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The Art of the Ancient Aegean

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The region known as the Aegean Sea was the home to three ancient cultures before the rise of

the Greek Civilization on the mainland of Europe. These were the Cycladic, located on the

islands of the Aegean; the Cretan on the island of Crete; and the Helladic or Mycenaean on

the mainland of Greece.

Since there is hardly anything known of the peoples of the Aegean Bronze Age apart from

what we can learn from their artifacts, there can only be a relative chronology. This was

established by Sir Arthur Evans on the evidence of ceramics into three periods: Early Minoan,

Middle Minoan and Late Minoan, later extended into the Cyclades and Mainland as well:

Early Cycladic, Middle Cycladic and Late Cycladic; Early Helladic, Middle Helladic and Late

Helladic.

Art of the Cyclades (Cycladic Art),

The Cyclades have been inhabited since at least 7000 BC, and there's evidence that Milos'

obsidian (volcanic glass used to create sharp blades) was being collected as early as 7500 BC.

The Cycladic seafaring civilization appeared in around 3000 BC. During the Early Cycladic

period (3000-2000 BC) there were settlements on Keros, Syros, Milos, Naxos, Sifnos and

Amorgos. It was during this period that the famous Cycladic marble figurines were sculpted.

Many of the islands were occupied by the Minoans in the Middle Cycladic period (2000-1500

BC); a Minoan town has been excavated at Akrotiri on Santorini. The Cyclades were taken by

the Mycenaean’s at the beginning of the Late Cycladic period (1500-1100 BC), and the

Dorians followed in the 8th century BC.

White marble Cycladic figurine

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Art of Ancient Crete (Cretan or Minoan Art)

The largest of the Aegean islands was Crete. It is roughly 155 miles long and 36 miles wide.

Crete produced its’ own fruit and vegetables as well as livestock but lacked the necessary

minerals for the production of bronze. Crete gained wealth as a sea port trading with not only

mainland Greece, but Egypt and the Near East. During the Bronze Age, the culture of the

Island of Crete was called Minoan, after King Minos who ruled from the city of Knossos.

This name was given to that culture later by British Archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Art and

architecture created on Crete during that period was very distinct in style. A distinct feature

of Minoan architecture was the building of palaces. One such palace was an extremely large

structure which served as the setting for the story of Theseus and the Minotaur. This palace

was built in the city of Knossos. Knossos is located on the north coast of the island of Crete.

The structure was made of dressed stone exterior walls and wood columns which were tapered

narrower toward the bottom and were painted in bright red colors. The site consisted of food

storage, workshops, and artists’ studios as well as what appear to be ceremonial rooms. In

total there are more than 1300 rooms which are interconnected.

According to legend, a half-man, half-bull called the Minotaur lived in a maze at Knossos

called a Labyrinth. This creature was created through the union of the wife of King Minos

and a bull belonging to the sea god Poseidon. The Minotaur had a craving for human flesh so

to satisfy him, King Minos ordered the kingdom of Athens to send a yearly sacrifice of 14

young men and women to be offered up to the creature. Theseus, the son of the Athenian

King Aegeus, (after whom the Aegean Sea is named) eventually slayed the creature.

For a photo tour of Knossos and more information follow the links below:

http://www.explorecrete.com/Knossos/knossos.html

http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/ARTH209/minoan_mycenaean.html

In Minoan religion the bull was considered sacred and games like bull leaping developed from

their interaction with the beasts. Bull images were often incorporated into religious

ceremonies. One such sculptural figure is the Rhyton Bull Which is made of steatite, agate

and shell with gilded horns. Below is a link to the image.

http://www.hartzler.org/cc307/minoan/images/d1.jpg

During the Minoan period several palace type structures were built on the island of Crete.

Each is characterized by a large trade/ceremonial center located on top of a hill with a

community surrounding it. Each are also characterized by specific unique artifacts such as the

Phaistos disk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crete_-_Phaistos_disk_-_side_A.JPG found at

the palace of Phaistos, and the Kernos which was found at the palace of Mallia.

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Minoan Fresco

As mentioned in earlier sections, fresco painting is the art of painting on a plaster. It was

generally used as a means of decorating interiors and was practiced in many different cultures

throughout the world. Fresco can be divided into two types. The first type is called fresco

secco (dry fresco) in which the paint is applied to cured remoistened plaster. The second type

is called true fresco (sometimes referred to as Buon Fresco). Each type has its’ advantages

and disadvantages. In fresco secco, the painter isn’t as pressed for time because the plaster is

allowed to cure before the paint is applied which allows the artist more time to work. The

disadvantage of fresco secco is that the paint sits on the surface of the plaster. This allows the

paint to often flake off due to changes in humidity. Thus fresco secco scenes are more of a

stain rather than a painting. In true fresco however, the paint is actually absorbed into the

plaster which allows for more permanence. Its’ disadvantage is that the artist must paint as

the plaster is curing and slightly damp. Therefore the painter must work quickly. Minoan

frescoes were typically done in true fresco which has allowed them to remain vibrant in their

color.

