Ancient Greek Art: Parthenon, Sculptures, and Historical Context

Acropolis

A citadel or complex built on a high hill, particularly in Athens.

Portrait of Perikles

Roman copy after an original bronze from 440-430 BCE.

Parthenon

A temple on the Acropolis of Athens, built between 447-432 BCE.

Metope

A carved or painted rectangular panel between the triglyphs of a Doric frieze.

Triglyph

A rectangular block between metopes, identifiable by three carved vertical grooves.

Lapith Fighting a Centaur

Metope relief from the Parthenon, depicting a battle between Lapiths and Centaurs.

Parthenon Frieze

A continuous frieze depicting the Panathenaic procession, part of the Greater Panathenaea held every four years in honor of Athena.

Xoanon

An ancient wooden plank or minimally carved wooden statue revered as a sacred object.

Marshals and Young Women

Part of the Panathenaic Procession depicted on the Parthenon.

Erechtheion

An ancient Greek temple on the Acropolis of Athens, built between 421-406 BCE.

Marshals and Young Women

Part of the Panathenaic Procession depicted on the Parthenon.

Erechtheion

An ancient Greek temple on the Acropolis of Athens, built between 421-406 BCE.

Porch of the Maidens

A part of the Erechtheion, featuring six female figures as columns.

Arrephoria

A festival during which two aristocratic girls descended from the Acropolis carrying a chest with unknown contents.

Peloponnesian Wars

A series of conflicts between Athens and Sparta from 431-404 BCE.

Late Classical Period

An artistic style from 400-325 BCE characterized by elegance and emotional expression.

Nike Adjusting her Sandal

A sculpture from the Athens Acropolis dating to c. 410 - 404 BCE.

Winged Victory of Samothrace

A Hellenistic sculpture created around c. 200 - 190 BCE.

Aphrodite of Knidos

A famous statue by Praxiteles from 350 BCE, known for its depiction of the goddess of love.

Dying Gallic Trumpeter

A Roman copy of a bronze statue from Pergamon, originally from c. 220 BCE.

Laocoön and his Sons

A Roman copy of a Hellenistic original from around 200 BCE.

Aphrodite of Melos (Venus de Milo)

A statue from Melos, Greece, created between 150 - 100 BCE.

Pathos

An emotional state often depicted in art.

Expressionism

A term describing a work of art that seeks to evoke subjective emotions rather than portray objective reality.