Studied by 36 people
Note: bolded text = answers to sample questions on "exam review" :)
Queen’s Lyre
CIVILIZATION: Sumerian
PERIOD: Early Dynastic period
PURPOSE: A string instrument
projects from the body
used in burial ceremonies
ORIGIN: Found by Leonard Woolley from the grave of Queen Pu’Abi
EXPLANATION: Represents afterlife
Demonstrates craftmanship
Votive Figures
CIVILIZATION: Sumerian
PERIOD: Early Dynastic period
PURPOSE: Images dedicated to the gods
act as worshipers before a god statue
ORIGIN: Square temple, Eshnunna
EXPLANATION: Worshipers with clasped hands and wide eyes
Stele of Hammurabi
CIVILIZATION: Babylonian
PERIOD: 1750 BC?
PURPOSE: First written code of law
has 300 laws from ancient Mesopotamia
written in cuneiform
ORIGIN: King Hammurabi himself
EXPLANATION: Sun god Shamash gives power to rule to King Hammurabi
Hierarchical scale
Golden Rhyton
CIVILIZATION: Persian (Achaemenid Dynasty)
PERIOD: 5th-3rd centuries BCE?
PURPOSE: Pours liquids in religious ceremonies
RELIGION: Zoroastrianism
Zoroaster = primary prophet
Avesta = holy book
ORIGIN: Achaemenid empire
EXPLANATION: depicts a Simurgh
mythical creature that is a combination of a lion and a peacock
Darius and Xerxes Paying Tribute
CIVILIZATION: Persian
PERIOD: 491-486 BCE?
PURPOSE: shows that the Persian king ruled over all
symbolized strong leaders and fearsome soldiers
ORIGIN: The Apadana, Persepolis
EXPLANATION: Darius holds an audience while his son Xerxes listens behind the throne
Hierarchical scale and very stylized
Is a relief from a stairway leading to the Apadana (audience hall), ceremonial complex
Facts about Darius
Most famous ruler; self-proclaimed “king of kings”
Put his portrait on the Persian standardized currency
Cycladic Figure
CIVILIZATION: Aegean (CYCLADIC Culture)
PERIOD: Neolithic period
INTERPRETATIONS
Death; used for mourning rituals (from origin)
Celebration for birth; clutching stomach
A(n immortal) mother goddess
Fertility? Bodies not developed to bear children
ORIGIN: Found at graves
EXPLANATION: Female figures with pointed feet and crossed hands; lay on back
Toreador Fresco
CIVILIZATION: Aegean (MINOAN Culture)
AKA Bull Leaping at Knossos and Bull-Leaping Fresco
PERIOD: New Palace/Neopalatial period
INTERPRETATIONS
a very dangerous sport
religious ritual
ORIGIN: Island of Crete, Palace of Knossos
excavated by archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans
EXPLANATION: a Minoan ceremony of bull-leaping and human activity
The Mask of Agamemnon
CIVILIZATION: Aegean (MYCENAEAN Culture)
AKA Funerary Mask
PERIOD: 1600-1550 BCE?
PURPOSE: a funerary mask
ORIGIN: Found by Heinrich Schliemann in Mycenae, Grave Circle A
EXPLANATION: Mask of Mycenaean king Agamemnon; represented honor, wealth, and status
Schliemann believed this was evidence of the Trojan War being real
Questioned authenticity
due to handlebar mustache; men are depicted differently in Mycenaean art
New York Kouros
AKA Metropolitan Kouros
named after its current location
CIVILIZATION: Ancient Greek
PERIOD: Archaic period
PURPOSE: serves as a grave marker and is a dedication to the gods
is the general idea of youth
ORIGIN: Attica
EXPLANATION: statue of a young man
Early example of life-sized statuary
6’4”
Appreciation for natural symmetry and balance
The Euphronios Krater
AKA the Sarpedon Krater
CIVILIZATION: Ancient Greek
PERIOD: Archaic period
PURPOSE: used for mixing wine with water
ORIGIN: Euphronios (painter) and Euxitheos (potter)
EXPLANATION: The death of Sarpedon (Zeus’s son) while Hermes watches from the Iliad
Red figure
Calyx krater
Doryphoros (The Spear Bearer)
CIVILIZATION: Ancient Greek
PERIOD: High Classical period
PURPOSE: Represents summarized ideas on ideal beauty
shows beauty, youth, and emotional restraint
Canon of Proportion
ORIGIN: created by Polykleitos
Is compact/closed form contrapposto
balance between tense and relaxed
Apoxyomenos (The Scraper)
CIVILIZATION: Ancient Greek
PERIOD: Late Classical period
ORIGIN: created by Lysippus
EXPLANATION: an athlete scraping sweat and dirt off his body
Is long and lean contrapposto
differs from typical perfect, stoic poses
The Parthenon
CIVILIZATION: Ancient Greek
PERIOD: High Classical period
PURPOSE: a place of worship for Ancient Greeks
Dedicated to goddess Athena
ORIGIN: created by Kallikrates and Iktinos in Acropolis, Athens
was the highest point of the Acropolis
acropolis = a city on top of a hill; “high city”
EXPLANATION: Doric order temple
also with ionic elements
Uses the golden ratio
What order is this?