Above: Bull Leaping Fresco from the palace complex, Knossos, Crete, Late Minoan period, c.

1550-1540 BC. Height 24 1/2”.

The above image of bull leaping depicts a peculiar sport which evolved in the Minoan culture.

It was recorded in various art forms such as jewelry and fresco. In the sport the bull was

enticed to charge the participants at which time they tried to jump over him in an acrobatic

form without being impaled or trample.

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Left: Fresco from the palace of Knossos, The Prince of

the Lilies; c. 1550 BC

Because Minoans painted in true fresco, their artists had to be more spontaneous. Therefore

their style of fresco evolved into a more curving, elastic line of the body than Egyptian fresco.

Therefore more emphasis was placed on a narrow waist, wide shoulders and the curves of

muscles. They did however use the same traditions regarding color such as white skin for

women, reddish brown for men, gold jewelry represented in yellow, silver represented in blue

and red representing bronze. With regard to pose, the Minoans developed a stylized system

for pose. The eye was shown in full view, the waist was narrow, the head was in profile, and

movement was vigorous or energetic. There were so many similarities in Egyptian and

Minoan art because of their trade interaction. The high period of Minoan art was

contemporary with the Egyptian New Kingdom.

Minoan Pottery

Minoan pottery was an amazing evolution. It was valued for more than simple storage vessels

but also as an art form. Today it is valuable as a historical record because its surface

decorations documented the activities of the civilization. Because the Minoans had a wide

range of trade pottery pieces were found as far away as Egypt and Syria, as well as mainland

Greece and the Aegean Islands. Through the creation of the potters’ wheel, sophisticated,

symmetrical forms were created. A variety of surface finishes evolved such as burnished

(polished) as well as red iron oxide stained designs which were painted on the containers.

A container made of carved steatite (soapstone) which is the finest surviving example of

Minoan relief sculpture is the Harvesters Vase. The piece was created c. 1650-1450BC. This

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vase depicts a group of harvesters celebrating on their return from the harvest which was

cause for a festival. They are shown in an emotionally charged scene celebrating to the beat

of a sistrum (a rattle type percussion instrument). It shows a keen interest in human anatomy

rather than the old convention of combined profile and frontal views. The pieces was thought

to have been covered in gold leaf and measures only about 4 ½ “ tall. Follow this link for

good images of the Harvesters Vase.

http://www.ou.edu/finearts/art/ahi4913/aegeanhtml/minoanpottery5.html

During the Bronze Age there was a group of small islands called the Cyclades Islands located

in the Aegean Sea. The culture flourishing on these islands is considered one of the three

major cultures of the Aegean along with the Minoans and Mycenaean’s. The art produced on

these islands was called Cycladic Art. From white marble native to these islands the people

carved small human figures as their primary art form.

Below: Two Figures of Women, Cyclades. c. 2500-2200 BC, marble, heights 13”

Mycenaean Art

The Mycenaean period, also called the Helladic period (the Greek name for Greece) was a

period lasting from about 3000BC through 1000BC. It was a time concurrent with the

Minoan and Cycladic periods. As the Minoan culture declined the Mycenae began to occupy

Crete as well as mainland Greece. Mycenaeans were very skilled metal workers. Many finely

crafted gold objects have been excavated over the centuries. The chief influence on

Mycenean art was from the island of Crete.

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Mycenaean architecture often made use of huge rough-cut blocks of stone that created heavy

walls. This type of building is often called cyclopean. When burying royalty Mycenaeans

often built large circular domed structures of this heavy stone construction which was entered

through a long rock lined corridor. These tombs are called tholos or beehive tombs. One

famous tomb is called the Treasury of Atreus which dates from between 1300BC and

1200BC. In Greek mythology Atreus was the king of Mycenae. He was also the father of

Agamemnon, the king that laid siege to the city of Troy. It was an extremely large. The entry

way was 114’ long and 20’ wide lined with large cut stone. The interior in an amazing feat

with a diameter of 47 1/2’ and a height of 43’. Its’ ceiling tapers in a dome like shape to a

single capstone that locks the structure in place. This tomb was a collection of amazing

wealth. Many gold objects were attributed to this site, although it is difficult to say which

items actually came from the tomb because it was looted over the centuries.

Above: Interior ceiling of the Treasury of Atreus.

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Left: Part of the entry to the

Treasury of Atreus.

The contents of the tombs at Mycenae were looted long before a systematic excavation was

conducted by Heinrich Schliemann. However, he did excavate several neighboring shaft

graves 20-25’ deep and found many amazing works done in metal, specifically gold.

Schliemann identified Mycenae as the home of Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the

commander of Greek forces in the siege of Troy. Within these graves, over 30 pounds of gold

objects were found including several death masks. Because of its’ distinguished features,

Schliemann incorrectly identified one as the death mask of Agamemnon’s. Because of more

recent dating the graves are known to be several centuries older than the events described

surrounding Agamemnon.

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Funerary mask (misidentified as the mask of Agamemnon), Mycenae, Greece. c. 1600-1550

BC. Gold, 12” high.

