Art History and Architecture Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering Prehistoric Art, Greek Hellenistic Art, Classical Athens, Art About Art, and Early Greek Art & Architecture.

Venus pudica

A pose in which a nude female figure modestly covers parts of her body with her hands; associated especially with representations of Aphrodite/Venus.

Strigil

A curved tool used by ancient Greek and Roman athletes to scrape oil, sweat, and dirt from the skin.

Sparta

Powerful ancient Greek city-state known especially for its militarized society; Athens's major rival in the Peloponnesian War.

Peloponnesian War

War fought primarily between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies (431–404 BCE); Sparta ultimately defeated Athens.

Philip of Macedon

Philip II, king of Macedonia and father of Alexander the Great; brought most of the Greek city-states under Macedonian control.

Alexander the Great

Macedonian king who conquered the Persian Empire and created a vast empire extending from Greece into Egypt and Asia; his conquests helped spread Greek culture.

Seleucids

Hellenistic dynasty that controlled much of Alexander's former territory in western Asia.

Ptolemies

Hellenistic dynasty that ruled Egypt after Alexander's death.

Attalids

Hellenistic dynasty that ruled the kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor; major patrons of art and architecture.

Battle of Issus (333 BCE)

Major battle in which Alexander the Great defeated the Persian king Darius III.

Darius III

King of Persia defeated by Alexander the Great during Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire.

Gorgon

Mythological female monster, most famously Medusa; images of a Gorgon's head were often used apotropaically to ward off evil.

Bucephalus

Alexander the Great's famous horse.

Foreshortening

Depicting a figure or object at an angle so that parts appear shortened, creating an illusion of depth.

Nemea

Location of one of Herakles's Twelve Labors, where he killed the Nemean Lion.

Twelve Labors

Twelve difficult tasks performed by the Greek hero Herakles (Hercules) as penance.

Hera

Greek goddess, wife of Zeus; enemy/persecutor of Herakles in mythology.

Atlas

Titan condemned to hold up the heavens; encountered by Herakles during the Twelve Labors.

Satyr

Greek mythological creature associated with Dionysus, typically represented as a part-human, animalistic male associated with wine, revelry, and uncontrolled behavior.

Telephos

Mythological son of Herakles and legendary founder/ancestor associated with Pergamon; his story appears on the Great Altar of Pergamon's Telephos frieze.

Attalus III

Last king of Pergamon's Attalid dynasty; left his kingdom to Rome in his will after his death in 133 BCE.

Virgil

Major Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid.

Aeneid

Roman epic poem by Virgil recounting the journey of the Trojan hero Aeneas and connecting Troy to the legendary origins of Rome.

Aeneas

Trojan hero who escapes the destruction of Troy and becomes an ancestor of the Romans in Roman mythology.

Trojan Horse

The wooden horse Greek soldiers supposedly used to secretly enter Troy and bring about the city's destruction.

Alcyoneus

A Giant shown fighting Athena in the Great Altar of Pergamon's Gigantomachy frieze.

Acropolis

Literally the "high city"; an elevated fortified or sacred area of a Greek city. The Athenian Acropolis contained major temples including the Parthenon.

Persian sack of Athens, 480 BCE

Destruction of Athens and buildings on its Acropolis by Persian forces during the Persian Wars.

Greek defeat of Persians, 479 BCE

Major Greek victories ended the Persian invasion and helped establish Athens as a leading Greek power.

Athena Polias

Athena "of the city"; Athena in her role as protector of Athens.

Athena Parthenos

Athena the "Virgin"; the monumental cult statue created by Phidias for the Parthenon.

Athena Promachos

Athena the "Defender" or "foremost fighter"; a martial form of Athena associated with a colossal statue on the Acropolis.

Pericles

Influential Athenian statesman who promoted the major building program on the Acropolis during the fifth century BCE.

Phidias

Important Greek sculptor associated with the artistic program of the Parthenon and creator of its monumental Athena Parthenos.

Delian League

Alliance of Greek city-states originally formed under Athenian leadership to defend against Persia; Athens eventually dominated the league and its treasury.

Old Temple of Athena

Earlier temple dedicated to Athena on the Acropolis, damaged/destroyed during the Persian sack.

New Temple of Athena

Later sanctuary constructed for Athena as part of the rebuilding of the Acropolis.

Parthenon

Major fifth-century BCE temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to Athena Parthenos; its name relates to the idea of the "virgin's room."

Peripteral

A temple design in which a single row of columns completely surrounds the building.

Peristyle

A continuous row or colonnade of columns surrounding a building or space.

Intercolumniation

The space between adjacent columns.

Entasis

A slight outward swelling/curvature in a column shaft, used partly to counteract optical effects and create a sense of vitality.

Prostyle

A temple arrangement with a row of freestanding columns across the front façade.

Parthenon metopes

Square sculpted panels of the Parthenon's Doric frieze depicting mythological battles: West (Greeks vs. Amazons [Amazonomachy]), North (Greeks vs. Trojans), East (Olympian gods vs. Giants [Gigantomachy]), and South (Lapiths vs. Centaurs [Centauromachy]).

Panathenaic Festival

Major Athenian religious festival honoring Athena, involving processions, sacrifices, athletic events, and presentation of a new garment to the goddess.

Peplos

A traditional Greek garment worn by women; a specially woven peplos was presented to Athena during the Panathenaic Festival.

Lost-wax technique

Method of casting metal sculpture in which a wax model is covered by a mold; the wax is melted out and molten metal is poured into the resulting space.

Cour Napoléon

The main courtyard of the Louvre in Paris, where I. M. Pei's glass pyramid is located.

