Aegean & Ancient Greece Vocab

Megaron

main reception hall of a Mycenaean palace, consisting of a rectangular hall with a central hearth, fronted by an open, columned porch

Labyrinth

originally from the Greek word for "double axe," this term commonly means a maze

Tholos

in Mycenaean architecture, a beehive-shaped tomb with a circular plan

Dromos

a passageway into an ancient tomb

Minotaur

half-man, half-bull creature from ancient myth

Naos

the principle room in a temple or church (often referred to as the cella in ancient architecture)

Peripteral

(of a building) having a single row of pillars on all sides in the style of the temples of ancient Greece

Kore

(literally "maiden") an Archaic Greek statue of a young woman

Kouros

(literally "youth") an Archaic Greek statue of a young man or boy

Gigantomachy

the battle between the gods and the giants in Greek mythology, often symbolic of the struggle between the cosmic order of the Greeks and the forces of chaos and/or "barbarian" outsiders

Contrapposto

the Classical convention of representing human figures with opposing alternations of tension and relaxation on either side of a central axis to give figures a sense of the potential for movement (the asymmetrical balancing of the human body)

Chryselephantine

a statue made of gold and ivory

Symmetria

the visible harmony of definable parts within a unified whole (commensurability of parts)

Ethos

inner character, habit or self-discipline

Panathenaic Festival

a festival held every 4 years in Athens where a new peplos was presented to an ancient wooden statue of Athena

Tessera

a small block of stone, tile, glass, or other material used in the construction of a mosaic

Mausoleum

a building, especially a large and stately one, housing a tomb or tombs

Pathos

your immediate personal reaction to an experience

Mausolos

A provincial governor for the Persian Empire, this person is best remembered for his monumental tomb, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world, the name of which is used in general terms today.

Praxiteles

This sculptor created the first monumental nude statue of a goddess in the Greek world.

Lysippos

This sculptor was so favored by Alexander the Great that no other artist was allowed to make his portrait.

Alexander the Great

This ancient Macedonian ruler exacted revenge on the Persian Empire, and then continued his conquests, ultimately establishing the largest empire the ancient world had ever seen.