Mycenaean Ceramics

A Mycenaean form of art that continued long after the collapse of the Mycenaean world was

their vase forms and vase painting. They developed distinct shapes for specific purposes with

specific names describing the forms and their functions. They were very skilled in the use of

the potters’ wheel and their firing techniques. Two such forms were the amphora and the

krater. An amphora is a long-necked vase with two handles. The Greek "ambos" meant

"both" and "phoros" meant "to carry," The krater (Greek word meaning “to mix”) was a large

container often used for mixing. It is easy to recognize by its’ large “crater” like opening. See

below for examples of both. Many Greek vases from throughout the history of ancient Greece

were so prized by later cultures that they were collected. Many of the surviving examples of

Greek vases that are in museums today were preserved in Etruscan tombs.

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Above Top: Large late Geometric Attic amphora, ca. 725 BC – 700 BC. Above Right:

Laconian black-figure krater, 590–550 BC.

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Art of Ancient Greece

Geometric and Archaic Periods

Background

The Greek peninsula juts down into the Mediterranean from the European mainland. In ancient times the

land that the Greeks lived on consisted of the islands and the coast of the Aegean Sea, not just on the

European side, but also on the coast of Asia Minor (Turkey), as well as the island of Sicily, the southern

coasts of Italy, France, Spain, and North Africa, with a trading colony in Egypt.

There was not much land good for farming in the Greek world, so imports of grains through sea trade was

important to them from the earliest time. The coast line of Greece was jagged with good harbors.

The Greeks were divided into regions dominated by city-states. They were a civilization, but not a nation.

Some of these city-states were Athens, Corinth, Sparta, and Thebes.

Greek civilization grew out of the "dark age" which followed the defeat of the Mycenaean civilization by

invading Greek tribes about 1200 BC. Over the next several centuries the Greeks felt their way toward

sculptural figure representation, grand architecture, and ceramics that were to influence the western world up

through our own time.

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The Geometric Style The Proto-Geometric style was the style of vase painting began which began to appear about

1050BC and is called Proto-Geometric because it precedes the Geometric style. It was characterized

by the use of linear designs such as spirals, diamonds and other geometric patterns rather than

recognizable figures. Eventually this style evolved into what is called the Geometric style after

about 900BC and lasted until about 700BC.

Above: Protogeometric amphora with checkerboard design on the shoulder and parallel wavy

lines. Terra cotta, 950–900 BC (Late Protogeometric).

During the Geometric period the style that evolved made use of schematic (stylized) forms.

The forms were typically silhouette, angular forms that were recognizable but not realistic.

During this period very LARGE vases were made and used as grave markers. Several such

vases were found at the Diplon Cemetary.

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Above: Dipylon Amphora, Dipylon Cemetery, Athens. Late Geometric period, c. 750-700BC.

An amphora is a long-necked vase with two handles. The Greek "ambos" meant "both"and

"phoros" meant "to carry," This amphora is about 6 feet high and was used as a tombstone in

the Dipylon Cemetery in Athens. It shows considerable mastery of the art of pottery as well as

of decoration, although the painting is highly stylized. The decoration consists mostly of

geometric patterns arranged in horizontal bands (the Greek fret or meander design is

prominent) but also represents human figures at a funeral ceremony. The figures are

simplified, silhouetted, flat, hour-glass shaped and stiff.

Funerary krater ca. 2nd half of the 8th century B.C.E

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A krater was a punch-like bowl used for mixing strong Greek wine with water. This particular

krater was also a grave marker which may have also served as a receptacle for libations

(offerings of wine) which would have soaked into the ground on the grave below. Like the

amphora, it has typical geometrical patterns arranged in bands, also representing a funeral

scene. In the center of the top band the deceased lies on a bier with offerings, flanked by

seated and standing figures. On the band below are soldiers with shields (they look like apple

cores) and horse-drawn chariots. The three horses look like one beast with three heads and the

requisite number of legs as they overlap one another. Follow this link to view the Dipylon

Krater. http://www.greek-thesaurus.gr/images/p5/Attic%20geometric%20krater.JPG

The Orientalizing Phase Vase painters began to change their style, transitioning away from the linear decoration of the

Geometric Phase by the seventh century BC. In style, their pieces began to involve more

open space and the use of large motifs which told stories. In figure, they used not only real

animal, plant and human forms but, also, imaginary creatures which were often composite

monster/human or monster/animal forms. Their inspiration for these creations came from

their interaction with the Near East, Asia Minor, and Egypt. People in the port city of Corinth

were heavily involved in foreign trade so it is no wonder that was where the Orientalizing

Phase began.

Orientalizing Phase pitcher, with animals and

sphinxes, ca. 640 BC–630 BC, Corinth.

The François Vase Is a large black figure Krater from about 575 BC. and is a good example

of Archaic style pottery. It has images of some 200 figures organized in bands arout the

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surface. The figures represent nearly the entire Greek pantheon (all the gods).

