Archaic Period: Art and Architecture

Dates: Approximately 600 BCE to c. 480 BCE (ending with the defeat of Persians).
Political Structure: Characterized by independent city-states (poleis).
External Influences: Significant trade with and influence from Egypt.
Key Events: Battles like Thermopylae; trade centers like Naucratis and Tahpanhes.

Evolution: Development in the depiction of the human figure, moving towards naturalism.
Nudity: Common depiction of the nude male figure.
Kouros/Kore: Standard types for male (Kouros) and female (Kore) statues.
Archaic Smile: A characteristic facial expression.
Form: Initially stylized, progressing to more naturalistic forms over time.
Scale: Monumental building and sculpture.

"New York Kouros" (ca. 600 BCE):
- Material: Marble, approx. 6' 1" tall.
- Function: Grave marker.
- Influence: Shows Egyptian influence (similar to Menkaure of the Old Kingdom).
- Style: Stylized hair and eyes, inaccurate anatomy, nude.
"Maniklos Apollo" (ca. 700-650 BCE):
- An earlier example from the Orientalizing period, showing Daedalic style influence on later Kouroi.
Kroisos, "Anavysos Kouros" (ca. 530 BCE):
- Material: Marble, approx. 6' 4" tall.
- Significance: Demonstrates increased naturalism compared to earlier Kouroi.
- Inscription: Commemorates a warrior named Kroisos.

"Peplos Kore" (From Acropolis, Athens, ca. 530 BCE):
- Material: Approx. 4' tall.
- Clothing: Wears a peplos (wool, sleeveless, belted) or chiton (linen, sleeved, belted).
"Lady of Auxerre": Another example from the Orientalizing Period.

Techniques: Two primary styles:
- Black-Figure Ware: Figures and details are painted in a black slip; the background is the red clay body of the vessel.
  - Exekias: Notable artist (e.g., Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game, ca. 540-530 BCE).
- Red-Figure Ware: The background and details are painted in black slip; the figures are reserved in the red clay body.
  - Andokides Painter: Credited with pioneering the Red-figure technique.
"Bilingual Vases": Vases featuring both Black-figure and Red-figure decorations on different sides (e.g., Andokides Painter, Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game, ca. 525-520 BCE).

Peristyle: An outer row of columns.
Peripteral: Characterized by a single colonnade surrounding the cella.
Cella or Naos: The main inner chamber, typically housing the cult statue.
Pronaos: The vestibule or front porch of the temple.
Opisthodomos: A decorative rear porch, mirroring the pronaos but without access to the cella.

Common Layout: Often peripteral, with a peristyle, cella, pronaos, and sometimes an opisthodomos.

Appearance: Severely plain, massive, and sturdy.
Frieze: Divided into triglyphs and metopes (often decorated with relief sculptures).
Architrave: Plain.
Capital: Consists of an abacus (square slab) and a convex, cushion-like echinus.
Shaft: Usually fluted, tapering towards the top, without a base (rests directly on the stylobate).
Entasis: The slight bulging of columns to give an impression of strength.

Order: Doric Order.
Features: Displays entasis, tapered columns, peripteral and peristyle plan with a pronaos.
Adyton: A room in the back, typically for icons or treasury.

Distinction: The first Doric temple constructed entirely of stone.
Pediment: The west pediment contains the earliest surviving substantial pedimental sculpture fragments.
- Iconography: Centered by Medusa, flanked by Pegasus and Chrysaor, and narrative scenes potentially including Zeus, the Trojan War, Perseus and Medusa, and gods battling giants.

Order: Doric Order.
Sculpture: Notable for its sophisticated pedimental sculptures depicting the Trojan War.
- West Pediment (ca. 500-490 BCE): Features archaic elements like the Archer (Paris) and the Dying Warrior (marble, approx. 5' 2.5" long).
- East Pediment (ca. 490-480 BCE): Contains the Dying Warrior (marble, approx. 6' 1" long), considered a transitional piece bridging the Archaic and Early Classical periods, showing greater naturalism and pathos. These statues were originally painted with encaustic.