Art History: Chapter 8 - Art of Ancient Greece

Background

• Rose after Aegean period ended

• Autonomous city states/polis

• Aeropolis: Major city on mountain

• Democratic government that inspired our own

• Voting rights only for wealthy male landowners

• Europeans after this era valued naturalistic and idealistic art 

• Classical: Most naturalistic and idealistic art 

• Became more expressive later on 

Geometric Period (900 - 700 BC)

• Forms/figures are reduced to geometric shapes

• Friezes: Registers

• Pots are in automorphic form (lip, neck, handle, shoulder, body, foot), though not all have every single one 

• Lots of different standardized types of pottery 

Funerary Krater

Visual

• Made of terracotta

• 2 ft high

• Depicts humans in geometric motifs such as diamonds, triangles, circles, and meanders

• Top frieze depicts deceased laying in bed with people surrounding in mourning pose 

• Second frieze shows chariots with horses in echelon form 

• Humans are naturalistic & abstract, with triangular upper bodies, no waist thin bodies, and elongated legs 

Iconographic

• Made in Geometric Period 

• Were used to mark grave sites where people were buried underneath

• Since bottom of the vase is opened, possible that liquid was poured in the top as an offering for the decease or used to drain off rainwater

• Geometric motifs symbolized continuity, the after life, and societal values 

• Meander specifically symbolized the eternal journey of life 

Men and Centaur

Visual

• Made of bronze

• Naturalistic

• Detailed narrative of combat between man and monster, hinting at man’s impending victory

• Depicts centaur dying from a spear pierced through its body as a man grapples it

Iconographic

• Made in Geometric Period

• Possibly originally functioned as a votive offering dedicated to the gods in exchange for blessings

Orientalizing Period (700 - 600 BC)

• Influenced by the Ancient Near East & Egypt

• Connection to other civilizations through trades, garnering people and ideas

• Linear, geometric styles with orientalizing motifs, such as animals and florals

Eleusis Amphora

Visual

• Made of terracotta

• An amphora pot: Two-handled storage vessel

• In Porto-Attic Style: Depicted scenes from Greece’s heroic past, including the myths of heroes

• Continous curvilinear forms all over vase

• Figures are in black silhouettes and outlines

• Lip frieze on the neck of the vase shows story of Odysseus and Polyphemus

• Odysseus piercing Polyphemus’s eye is shown 

• Frieze on the body of the vase tells the story of Perseus and the Gorgons/Medusa

• Medusa’s head cut off is shown 

• Gorgon sisters have snakes for hair, snakes emerging from their shoulders, teeth-like spikes, giant staring eyes and deformed faces

• Giant heads look like double cauldrons

• Possibly running over the sky or ocean

• Orientalizing motifs of rosettes around humans and animals  

Iconographic

• Made in Orientalizing Period

• Made using a pottery wheel

• Found with the body of a 10 year old boy in it

• Are the largest figures ever found on a Greek pot

• Both myths have symbolizing dealing with sight 

• Double cauldrons were used as votive offerings to gods (association with seeing the divine and being awed at the sight of gods)

• Rosettes symbolized rebirth, regeneration, and the cyclical nature of life

• Pot was possibly a deeper red instead of pale brown, making the Gorgons more frightening than they appear now

Olpe

Visual

• Made of ceramic with black figure decoration

• Rosettes surround animals and decorate the neck of the vase

• Has bits of red hue

• Black figures stand out on the clay

• Incised with sharp tool to expose the clay

• Some figures are in profile while some are looking at you

Iconographic

• Made in Orientalizing Period

• City of Corinth invented black figure painting that became popular in Greece

Lady of Auxerre

Visual

• Made of limestone

• Naturalistic

• Free standing, carved in the round, and frontal & stiff

• Has flat body and oversized hand touching the chest

Iconographic

• Made in Orientalizing Period

• Were common statues in Ancient Greece

• Depicts a korai, female votives that were offerings to the gods in exchange for blessings

• Men were kouros and nude while women were korai and clothed

• Inspired by life-sized stone figures of Egyptians pharaohs/gods

• Unknown function because she was found in Auxerre museum basement

Archaic Period (600 - 480 BC

• Art focused on rigidity and symmetry in stone sculptures 

• They love marble

Sanctuary of Apollo 

Visual

Iconographic 

Treasury of the Siphnians

Visual

• Made of marble

• Originally all painted

• Consisted of acroterians, pediment, entablature (frieze + architrave), caryatids, and pedestals

Iconographic 

• Made in the Archaic Period

• Part of the Sanctuary of Apollo

• Used to hold offerings and demonstrate the wealth of the Siphnians

Temple of Aphaia

Visual

• Made of limestone coated into marble 

• Is a megaron with a pronaos (front porch), cella (main room), and a peristyle (columns surrounding the inside) 

• Has a frieze with triglyphs and metopes 

Iconographic 

• Made in Archaic Period 

• Dedicated to the goddess Aphaia

• Cella housed the cult statue of Aphaia

• Only priest/priestess can go inside

• Public rites were held outside on an altar

• Was built with entrasis: which is a slight curve put in the shaft to correct vision of concavity to make a straight line

West Pediment

Visual

• Made of marble

• Consists of naturalistic figures

• Figures in active poses to fit into triangular space 

• Middle central figure is Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom

Iconographic 

• Made in Archaic Period 

• Part of Temple of Aphaia 

• Represents a specific battle during the Trojan War 

Dying Warrior 1 & 2

Visual

• Made of marble 

• Are naturalistic with archaic smiles

• #1’s body is in an awkward position

• #2’s body is in a more naturalistic, relaxed position 

Iconographic 

• Made in Archaic period 

• Part of Temple of Aphaia 

• Difference shows the shift in increased naturalism 

• Represents the deaths of fallen soldiers

New York & Anavysos Kouros

Berlin & Peplos Kore

Peplos Kore (Smarthistory)

Exekias

Early Classical Period (480 - 450 BC)

• Art reflected the Greek philosophical ideas of humanism, rationalism, and idealism 

• Warriors and mythological beings shown in human, idealistic forms

• Socrates valued balance within oneself 

• Stoicism is key to Greek philosophy 

• Two wars from Persian invasion caused changes in Greek art

• Powerful presence affected their sense of pride and how they communicated with other places

Warrior

Kritios Boy