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Francois.htm

Black and Red figure pottery

The Francois Vase was an excellent example of a type of pottery surface decoration called

black figure. In this type of surface decoration, the surface design was painted in a coating of

finely sifted clay called engobe. The engobe was originally the same color as the clay used for

the rest of the pot. Through a three phase firing process the engobe changes color to black

and the unsifted claybody turns red. In the first step of the firing process the piece is fired and

the entire piece turns red (oxidizing phase). In the next phase oxygen resupply to the kiln is

removed (reduction phase) and the entire piece including the design turns black. In the last

phase the oxygen is reintroduced (reoxidizing phase) and the coarser material absorbs oxygen

turning red again while the areas coated with the engobe remains black. In this design style

originally the figures were painted with engobe thus they were black in the final result. Thus

they are called Black Figure. In the evolution of this process, Greek potters eventually began

painting around the figure, covering the background, thus the figures were red hence, they are

called Red Figure.

Larger scale sculpture in stone made its appearance in the middle of the 7th century BC.

Although it is part of the Orientalizing movement, this sub-style takes its name from the

legendary Cretan craftsman Daedalus (remember the Daedalus and Icarus myth?) Legend says

that he worked in Egypt as well as Crete.

Archaic sculpture (c. 600-480BC) During the Archaic Period, the Greek civilization, both on the mainland and the islands began

to flourish. The various economies were robust and art began to make great strides. During

the Archaic period life size, free standing commemorative statuary became popular. These

statues were popularly used as grave markers and temple stand ins. Early on these statues are

very “Egyptian” in pose and style (very blocky) however, they paid closer attention to

anatomical form. The sex of the subject matter determined what it was called. For example, a

Kore (Korai, plural) is a female statue and is always clothed. A male figure is called a Kouros

(Kouroi, plural) and are nearly always nude. Generally the figures are representational of

priestesses, gods goddesses, warriors and athletes.

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Samos Kouros Kouros, National Archaeological Museum, Athens

Artemis from Delos Kore xoanon-type figure dedicated by Nikandra of Naxos,

ca. 650 B.C.E.

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Kritios Boy

Above: Kritian Boy from Acropolis, Athens. c. 480 BCE. Marble, height 3’10”

A figure in the tradition of kouroi statues, this work makes a significant break with

that tradition, which makes it a sort of watershed in the history of art. It appears to be

the first statue to depict the fluid movement of a figure standing at rest. All the kouroi

figures, as well as all the Egyptian and Middle Eastern figures, stand at attention, both

feet flat on the ground, spine stiff, all the parts of the body lined up with the plane of

the front of the original block of stone. The Kritios Boy is the very first statue to show

how a figure stands at rest. The weight is carried on one leg (his left), the other is

relaxed and acting as a brace, or maybe depicts a walking position, as all the kouroi

did. This makes the pelvis tilt upward above the weight-bearing leg and drop on the

other side, which also causes the spine to curve slightly, and in some cases the

shoulders also tilt in the opposite direction. This movement causes all the muscles in

the torso also to change configuration. The head is slightly turned as well. This

complex movement is called contrapposto or counterpose.

The reason that all this is so important is that a whole new philosophy of art is

introduced here, a new aesthetic. Now the important thing is not the symbol, but the

real thing. It is more like a human being than a slab of stone. There are many

implications here, and they all lead right down to the way most people today look at

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art: the more realistic it is, the better it is. The more a work of art conforms to the real

world, the higher its quality. This is not necessarily true, but it has become a universal

standard in the West until recent times. During the classic period in Greek art, the

sculptors did a remarkable thing: they kept the realism in check and married it to the

symbolic. There is a balance between the two, which is one of the hallmarks of

classical art.

Archaic Architecture

A Greek temple, which was the most significant public building, was simply a room (naos or

cella)for a cult statue. All devotions took place outside in front. Temples were placed on

prominent bluffs, if one were available, where they could be seen from distances as if they

were pieces of sculpture. At their site, they stood on a stepped platform (stereobate), the top

level of which was called the stylobate which made the floor of the temple. Above was a

gabled roof which was common, as we have seen, in early houses. The temple could have a

front porch (pronaos) with columns inset (in antis), columns across the front (prostyle), front

and back (amphiprostyle), or eventually, all around (peripteral). The Parthenon is a good

example of a peripteral temple. At the other end of the building could be another small room

(opisthomodomos) which could be used as a storeroom for sacred items used in rituals and

devotions.

The columns held up several horizontal members making up the entablature, and above that

was the triangular space beneath the eaves called the pediment. Different styles used different

shaped members, but the basic form was found everywhere in the Greek world, then in the

Roman, and after the Renaissance, all over the western world as churches, banks, courthouses,

state capitals and mansions.

The Greek Orders of Architecture

There were three orders of architecture in Classical Greece. Those orders were based on a

system of parts based on mathematical ratios (generally the golden mean or phi). As described

above, the primary parts were the column, made up of the shaft, capital and on the Ionic and

Corinthian the base, the entablature, was the beam or lintel above the column, in the case of

the Doric and Ionic orders a pediment (the triangular portion of the roof) was included.

