Unit 2: Ancient Mediterranean, 3500 BCE–300 CE

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Ziggurats

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197 Terms

1

Ziggurats

The first great buildings of the ancient world; were made of baked mud, and they were tall, solid structures that dominated the flat landscape.

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Lascaux

A network of caves near the village of Montignac, in the department of Dordogne in southwestern France.

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3

Lamassus

A Mesopotamian celestial being with a human head, bull's body, and wings.

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4

Cuneiform

a system of writing in which the strokes are formed in a wedge or arrowhead shape

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5

Apotropaic

having the power to ward off evil or bad luck

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6

Sumerian art

It has realistic-look-ing figures acting out identifiable narratives.

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Negative space

empty space around an object or a person, such as the cut-out areas between a figure’s legs or arms of a sculpture

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8

Nudity

A sign of debasement; only slaves and prisoners are nude.

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Hierarchy of scale

a system of representation that expresses a person’s importance by the size of his or her representation in a work of art

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10

Local god

An advocate for a given city in the assembly of gods.

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11

gods

In the Sumerian world, the _____ symbolized powers that were manifest in nature.

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12

Temple

Became the center point of both civic and religious pride.

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Bent-axis plan

ascending the stairs requires angular changes of direction to reach the temple

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14

Cella

the main room of a temple where the god is housed

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15

Whitewash

was used to disguise the mud appearance; hence the modern name of White Temple.

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Uruk

May be the first true city in history; the first with monumental architecture.

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17

Anu

The god of the sky, the most important Sumerian deity.

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18

Votive

Offered in fulfillment of a vow or a pledge

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19

Ground line

a baseline upon which figures stand

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20

Ground plan

the map of a floor of a building

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21

Register

a horizontal band, often on top of another, that tells a narrative story

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22

Lapis lazuli

a deep-blue stone prized for its color

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23

Shallow relief sculpture

an Assyrian specialty, although the lamassus are virtually three-dimensional as they project noticeably from the walls they are attached to.

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24

Capital

the top element of a column

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25

Apadana

an audience hall in a Persian palace

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Hypostyle hall

An indication of one of the many cultures that inspired the complex.

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<p>White Temple and its ziggurat</p>

White Temple and its ziggurat

Buttresses spaced across the surface; tapers downward so that rainwater washes off. Resembles a mountain. Bent-axis plan

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28
<p>Statues of votive figures</p>

Statues of votive figures

different heights; hands are folded - gesture of prayer; huge eyes; arms and feet cut away; placed in a temple to pray before a sculpture of a god.

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29
<p>Standard of Ur</p>

Standard of Ur

wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red ­limestone; broad frontal shoulders; bodies in profile; twisted perspective. Reflects extensive trading network. Has two sides: War Side and Peace Side

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30
<p>Code of Hammurabi</p>

Code of Hammurabi

Written in cuneiform | Akkadian language. One of the earliest law codes; 300 entries

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31
<p>Lamassu</p>

Lamassu

Human-headed winged animal guardian figures. Meant to hold up the walls and arch of a gate. Meant to ward off enemies both visible and invisible. Carved from a single piece of stone.

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32
<p>Apadana of Darius and Xerxes</p>

Apadana of Darius and Xerxes

Built for lavish receptions and festivals. Proudly proclaim this complex as the seat of a great empire. Built by Darius I and Xerxes I. Destroyed by Alexander the Great

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33

Pharaoh

a king of ancient Egypt

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34

Aton

Represented as a sun disk emanating rays.

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35

Rosetta Stone

Modern Egyptology began with the 1799 discovery of the _____, from which hieroglyphics could, for the first time, be translated into modern languages.

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36

King Tutankhamun

The feverish scramble to uncover Egyptian artifacts culminated in 1922 with the discovery of _______’s tomb by Howard Carter.

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37

Necropolis

literally, a “city of the dead,” a large burial area

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38

Mastabas

A simple tomb that has four sloping sides and an entrance for mourners to bring offerings to the deceased.

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39

Engaged column

a column that is not freestanding but attached to a wall

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40

Reserve column

a column that is cut away from rock but has no support function

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41
<p>hypostyle hall</p>

hypostyle hall

The god was housed in a sacred area just beyond, which was surrounded by a forest of columns, called a ____.

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42

clerestory

Some of the columns were higher than others, allowing limited light and air to enter the complex, an area called a ___.

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43

Papyrus

a tall aquatic plant whose fiber is used as a writing surface in ancient Egypt

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44

Sarcophagi

These are stone coffins.

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45

Hieroglyphics

It describes the deceased and his or her accomplishments in great detail, without which the dead would have incomplete afterlives.

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46

Relief sculpture

sculpture which projects from a flat background.

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47

bas-relief

A very shallow relief sculpture

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48

Ground line

a baseline upon which figures stand

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49

Register

a horizontal band, often on top of another, that tells a narrative story

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50

Ka

the soul, or spiritual essence, of a human being that either ascends to heaven or can live in an Egyptian statue of itself

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51

Axial plan

a building with an elongated ground plan

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52

Pylon

a monumental gateway to an Egyptian temple marked by two flat, sloping walls between which is a smaller entrance

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53

Clerestory

a roof that rises above lower roofs and thus has window space beneath carved into a surface so that the figures seem to project forward

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54

Sunken relief

a carving in which the outlines of figures are deeply

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55

Peristyle

a colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a courtyard

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56

Ankh

an Egyptian symbol of life

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57

Amarna style

art created during the reign of Akhenaton, which features a more relaxed figure style than in Old and Middle Kingdom art

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58

Ammit

The hippopotamus/lion figure; between the scales, will eat the heart of an evil soul.