Doric order
What order is this?
Ionic order
What order is this?
Corinthian order
The Erechtheion
Named after mythical Athenian king Erechtheus
CIVILIZATION: Ancient Greek
PERIOD: High Classical period
PURPOSE: dedicated to the worship of Athena and Poseidon
ORIGIN: Acropolis, Athens
EXPLANATION: temple used as a contest between Athena and Poseidon for the city’s affections
Poseidon made a salt spring and Athena made an olive tree
Ionic order temple
Porch of Maidens; has caryatids
columns sculpted as draped women who support the building with their heads
women need to be constrained for society to properly function
Nike (Victory) of Samothrace
CIVILIZATION: Ancient Greek
PERIOD: Hellenistic period
PURPOSE: an offering of a sanctuary to the gods/a military victory monument
ORIGIN: Greek island Theoi Megaloi on Samothrace
Only Greek statue with known original location
Wet drapery = common Hellenistic trait
Laocoon and His Sons
AKA The Laocoon Group
CIVILIZATION: Ancient Greek
PERIOD: Hellenistic period
PURPOSE: serves as an iconic image for those who oppose the inevitable
ORIGIN: Created by Hagesandros, Polydoros, and Athenodoros of Rhodes
EXPLANATION: Trojan priest Laocoon is punished for warning the Trojans about the Trojan horse/a Greek attack
by serpents sent by Apollo and Athena to kill him and his sons
Emphasis on emotion & interaction with surrounding space = example of Hellenistic art
The Ara Pacis Augustae
CIVILIZATION: Roman
PERIOD: Early Empire (3-9 BCE)
PURPOSE: honors Roman peace and prosperity
emphasizes family life and monogamous marriages
ORIGIN: Rome and commissioned by the Roman Senate
EXPLANATION: commemorates Augustus’s return from wars in Spain and Gaul
The Colosseum
AKA The Flavian Amphitheater
Named after Colossus (statue) of Nero nearby
Started by Vespasian and finished by his son Titus
CIVILIZATION: Roman
PERIOD: Early Empire
PURPOSE: an attempt to return land to the public from whom Nero had stolen it
used as political control
ORIGIN: construction under emperor Vespasian
EXPLANATION: large amphitheater that could hold 50k spectators and hosted gladiator fights, animal hunts, executions, and etc. for entertainment
Column of Trajan
CIVILIZATION: Roman
PERIOD: Imperial period
PURPOSE: commemorates Roman emperor Trajan’s victory over Dacia
ORIGIN: Rome, Italy
EXPLANATION: Has low relief sculptures of scenes from Trajan’s victory and features a statue of St. Peter
originally was a statue of Trajan
elements in sculptures: swags of oak leaves and two surviving eagles
oak leaves = strength
eagles = Roman empire
The Pantheon (photo of outside of The Pantheon attached)
CIVILIZATION: Roman
PERIOD: 118-128 CE?
PURPOSE: temple for the Roman gods
ORIGIN: Reconstructed by Emperor Hadrian
EXPLANATION: known for its Roman concrete and dome
In Greek architecture, what is this?
Post and lintel
In Greek architecture, what is this?
Colonnade
In Greek architecture, what is outlined in red?
A pediment
In Roman architecture, what is this?
Barrel vault
In Roman architecture, what is this?
Groin vault
In Roman architecture, what is outlined in red?
Dome