Because of an optical illusion created when columns are placed side by side (they appear to

bow inward) an outward bow was given to the shafts to counteract the illusion. This outward

bow is called entasis. From close it is obviously bowed outward, but from a distance it

appears correct.

1. The Doric order was intended to give a powerful, weighty look to the structure.

The shafts were a larger diameter than the other two orders, and they were

generally spaced closely together. The shaft of a Doric column rises directly

from the platform without a base. This adds to the heavy appearance. The

shaft of the column is fluted with channels running its length. The capital of

the Doric column is a large simple, often plate-like or cushion shaped

appearing form. Above the columns was the entablature or as it was called in

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other sections the lintel. The entablature was divided into two parts: the

architrave and the frieze. These sections were often decorated with sculpture.

The architrave was divided into alternating sections of triglyphs and metopes.

The end of the structure above the entablature was the pediment. The

pediment was also often filled with relief sculpture.

Above: Ionic style columns, Lincoln Memorial, Washington D. C.

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2. The Ionic order has more elongated proportions than the Doric. The diameter

of the columns was much more slender and elegant. Columns in the Ionic

order rest on a base which resembles stacked rings. It has flutes running down

the length of the shaft. The flutes are deeper and have a flat section separating

the channels called fillets. The capital of the Ionic is easily recognized by the

scroll shaped volute patterns. The crowning portion above the columns is

much like that of the Doric order except it didn’t have a triglyph. Therefore,

the frieze was a continuous relief sculpture.

Above: Ionic style columns, Washington D.C.

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3. The Corinthian order is a style that was developed by the Greeks and was

very popular with the Romans. It is still a favorite in modern architecture. It

wasn’t suited well, however for exterior use because of its very decorative

nature. The shafted is fluted like other styles and it rests on a base much like

the base of the Ionic order. The capital is much more decorative than either of

the other two orders. It is made up of a lot of foliage and decorative features

such as, rosettes, acanthus leaves and volutes. The crowning feature of the

building in a flat roof.

Above: Roman Corinthian capital, Rome, Italy.

Below: Roman Corinthian columns, Rome Italy.

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Original columns were made from large tree trunks. Later these were replaced by more

monumental stone columns. They could have been made from single pieces of marble, but

more typically they were built up of drums stacked up one above another, held together with

pegs in the center, and then carved with groves called flutes all around. In the Doric order,

these flutes were shallow, quite wide, and met at sharp edges. These flutes helped reinforce

the vertical shape of the column, visually reinforced its’ supporting structure, and gave an

interesting series of shadow around the column which changed throughout the day.

Temples were decorated with painted sculpture. The Doric order had figure sculpture

(eventually freestanding) at each end in the pediments and around the frieze in relief sculpture

on the metopes, which alternated with carved triglyphs. The subject matter was taken from

mythology, seldom depicting actual historical events, even though they might have been

symbolized by the myth. The metopes were square or rectangular and posed no special

difficulty for spatial composition. However, the triangular pediments were difficult to fill with

figures that were of the same size.

Above is an example of the temple front, complete with triglyphs in blue and the triangular

pediment sculpture painted in multiple colors. This is from the Temple of Aphaia built c.

500-490 BC. Below is part of the remaining statuary from the end/triangular points.

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ARCHAIC VASE PAINTING

Vase painting changed significantly by the 6th century, when the potter Ergotimos made the

krater later named The Francois Vase, after the person that discovered it. It was painted with

over 200 figures from mythology in bands around the surface, by the painter Kleitas. Both

artists signed the vase, each twice.

It is a good example of Archaic style pottery done in Black Figure. The figures represent

nearly the entire Greek pantheon (all the gods). Each figure is labeled so we know who it is

intended to be. This is the most comprehensive visual encyclopedia of the Greek religion and

legend.

http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Francois.htm

Black and Red figure pottery

The Francois Vase was an excellent example of a type of pottery surface decoration called

black figure. In this type of surface decoration, the surface design was painted in a coating of

finely sifted clay called engobe. The engobe was originally the same color as the clay used for

the rest of the pot. Through a three phase firing process the engobe changes color to black

and the unsifted claybody turns red. In the first step of the firing process the piece is fired and

the entire piece turns red (oxidizing phase). In the next phase oxygen resupply to the kiln is

removed (reduction phase) and the entire piece including the design turns black. In the last

phase the oxygen is reintroduced (reoxidizing phase) and the coarser material absorbs oxygen

turning red again while the areas coated with the engobe remains black. In this design style

originally the figures were painted with engobe thus they were black in the final result. Thus

they are called Black Figure. In the evolution of this process, Greek potters eventually began

painting around the figure, covering the background, thus the figures were red hence, they are

called Red Figure.