Trajan

Roman emperor (98–117 CE) whose earlier artistic/architectural material was reused in the Arch of Constantine.

Aegean

The region surrounding the Aegean Sea, including mainland Greece, the Greek islands, and the western coast of Asia Minor.

Peloponnese

Large peninsula in southern Greece, home to important ancient cities including Sparta and Corinth.

Asia Minor

Ancient geographic term for the peninsula making up most of modern-day Turkey.

Phoenicians

Ancient eastern Mediterranean people known for maritime trade and an influential alphabet adapted by the Greeks.

Four-square manner

A rigid, frontal sculptural pose emphasizing symmetry, stability, and block-like form, strongly associated with Egyptian sculpture and influential on early Greek sculpture.

Marmaros

Greek term associated with marble, literally connected to the idea of a shining or gleaming stone.

Anthropomorphic

Having or being represented in human form; Greek gods, for example, were often anthropomorphic.

Votive

An object offered or dedicated to a deity as an act of worship, thanksgiving, or fulfillment of a vow.

Agalma

Greek term for an object, often a statue, created as an offering or pleasing gift to a deity.

Kore / korai

Singular/plural terms for an Archaic Greek statue of a young woman, usually clothed and standing.

Kouros / kouroi

Singular/plural terms for an Archaic Greek statue of a young man, usually nude, standing frontally with one foot forward.

Chiton

Ancient Greek garment consisting of cloth wrapped/draped around the body and fastened at the shoulders.

Gable

The triangular upper portion of a wall beneath the slopes of a pitched roof.

Pediment

The triangular space at the end of a Classical building's roof, often filled with sculpture.

Opisthodomos

The rear porch/chamber of an ancient Greek temple, corresponding to the pronaos at the front.

Cella / naos

The main enclosed room of a Greek temple containing the cult statue of the deity.

Porch / pronaos

The entrance porch immediately in front of a Greek temple's cella.

Terracotta tiles

Fired-clay tiles used to cover and protect roofs.

Stylobate

The top step/platform on which a temple's columns stand.

Colonnade

A row or series of columns supporting an architectural structure.

Orders

Standardized systems of Classical architectural design governing the appearance and proportions of columns and their entablatures.

Doric

Greek architectural order characterized by sturdy columns, generally without bases, relatively simple capitals, and a frieze of triglyphs and metopes.

Ionic

Greek architectural order characterized by more slender columns, bases, and capitals featuring volutes.

Fluted

Having vertical grooves carved along the shaft of a column.

Capital

The uppermost portion of a column, located between the shaft and the entablature.

Echinus

The rounded or cushion-like portion of a capital beneath the abacus, especially prominent in the Doric order.

Abacus

The flat slab at the top of a capital that supports the entablature.

Architrave

The lowest horizontal section of the entablature, resting directly on the capitals.

Frieze

The middle horizontal section of an entablature; it may contain sculptural decoration.

Triglyph

A vertically grooved rectangular element in a Doric frieze.

Metope

A square/rectangular panel between triglyphs in a Doric frieze, often containing relief sculpture.

Cornice

The projecting uppermost section of an entablature.

Base

The lowest part of a column, between its shaft and the platform; characteristic of Ionic columns but generally absent from Greek Doric columns.

Volute

A spiral or scroll-shaped feature characteristic of an Ionic capital.

Etruscan

member of the ancient civilization that occupied Etruria in central Italy before the rise of Rome. Etruscan culture, religion, architecture, and art strongly influenced the Romans.

Senate

A major governing body in ancient Rome composed primarily of elite Roman men. During the Republic, it exercised significant influence over finances, foreign policy, and government.

verism

A Roman portrait style emphasizing extremely realistic physical features, particularly signs of age such as wrinkles and sagging skin. It was associated with experience, seriousness, and public service.

piety

Devotion and duty toward the gods, family, and state. The Roman concept of pietas emphasized fulfilling one's religious, familial, and civic responsibilities.

Caesar

Julius Caesar, Roman general and political leader who became dictator and played a central role in the collapse of the Roman Republic. He was assassinated in 44 BCE.

divi filius (“son of a god”)

A title used by Octavian/Augustus meaning “son of the deified one.” After Julius Caesar was officially deified, Augustus used his status as Caesar's adopted son to strengthen his political authority.

Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus, a Roman senator and one of the principal participants in the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE.

Cassius

Gaius Cassius Longinus, a Roman senator and one of the leading organizers of the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Mark Antony

Roman general and politician who was an ally of Julius Caesar. After Caesar's death, he competed for control of Rome and eventually allied himself with Cleopatra against Octavian.

Cleopatra

Cleopatra VII, the last active ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt. She allied herself politically and personally with Julius Caesar and later Mark Antony.

Battle of Actium

The decisive naval battle in 31 BCE in which Octavian's forces defeated the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The victory helped Octavian become the dominant ruler of the Roman world.

dictator

In the Roman Republic, an extraordinary political office granting one person extensive authority during an emergency. Julius Caesar eventually became dictator for life.

princeps (“first citizen”)

Literally “first citizen.” A title Augustus used to present himself as the leading citizen of Rome rather than as a king or absolute monarch.

imperator (commander-in-chief)

A title associated with successful Roman military commanders. Augustus used it to emphasize his military authority; it eventually contributed to the modern word “emperor.”

pontifex maximus (chief priest)

The highest-ranking priestly office in Roman religion. Augustus became pontifex maximus in 12 BCE.

Pax Romana

Literally “Roman Peace.” A long period of relative political stability and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire beginning with the rule of Augustus.

aqueduct

A structure or system designed to transport water from a distant source to cities and towns, often using gravity. Roman aqueducts sometimes crossed valleys on large arcades.