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59

Thoth

A god who has the head of a bird; the stenographer writing down these events in the hieroglyphics that he invented.

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60

Osiris

god of the underworld, enthroned on the right; will subject the deceased to a day of judgment.

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61

Hunefer

A scribe who had priestly functions.

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62
<p>Palette of King Narmer</p>

Palette of King Narmer

Represents the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under one ruler. Schematic lines delineate in the muscle structure. Hieroglyphics identify him in the cartouche; used to prepare eye makeup | commemorative

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63
<p>Seated Scribe</p>

Seated Scribe

Not a pharaoh; has high cheekbones, hollow cheeks, and a distinctive jawline. Created for a tomb at Saqqara as a provision for the ka.

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64

Menkaura, Khafre and Khufu

Name of the Three Great Pyramids

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65
<p>Great Pyramids</p>

Great Pyramids

Giant monuments to dead pharaohs. Preservation of the body and tomb contents for eternity. Served as the king’s palace in the afterlife. Shape must have been influenced by a benben.

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<p>Great Sphinx</p>

Great Sphinx

Carved in situ from a huge rock. Body of a lion, head of a pharaoh/god; protecting the pyramids behind it

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67
<p>King Menkaura and queen</p>

King Menkaura and queen

two figures attached to a block of stone; seem to stride forward; simultaneously are anchored to the stone behind; receptacle for the ka of the pharaoh and his queen.

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68
<p>Temple of Amun-Re</p>

Temple of Amun-Re

Axial Plan. Pylon Temple | Hypostyle halls. Massive lintels, columns. Temple for the worship of a god. Temple represents the beginnings of the world

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69
<p>Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut</p>

Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut

A sandstone partly carved into a rock cliff. Three colonnaded terraces and two ramps. Long horizontals and verticals of the terraces and colonnades repeat the patterns of the cliffs behind; patterns of dark and light in the colonnade are reflected in the cliffs.

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70
<p>Kneeling statue of Hatshepsut</p>

Kneeling statue of Hatshepsut

Made of red granite. Male pharaonic attributes. Wears the white crown of Upper Egypt. Depicted in male costume of a pharaoh

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71
<p>Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters</p>

Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters

Amarna Style; a sunken relief; state religion was changed by Akhenaton to the worship of Aton> Having a private relationship with their new god

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72
<p>Innermost coffin of King Tutankhamun’s tomb</p>

Innermost coffin of King Tutankhamun’s tomb

A gold with an inlay of enamel and semi-precious stones. Smooth, idealized features on the mask. Holds a crook and a flail, symbols of osiris; buried with 143 objects

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73
<p>Last judgment of Hunefer</p>

Last judgment of Hunefer

Narrative on a uniform register. Illustration from the Book of the Dead. Top register - white at left before a row of judges; main register - Anubis leads the deceased into a hall

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74

Pericles

________ used the extra funds in the Persian war treasury to build the Acropolis; Greek allies were furious that the funds were not returned to them.

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75

Poseidon

________ made saltwater spring from the ground on the Acropolis.

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76

Temples

________ are built with the post- and- lintel system in mind, the columns are never too widely set apart.

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77

krater

The ________ was a bowl for mixing water and wine because the Greeks never drank their wine straight.

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78

Polykleitos

He wrote a famous (no longer existing) book on the canon of human proportions

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79

Iktinos

He wrote on the nature of ideal architecture

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80

Contrapposto

The fluid body movement and relaxed stance that was unknown in freestanding sculpture before this

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81

Encaustic

a type of painting in which colors are added to hot wax to affix to a surface

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82

Peplos

a garment worn by women in ancient Greece, usually full length and tied at the waist

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83

Canon

a body of rules or laws; in Greek art, the ideal mathematical proportion of a figure

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84

Isocephalism

the tradition of depicting heads of figures on the same level

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85

Panathenaic Way

a ceremonial road for a procession built to honor Athena during a festival

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86

Nike

ancient Greek goddess of victory

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87

Stele

an upright stone slab used to mark a grave or a site

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88

Athena

Greek goddess of war and wisdom; patron of Athens

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89

Zeus

King of the ancient Greek gods; known as Jupiter to the Romans; god of the sky and weather

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Gigantomachy

a mythical ancient Greek war between the giants and the Olympian gods

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Shaft

the body of a column

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Metope

a small relief sculpture on the façade of a Greek temple

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Architrave

a plain, unornamented lintel on the entablature

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Entablature

the upper story of a Greek temple

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95

Portico

an entranceway to a building having columns supporting a roof

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96

Pediments

These are seated over the tops of columns, contain sculptures representing the heroic deeds of the god or goddess housed inside

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97

Cornice

It separates the upper and lower parts of a Greek temple

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98

Agora

a public plaza in a Greek city where commercial, religious, and societal activities are conducted

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99

Bouleuterion

a chamber used by a council of 500 citizens, called a boule, who was chosen by lot to serve for one year

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100
<p>Tholos</p>

Tholos

a round structure manned by a group of senators 24 hours a day for emergency meetings; served as a dining hall where the prytaneis (executives) of the boule often met

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