Greek Vocabulary AP Art History

Acropolis

Acropolis

literally, a "high city," a Greek temple complex built on a hill over a city

Amphora

a two-handled Greek storage jar

Architrave

a plain, unornamented lintel on the entablature

Caryatid (male: atlantid)

a building column that is shaped like a female figure

Cella

the main room of a Greek temple where the god is housed

Contrapposto

 a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees

Cornice

a projecting ledge over a wall

Entablature

 the upper story of a Greek temple

Frieze

a horizontal band of sculpture

Kiln

an oven used for making pottery

Kouros (female: kore)

an archaic Greek sculpture of a standing youth

Krater

a large Greek bowl used for mixing water and wine

Kylix

a greek drinking cup

metope

a small relief sculpture on the façade of a Greek temple

Mosaic

 a decoration using pieces of stone, marble, or colored glass, called tesserae, that are cemented to a wall or a floor

Pediment

the triangular top of a temple that contains sculpture

Propylaeum (plural: propylaea)

a gateway leading to a Greek temple

Relief sculpture

sculpture that projects from a flat background. A very shallow relief sculpture is called a bas-relief

Shaft

the body of a column

tholos

an ancient greek circular shrine

Triglyph

a projecting grooved element alternating with a metope on a Greek temple