Ancient Greece

Geometric

Diplyon Krater (Period)

Diplyon Krater

Archaic

Statue of a Kouros (Period)

Statue of a Kouros

Archaic

Achilles and Ajax Playing a Dice Game (Period)

Achilles and Ajax Playing a Dice Game

Exekias

Achilles and Ajax Playing a Dice Game Artist

Classical

Spear-Bearer (Period)

Spear-Bearer

Polykleitos

Spear-Bearer Artist

Classical

Aphrodite of Knidos (Period)

Aphrodite of Knidos

Praxiteles

Aphrodite of Knidos Artist

Classical

Parthenon (Period)

Parthenon

Phidias

Parthenon Artist

Hellenistic

Nike of Samothrace (Period)

Nike of Samothrace

Hellenistic

Laocoon and His Sons (Period)

Laocoon and His Sons

Hellenistic

Altar of Zeus (Period)

Altar of Zeus

Mediterranean

Greeks established colonies and trading stations around here and profited from trade with them

Ancient Aegean

First major civilization in Europe; home to three distinct but related cultures (Minoans, Mycenaeans, and Clycladics)

Minoan

Named after the mythical king Minos; seafaring and trading people who traded with Egypt, Cyprus, and the Near East.

Buon Fresco

Applying pigment to wet lime plaster without a binding agent

Homer

Author of Iliad and the Odyssey

Iliad

Epic poem about the Trojan War

Troy

Setting for the Trojan War in homer’s Iliads and Odyssey

Trojan War

Legendary conflict in Greek mythology between the Greeks and the city of Troy

Greek Polis

City-state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding countryside

Psyche

Goddess of the soul and the beloved of Eros, the god of love

Krater

Large, open-mouthed vessel used in ancient Greece to mix wine and water at symposiums; sometimes used as grave markers

Slip

Liquid clay mixture

Kouros

Grave monument; male youth, especially of noble rank

Kore

Female counterpart of kouros; not nude

Archaic Smile

Shallow, enigmatic smiles appear on the faces of Greek statues; most likely just a way to show the statue has life

Open Form

Often closer in shape to the figures they represent, making them more lifelike.

Closed Form

More structurally robust and resistant to wear or breakage

Canon of Proportions

Set of mathematical ratios and measurements used to create an idealized representation of the human body; Standardization of visual language in ancient Egyptian art. The ancient Greeks would later develop their own version.

Pythagoras

Made important developments in mathematics, astronomy, and the theory of music.

Symmetria

Harmony of an object’s parts or the good proportions between them

Meander

Decorative patterns symbolize eternity, infinity, and unity; band of short horizontal and vertical fillets that connect at right angles

Cella

Inner shrine of an ancient Greek temple where a statue or cult image of the temple’s deity was housed

Pericles

Created the Parthenon

Delian League

Military alliance of Greek city-states to fight the Persian Empire and protect ionian Greeks; it is thought that the acropolis of Athens was reconstructed after the treasury from the ____________ was relocated to the city, eventually increasing tensions that would lead to the Peloponessian war.

Panathenaic Procession

Grand annual festival procession in ancient Athens that culminated the Panathenaia, a religious festival in honor of Athena.

Doric

First style of stone temple architecture in ancient Greece; simple and plain with a rounded section at the bottom and a square at the top; frieze composed of triglyphs and metopes.

Ionic

More slender and more ornate than the masculine Doric style

Corinthian

Most elaborate of all Greek column architecture

Column

Fundamental architectural feature that served both practical and artistic purposes

Frieze

Decorative band of panel that was located in the middle of an entablature, the section of a building that rests on the top of a column.

Pediment

Triangular gable that served both structural and decorative prposes

Metopes

Rectangular architectural elements that filled the space between triglyphs in the frieze of a Doric temple

Triglyphs

Visual element in the Doric order of the temple architecture that represented the wooden beams used in prehistoric buildings

Entasis

Used to make larger structures appear straight and counteract the illusion that straight lines appear to taper in the middle

Acropolis

Natural strongholds constructed on rocky, elevated ground.

Centauromachy

Mythological battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs that symbolized the triumph of civilization over barbarism

Chryselephantine

Type of figural sculpture in which the flesh was made of ivory and the drapery of gold

Wet Drapery

Style that depicts clothing that clings to the body in a way that suggests it’s wet

Contrapposto

A sculptural technique that depicted the human figure in a more natural pose, with most of the weight on one leg.

Persian Wars

Series of conflicts between the Persia and Greece

Peloponnesian War

Conflict between Athens and Sparta

Alexander the Great

Ancient Macedonian ruler who established one of the largest empires in the ancient world

Mecadonia

Small kingdom in northern Greece; home of Alexander the Great

Repatriation

Process of returning the cultural objects to their country of origin.