BYU ARTHC 201 MIDTERM #1 - Ancient Greece

Dark Age

Decrease of artwork and evidence of human life and the fall of the Mycenaean Civilization

Geometric Style

known for its use of simple, geometric shapes like circles, squares, and triangles in artwork. Pottery from this time often had patterns such as zigzags, lines, and triangles. Figures, like people and animals, were drawn in a very abstract, stylized way with little detail

The Iliad

tells the story of the final weeks of the Trojan War, focusing on the Greek hero Achilles. It shows his anger at the Greek leader Agamemnon and his withdrawal from the battle, which causes problems for the Greek army. The epic explores themes of honor, friendship, and the impacts of war, with gods taking sides and influencing the outcome.

The Odessy

follows the adventures of Odysseus as he tries to return home after the Trojan War. It takes him ten years to get back to Ithaca, facing many challenges like monsters, temptations, and the wrath of gods. The story focuses on his struggle to reunite with his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, while showing his cleverness and resilience.

Orientalizing Style

a time when Greek art started to include influences from the East, like Egypt and the Near East. It featured detailed patterns, animals, and mythical creatures on pottery, with more decoration and stylized figures than before

Archaic Period (800-600 BCE)

Kouros / Kore, Trading with Ancient Egypt, Archaic Smile, Starting life size sculpture, and emphasis on life rather than death

Classical Period

• Architecture (Temples)

  • Doric

  • Ionic

  • Corinthian

  • Pediment, Capital, Frieze, Volute, Triglyph, Metope, Cella (naos)

• 480 BC Classical Revolution

• Gods: very much like humans, foibles and all

• Portrayal of intense human experiences

• Professionalization of artists

• Used traditional materials in new ways, new techniques, new standard for everyone who came after

• The Canon: Mathematical Perfection

Classical Revolution 480 BC

marked a shift from earlier styles to more realistic and natural representations in art, a focus on individual expression, and the development of new ideas in democracy, science, and philosophy

The Canon

Mathematical expression to make the perfect sculpture

Geometric Krater from Dipylon Cemetery, Athens

Corinthian Black-Figure Amphora with Animal Freezes (Orientalizing)

Kouros (Met Kouros), 600 BCE

Kore from the Acropolis, Athens

Dying Warrior from West Pediment, Temple of Aphaia (Archaic)

Dying Warrior from the East Pediment, Temple of Aphaia (Classical)

Warrior A from Riace, 460-450 BC

Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) “The Canon” 450-440 BC

Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon (Temple of Athena Parthenos)

Hellenistic Period

unique because it spread Greek culture across many parts of the world after Alexander the Great’s conquests. Art became more realistic and emotional, showing real people in everyday life

Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos

Lysippos, Weary Herakles, 320 BC