is for commemorative event or grave marker, and this would be a grave marker for Hegeso by her father Proxenos 

• Knows b/c there’s an inscription at the top 

• Pilasters at the sides – flat, engaged columns and bearing the weight of the roof above

• Greek society: interior, how females are treated → not expected to leave their homes so it’s portrayed inside a house, wealth is shown → hegeso is sitting down and looking down at a servant giving her a box (jewelry box) ~ shows wealth, she would’ve been holding a necklace 

  • For males – they were in public and outside as warriors or smth, not confined 

• Grave marker was created also to ensure the deceased would not be forgotten → immortality came from the continous remembrance of the living

Winged Nike of Samothrace

HELLENISTIC

• Greece, circa 190 BCE, marble

• Characteristics of hellenistic works: emotion, energy, expression 

  • Figures move actively and take part in our (the real) world 

  • Figures look more elongated 

• Impact of apoxyomenos by lysippos

  • Change in canon and viewpoint 

  • 1/7th to 1/8th head length, making the figure look more elongated

• Depicts winged nike at the prow of a ship, right arm holding a crown to symbolize a naval victory and her wings are super detailed 

  • Wings and garments moved like the wind is moving past her and movement of ship

  • Intricate

  • Can see muscles in abdomen 

  • In profile view, you can see motion and leaning forward to balance her weight as she moves forward

  • Function → to celebrate a naval victory and most likely placed in a fountain 

Seated Boxer

HELLENISTIC

• Greece, circa 100 BCE, Greek bronze original with copper 

• Only have b/c it was buried to preserve, which protected it from being melted by invaders

• Boxer who is resting or maybe was defeated

• Peering up → most likely would’ve had another statue near by

• Face has the most detail → lacerations on face, orange on face b/c melted copper was placed there to emulate blood, ears are swollen 

• Scuplture was created with “lost wax technique”