Art of Ancient Greece, Part 2

Transitional, Classic, Late Classic and Hellenistic Periods

Temple of Aphaia

Temple of Aphaia at Aegina, 500-490 BC

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On the island of Aegina a Doric temple to Aphaia was built between 500 and 490 BC with

dramatic stylistic changes. Forty-five feet across the front, there are 6 columns, slenderer

without the bulging entasis and more widely spaced than at Paestum. The capitals have less

flare and make a more effective transition from vertical to horizontal. This is a transitional

style, and the period around 500-480 BC is sometimes called the Transitional Period in Greek

art. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphaia

Architecture of the Classic Period

The Parthenon

The culmination of Doric temple architecture was the building known as the Parthenon, built

in Athens after the Persian armies had desecrated and destroyed the sacred sites on the

Acropolis. After years of experimentation with proportion and refinement, all the elements of

Doric style reached a point beyond which the Greeks could no longer go. Work on a new

temple to Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin) on the Acropolis in Athens was

commissioned around 490 BC. This building was still unfinished when the Persian armies

destroyed all the buildings there around 480 BC. Work was resumed by the architect

Kallikrates, but was halted briefly, then resumed again under Perikles, who commissioned the

architect Iktinos to redesign a larger temple using the same foundation. It was finished by 438

BC except for the sculpture, and that was finished by 432 BC. The money for the building

program came from the treasury of the Delian League, a group of Greek cities which

Designed by the sculptor Phidias, who was artistic overseer, the architect was Iktinos and the

builder was Kallikrates. Built with carefully calculated proportions, the Parthenon seems to be

the model of mathematical perfection. It is an excellent example of a peripteral temple in that

it is surrounded by columns.The Parthenon was special in its great size and elaborate

decoration. Constructed from 20,000 tons of Attic marble, it stretched nearly 230 feet in

length and a hundred feet wide, with eight columns across the ends instead of the six normally

employed in Doric style, and seventeen instead of thirteen along the sides. These dimensions

gave it a massive look conveying an impression of power. But in fact there are built into it

certain "refinements" that keep it from looking calculated and mechanical.

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Above: a painting by painter Leo von Klenze (1784 - 1864) of the reconstruction of acropolis

of Athens.

Above: A full scale replica of the Parthenon located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA

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Some of the refinements mentioned above are:

a. Entasis, or bulge on the columns.

b. The floor is curved slightly upward. This curve is carried on up to the capitals

and entablature. The reason for using a curve instead of a straight line

(suggested by the Roman architect Vitrivius in the first century AD) is that a

straight line of that size would tend to appear to sag in the middle, so the curve

compensates for this and gives the illusion of being straight.

c. The columns lean inward slightly. If continued upward, the columns would

meet one and one-half miles above the temple.

d. The outside columns are closer together than the others in the row. The space

in between would appear to be larger if the bright sky were seen through it.

e. The corner columns are slightly thicker. This, along with the tighter spacing,

gives a reinforcing sense of strength to the corners.

f. A relief frieze of sculpture ran around the exterior of the cella or naos at the

height of the ceiling. This is a feature of Ionic temples, never seen before in

Doric temples.

g. Four Ionic columns held up the roof of the treasury, another Ionic feature.

h. Proportions of the parts to the whole are very sophisticated and are the

development of years of experimentation combined with a knowledge of

geometry to achieve a perfection of form that makes the Parthenon the highest

example of temple building.

i. Open this site to view the application of geometry and the Golden Mean to the

Parthenon

j. Also view this site which proposes a method of design based on the golden

mean

k. PBS video of the Parthenon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLCW0zKR4xk&feature=fvw

Full size reconstruction of the statue of Athena at the Parthenon in Nashville.

She stands nearly 42 feet high and was created over an eight-year period by

Nashville sculptor, Alan LeQuire. The statue of Athena in Nashville is the

largest indoor sculpture in the western world.

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A Roman copy of how Athena appeared in the Parthenon.

The interior of the cella or naos of the Parthenon held an image of the goddess Athena made

of ivory and gold (chryselephantine). She was 40 feet high, built on a scaffold of wood with

layers of ivory shaped around it for skin, and gold shaped into decorative features. The

interior was supported by two superimposed ranks of Doric columns. Because the Doric order

was naturally stocky in its proportions, to make one column high enough to support the rafters

would have made its base massive and have taken up a great deal of space. By superimposing

a second row of smaller Doric columns in the second story, their bases continue the diameter

of the tops of the lower columns, but by being shorter and keeping the same proportion, they

do not violate the architectural sensitivity of the designers.

The way the Parthenon sculptures are displayed today at the British Museum, London. The

frieze is at eye level. Originally it was located at the top of the outside wall on the Parthenon.

The sculptor in charge of the architecture and sculpture on the Parthenon was Phidias, the first

sculptor entrusted with such a complex project. Of course, Phidias was only one sculptor of

many at work on the projects, but there is remarkable uniformity of style throughout

considering the scope. On the Parthenon there are 92 metopes in high relief sculpted between

446 and 400, the continuous Ionic frieze, 520 feet long, begun in 440, and two pediment

ensembles. In addition to these, Phidias also executed a cult image for the interior which was

40 feet high and made out of ivory and gold (chryselephantine).

