Ateneo Project
Ancient Art & Architecture
Rivendell School - Ents
Introduction:
Art reflected the true character of Hellenic civilization, even more than literature. Greek people
were essentially a materialist who conceived of his world in physical terms. The material
emblems of architecture and sculpture should exemplify best the ideals the Greek held before
him. The Greek art expressed and symbolized humanism. The Greek deities existed for the
benefit of man; in glorifying them he thus glorified himself. Both architecture and sculpture
embodied the ideals of balance, harmony, order, and moderation. His art exhibited qualities of
simplicity and dignified restraint –free from decorative extravagance, on the one hand, and from
restrictive conventions on the other. Moreover, Greek art was an expression of the national life.
Its purpose was not merely aesthetic but political. It was supposed to exemplify qualities of
living essentially artistic in themselves. The Athenian, at least, drew no sharp distinction
between the ethical and aesthetic spheres; the beautiful and the good were really identical. True
morality, therefore, consisted in rational living.
The art of the Hellenes differed from that of nearly every people since their time in an
interesting variety of ways, it was universal. The human beings depicted were generally types.
Greek art wasn’t naturalistic. The Greek was interested in expressing human ideals.
Art: It began in the Cycladic and Minoan pre-historical civilizations, both of which were
influenced by local traditions and the art of ancient Egypt. It gave birth to Western classical art
in the subsequent Geometric, Archaic and Classical periods. There are three scholarly divisions
of the stages of later ancient Greek art that correspond roughly with historical periods of the
same names. These are the Archaic, the Classical and the Hellenistic.
The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries
from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the
West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East,
Alexander the Great’s conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central
Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan.
Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of
Greek art inspired generations of European artists.
Division of Art periods:
The history of Greek art divides itself naturally into three great periods. The first, the archaic
period, covered the seventh and sixth centuries. During the greater part of this age sculpture was
dominated by Egyptian influence.
Ateneo Project
Ancient Art & Architecture
Rivendell School - Ents
The chief architectural styles also had their origin in this period, and several crude temples were
built. The second period, which occupied the fifth century, witnessed the full perfection of both
architecture and sculpture. The art of this time was completely idealistic. During the fourth
century, the last period of Hellenic art, architecture lost some of its balance and simplicity and
sculpture assumed new characteristics. It came to reflect more clearly the reactions of the
individual artist, to incorporate traces of realism.
The Greek temple architecture was one of the simplest of structural forms. Two different
architectural styles were developed. The most common was the Doric, which made use of a
rather heavy, sharply fluted column surmounted by a plain capital. The other, the Ionic, had
more slender and more graceful columns with flat flutings, a triple base, and scroll or volute
capital. The Corinthian style was chiefly Hellenistic and differed from the Ionic primarily in
being more ornate.
Ancient Greek Architecture
The Greeks believed that architecture (the art of making buildings) was based on mathematical
principles. They built beautiful temples. Temple roofs were held up by stone columns and
decorated with friezes with carved stone figures. In the British Museum in London, you can see
some figures from the Parthenon in Athens. They are known as the "Elgin Marbles".
Greek architecture is best known from its temples, many of which are found as ruins but many
substantially intact. The second important type of building that survives all over the Hellenic
world is the open-air theatre. Other architectural forms that are still in evidence are the
processional gateway, the public square surrounded by storied colonnade, the town council
building, the public monument, the monumental tomb (mausoleum) and the stadium.
Ancient Greek architecture is distinguished by its highly formalized characteristics, both of
structure and decoration. This is particularly so in the case of temples where each building
appears to have been conceived as a sculptural entity within the landscape, most often raised on
high ground so that the elegance of its proportions and the effects of light on its surfaces might
be viewed from all angles.
There were three styles or "orders" of columns in Greek architecture: called Doric, Ionic
and Corinthian. Because many architects copied Greek styles, you can see much later buildings
(from the 18th and 19th centuries for example) which look "Greek".
The Doric order is recognized by its capital, of which the echinus is like a circular cushion
raising from the top of the column to the square abacus on which rest the lintels.
Ateneo Project
Ancient Art & Architecture
Rivendell School - Ents
The Ionic Order is recognized by its volute capital, in which a curved echinus of similar shape
to that of the Doric Order, but decorated with stylized ornament, is surmounted by a horizontal
band that scrolls under to either side, forming spirals or volutes similar to those of the nautilus
shell or ram's horn. In plan, the capital is rectangular.
The Corinthian order the capital was very much deeper than either the Doric or the Ionic capital,
being shaped like a large krater, a bell-shaped mixing bowl, and being ornamented with a
double row of acanthus leaves above which rose volute tendrils, supporting the corners of the
abacus, which, no lon ger perfectly square, splayed above them.
Sculpture:
Greek statues
Greek sculptors made figures of people and gods. Statues were set up outdoors in towns and
inside temples. A statue lasts much longer than a painting, especially when made of a hard
stone, such as marble. There were also statues made of wood and bronze (a kind of metal).
Over time Greeks made their statues more lifelike - gods look like human beings. There are
figures of people without clothes, and statues of athletes in action (a discus thrower, for
example). The Romans collected Greek statues and made copies of them. Many later artists
imitated the Greek styles too.
Greek sculpture attained its acme of development in the work of Phidias. His masterpieces were
the statue of Athena in the Parthenon and the statue of Zeus in the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
The main qualities of his work are grandeur of conception, patriotism, proportion, dignity, and
restraint. Nearly all of his figures are idealized representations of deities and mythological
creatures in human form. The second sculptor was Myron, noted for his statue of the discus
thrower and for his glorification of other athletic types. Three great sculptors in the fourth
century have come down to us. The most gifted of them was Praxiteles, renowned for his
portrayal of humanized deities with slender, graceful bodies and countenances of philosophic
repose. Scopas gained distinction as an emotional sculptor. Lysippus introduced even stronger
qualities of realism and individualism into sculpture. He was the first great master of the
realistic portrait as a study of personal character. (see examples)
Pottery was either red with black designs or black with red designs. The Greeks made pots from
clay. Black animal figures are typical of Corinthian pottery. Greek potters also made pottery
decorated with red figures on a black background.
Ateneo Project
Ancient Art & Architecture
Rivendell School - Ents
Ateneo Project
Ancient Art & Architecture
Rivendell School - Ents
Ateneo Project
Ancient Art & Architecture
Rivendell School - Ents