Hellenistic - AP History notes (emotion, drama, naturalism) 😱🎭🌿

About Hellenistic

Beings after the death of Alexander the Great.

  • divided his kingdom into 3 parts.

Main focus:^^emotion, drama, naturalism.^^

Hellenistic: mixture of different styles.

Key words (Hellenistic)

Architecture:

  • Columnade
  • Frieze
  • wet drapery

Artistic:

  • high relief
  • gigantomosy
  • foreshortening
  • mosaic
  • teserae shard

Altar of Zeus (Pergamon, Turkey) ⚡

Located in Pergamon, Turkey. Dedicated to the god Zeus. ^^Commissioned^^ ^^by King Attalos.^^

Main inspiration for the West front altar:

  • Attalos I vs. Gauls ⚔
  • ^^Defeat of the Persians (Pergamenes over the Persians)🏆^^
  • Battle between Gods and Giants 🌬

Altar of ZeusNarrative: Attalos defeated the Gauls/Persians; temple is meant to celebrate the victory.

  • Altar was commissioned by King Attalos.

Key words:

Architecture:

  • Columnade
  • Frieze
  • Frieze sculptures
  • Ionic capital (not Doric)
  • gigantomachy
  • ^^metope (contains statues)^^

Artistic:

  • Power and authority
  • high relief

Athena Battling Alkyoneos (Athens, Parthenon) ⚔

Narrative: Athena is taking Alkyones by the hair and dragging him, placed across the stairs of the Altar of Zues. Alkyones is humiliated by Athena.

Athena Battling Alkyones

Key characters:

  • Athena and Athena Nike
  • Alkyoneos the giant
  • Gaia the earth Goddess (mother of Alkyones)

Key words:

Architecture:

  • ^^gigantomachy^^
  • ^^gigantomy^^ scene
  • overlapping
  • wet drapery

Artistic:

  • high-relief
  • laurel crown (Given by Athena Nike to Athena)
  • power and authority

The Alexander Mosaic (Pompeii, Italy - Battle of Issus) 🐎⚔

A decorative/utilitarian mosaic art piece depicting Alexander the Great in the chaotic battle of Issus 📮 on a chariot.

  • This art piece was discovered in the House of Faun, Pompeii.

    Alexander the Great in the Battle of Issus

  • Commissioned/created by citizens of ^^Pompeii.^^

  • meant to be placed in a home as floor/wall tiles.

  • shows strong demonstrations of emotion.

Narrative: Alexander and his army is charging towards Darius III on a chariot. Darius’ army is also battling Alexander’s soldiers.

celebrates the victory over the Persians and the Battle of Issus 📮.

Key words:

Artistic:

  • mosaic

  • ^^Tesserae^^ ^^(shards)^^

  • prespective

  • ground

  • ^^foreshortening^^

  • foreground; middle ground; background ^^(Advanced perspective)^^

  • decorative / utilitarian

  • ^^crowded composition^^

  • ^^House of Faun, Pompeii^^

    \

Key characters:

  • Darius III
  • Alexander the Great
  • Charioteer

other facts:

first depictions of crowded composition

new words; advanced perspective, crowded composition

use of mosaic and tesserae again (used back in the Standard of Ur)

Nike of Samothrace (Victory of Samothrace, Greece) 🏆🥇

This 12 ft contrapposto wet-drapery marble sculpture was found with no head or arms. Patrons and artist is N/A.

  • Conjectured to be a Masthead on a ship. (Victory monument).
  • Made to celebrate naval battles on the island of Samothrace; is also apart of a ^^fountain.^^
  • wet-drapery are moving against the strong wind in front of her, as well as her wings. Victory is ready to take off.
  • There were many depictions of how Athena Nike would’ve posed in this sculpture.
  • Athena Nike is symbolic of Victory. 🏆

Nike of Samothrace

Narrative: The Nike of Samothrace was built to celebrate a naval battle at Samothrace.

this statue was apart of a Double-Tier fountain to create the illusion that Nike is on a boat.

  • Nike of Samothrace was found on a fountain of 2 tiers (low; water and rocks > top tier; Athena Nike)

Key words:

wet-drapery

conrtapposto

double-tier (fountains)

marble

Seated Boxer (Quirinial - one of 7 hills, Rome) 🥊

  • The bronze seated boxer sculpture depicts not of victory but of losing. Possibly an actual depiction of a real-life (famous?) athlete.
  • Mostly inspired by the Lysippos (A statue that depicts a weary Hercules; Hercules is always depicted battling).
  • All sections of the seated boxer is made from lost wax, then wielded together.
  • Copper is used to depict blood, ear is in the shape of the cauliflower ears (type of boxing injury).
  • Possibly a good luck charm for athletes. 🍀🥊

The Seated Boxer

Close up of the Seated Boxer's face

Key words:

lost wax

copper

bronze

stone

cauliflower ears

narrative: The seated boxer was a portrayal of a possibly real-life Greek athlete who lost a boxing match.

similar to the ^^superstition of rubbing a statue of^^ ^^Hercules for luck in battle;^^ the seated boxer also showed indications that people had been ^^rubbing it’s foot for luck.^^

  • shows a lot of emotion, drama, and naturalism.