29

The major part of the existing Parthenon sculptures is in London in the British Museum. They

were purchased in the early 19th century from the Turks, who ruled Greece then, by a British

nobleman, Lord Elgin, and eventually by the British government. They are called the Elgin

Marbles. They are fragmentary, but even in their ruined state they give an impression of

nobility and grandeur that is unsurpassed in Greek art or any other.

Left portion of the pediment sculptures, British Museum (Elgin Marbles).

Below: Centaur and Lapith [metope III from S. side, Parthenon],

ca. 447-438 B.C.E. British Museum, London.

30

Above: Centaur and Lapith [metope XXXI from South side Parthenon],

ca. 447-438 B.C.E. British Museum, London.

Above: Parthenon, Athens: detail of entablature at SE. corner angle, showing

replacement marble sections and cast replicas of East Pediment figures (from

restoration project ongoing since 1983),

ca. 447-432 B.C.E.

31

The Gateway to the Acropolis at Athens, the Propylaia

The entrance to the Acropolis (propylaea) looked like a Doric temple, with Ionic features on

the inside. Built by the architect Meniscles it had a ramp leading up to it and on the inside had

a painting gallery as one wing, and would have had a sculpture gallery on the other if it had

been finished.

Above: the gateway (Propylaea) leading to the acropolis.

32

The Erechtheium, Acropolis, Athens

Erechtheium, Athens: detail of caryatid porch (Portico of the Maidens),

view from SE., c. 421-405 B.C.E.

A building called The Erechtheium was also located on the acropolis in Athens. The architect

of this complicated temple is unknown but it is thought it may have been meniscles. It was

designed to accommodate sacred sites, although its irregular shape may be a result of being

unfinished. This is an Ionic temple. Its most famous feature is the "Porch of the Maidens,"

with figures of young women carrying the entablature on their heads as if they were marching

all together. They are sturdy figures, with vertical folds along one leg suggesting flutes of a

column, but graceful in movement.

The Erechtheium was associated with some of the most ancient and holy relics of the

Athenians: the Palladion, which was a xoanon (defined as a wooden effigy fallen from heaven

- not man-made) of Athena Polias (Protectress of the City); the marks of Poseidon's trident

and the salt water well (the "salt sea") that resulted from Poseidon's strike; the sacred olive

tree that sprouted when Athena struck the rock with her spear in her successful rivalry with

Poseidon for the city; the supposed burial places of the mythical kings Cecrops and

Erechtheus; the sacred precincts of Cecrops' three daughters, Herse, Pandrosus and Aglaurus;

and those of the tribal heroes Pandion and Boutes. –Wikipedia.

33

Porch of the Maidens

Sculpture in the late 5th

Century and after

Sculpture of the late 5th

century was dominated by the style of the great master Phidias. His

flowing drapery style and attention to anatomical accuracy has a lasting impact on future

artists.

Polykleitos

A sculptor from the Greek city of Argos whose fame rivaled that of the master Phidias during

the 5th

century was Polykleitos. No original statues by Polykleitos exist, although he had a

career of forty years as an artist. However, there are over thirty existing copies of the

Spearbearer. Much like the standards established by the Greeks in architecture, Greek

sculptors set standards for ideals in the human form. Such desirable features as athletic

proportions, refined, regular facial features and idealized overall form became the norm of

how they viewed human perfection. Sculptor Polykleitos developed a set of rules in

constructing the human form which he wrote in his treatise called The Canon (Kanon

=measure/rule/law in Greek). Because his treatise disappeared, later artists and scholars have

widely debated his ratios of the ideal human form. To illustrate the proportions, Polykleitos

sculpted a larger than life size male nude. This piece was made of bronze and it also no

longer exists. A Roman copy in marble however was made and is still in existence. It is

called the Spear Bearer (Doryphoros). The form is athletic, well balanced and demonstrating

contraposto/weightshift. It illustrates the Spartan ideal of the Greek warrior. This statue was

famous throughout the ancient classical world. Armor was even modeled after the torso, and

there is a famous statue of the Roman emperor Augustus which was made to look like this

one.

34

Polykleitos Spear Bearer (Doryphoros) Roman copy after the original bronze from c. 450-440

BC. Marble, height 6’11”.

The Peloponnesian War

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35

Left: Portrait bust of Philip II of Macedon

Art produced after the Peloponnesian War changed drastically in subject matter. During the

fourth century after the conclusion of the Peloponnesian War the subject matter transformed

from Majestic strength and rationalizing design to sensuous languor and more light hearted

themes.

Above: Grave stela from the Ilissos of a young hunter and his father (attributed to the

sculptor skopas?), ca. 340 B.C.E.

36

A good example of Late Classical Sculpture is the piece above. It is thought to be by the

sculptor Praxiteles or one of his followers at c. 340BC. The Image above is most likely

not from the original piece but a Roman copy. This piece is 7’1” tall. HHeerrmmeess wwaass tthhee

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tthhee ppiieeccee aabboovvee hhee iiss rreepprreesseenntteedd aass aann iinnffaanntt..

37

Lysippos

The Scraper (Apoxyomenos) (above) is a piece that is intended to be seen from multiple

viewpoints, drawing the viewer around the sculpture, rewarding him with a different

silhouette as he moves. In this way the statue is involved with the space around it rather than

being isolated, or ignoring the space, and in this way involves the viewer to a degree not seen

in previous sculpture. This piece was done by the sculptor Lysippos. The image above is a

Roman marble copy from the bronze original. The piece shows a young male athlete scraping

away oil and dirt from his body using a scraping tool called a strigil. See detail below.

38

Another notable piece by Lysippos is the weary Heracles (Hercules in modern times). This

piece shows the massive figure of Heracles resting on his club after completing the last of his

12 labors. The piece we view here is a marble copy by the Roman Glykon based on the 4th

century BC bronze piece by Lysippos. The marble piece was used to decorate the Baths of

Caracalla.

A notable Hellenistic statue depicting flight, which uses transitory (brief) movement to a

degree never before accomplished, was the Nike of Samothrace (pictured below). This piece

originally sat in a niche above the sanctuary of the Greek gods at Samothrace. The piece is

approximately 8’ tall and the artist who was its creator in unknown.

39

Another Hellenistic sculpture which is an excellent example of realism so prevalent during

that period is the Seated boxer. This piece is about 50” tall and was discovered in Rome.

Follow to view the piece. http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/Boxer.htm

During the Hellenistic period, common themes were suffering and tragedy. This was popular

among both patrons and sculptors. The Piece Laocoön and his sons (see images below) is an

excellent example of this theme. The piece has been attributed to three sculptors,

Hagesandros, Polydoros and Athenodoros from the island of Rhodes. It is based on a part of

the story of the Trojan war in which the priest Laocoön warned the Trojans not to bring the

giant wooden horse, left by the Greeks, into their city. The piece illustrated the retaliation by

the god Poseidon against his priest for defying him in trying to warn the Trojans. The piece is

made of marble and is 8’ tall and is located in the Vatican Museum in Rome.

As you can see in the various images below, the strain of the father and his sons as they

struggle to free themselves from the serpent. All muscles are in tension and the curve of the

torso emphasizes the movement in the scene.

40

41

Above: The Dying Gaul or Dying Trumpeter. This piece also exemplifies the Hellenistic

theme of tragedy and suffering where a woulded soldier-trumpeter slowly dies from a

puncture wound to his side. Gauls were the forefathers of the Celtic people. This artist

intended to show his subject as dignified in hopes of creating pitty for the subject and he

breathes his last breaths.

The Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

Above: Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon: W. side [restored],

ca. 180-175 B.C.E. Pergamon Museum, Berlin

42

The capital city of Pergamon was noted as being a leading center of the arts and sculpture

during the early third century BC. Hellenistic Architecture was marked by great scale and

ingenious interior space. Below is a sketched reconstruction of the Acropolis of Pergamon.

Below that is a modern aerial view of the acropolis with its amphitheater, stoa (building

housing a marketplace) as well as other important public buildings such as baths and temples

to various gods such as Zeus discussed below.

43

Many monuments commemorating their victory over the group known as the Gauls, which

were a Celtic people were built, to celebrate the victory. The Gauls were a group that

eventually pushed by the Romans to the area of Ireland, Cornwall and Brittany. They and

other outsiders whom the Greeks considered uncivilized were labeled by the Greeks as

Barbarians.

The Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon (now located inside the Berlin Museum) was

originally covered by an Iconic colonnade raised high on a podium and approached by a

staircase that was 68’ wide and about 30’ deep. The sculptural frieze wrapping the altar

depicts the battle between the gods and the giants known as the Titans. This epoch tale was

viewed by the Greeks as a metaphor for their struggles against the Barbarian groups such as

the Gauls.

As with many architectural sculpture pieces during the Hellenistic Period, the influence of the

master Phidias is very evident.

Above: Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon:

detail of North wing, West side,

ca. 180-175 B.C.E.

44

Great Altar of Zeus, Pergamon: Zeus battling Three Giants, detail of East frieze,

ca. 180-175 B.C.E.

As sculpture progressed in the later Hellenistic period, the subject matter depicted expanded

to include the very old and the very young, rather than the idealized figures in the prime of

their life. An example of this is the piece currently in the collection of the Vatican called a

boy strangling his goose, pictured below.

45

The Monument of Lysikrates

The Choragic Monument of Lysikrates near the Acropolis of Athens is a monument built

by the wealthy patron of musical performances named Lysikrates to commemorate an

award for a musical performance he sponsored in the theater of Dionysis in 335BC. This

circular structure is raised on a high square podium, was the first Greek monument to be

done in the Corinthian order on the exterior. As is visible on the monument, the delicate

nature of the Corinthian order does not fare well out doors.

Choragic Monument of Lysicrates: ca. 334 B.C.E.

The Greco-Roman Period

As Greece began to collapse and was taken over by the Romans, artwork continued to be

influenced by the many accomplishments of the Greeks and was infused by the style and

adaptations made by Roman artisans. This phase was dated to the time after 146 B.C. and is

called Greco-Roman.

46

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47

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