3 rd century statue of
Alexander the Great

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Alexander the Great ->
Macedonian king -> his life was an epic saga -> heroic battles -> exotic places -> unceasing drama
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Inspired leader, boundless energy, almost foolhardy courage
Personally led his armies in battled riding BUCEPHALIS -> stallion only he could tame and ride

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Head of Alexander the Great, from Pella, 3 rd century BCE, marble, 1’ high
Lysippos was the official portrait sculptor of Alexander -> a full length heroic nude bronze statue of Alexander holding a lance with head towards the sky is lost
Marble head from Pella is leading candidate for what might be the image from the original 4 th century bronze
Sharp turn of the head, thick mane of hair, deep set eyes, parted lips

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Gnosis, Stag hunt, from Pella, 300
BCE, pebble mosaic, figural panel,
10’2” high
Floors decorated with pebble mosaics made of small stones of various colors set into a thick coat of cement
Stag hunt is the emblem -> signed by
Gnosis
Light figures against dark ground, thin strips of lead of terra cotta define the contour lines and interior details
Use of light and dark to suggest volume

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Hades abducting Persephone, detail of wall painting in tomb 1,
Vergina, Greece, mid 4 th century,
3’3” high
Painted tomb
Hades = lord of the underworld
Persephone = daughter of Demter, the goddess of grain
Intense drama
Use of foreshortening and shading
-> heads and wheels in ¾ view -> chariot seems to be bursting into the viewers space

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Large mosaic that decorated the floor of a lavish Roman house,
Roman copy of 310 BCE image
TESSERAE = tiny stones or pieces of glass cut to desired size and shape
Image of the epic Battle of Issus where Alexander defeats the Persian
Emperor Darius who flees the battlefield in his chariot
Rearing horse in ¾ view below
Darius, Persian soldier on ground with shield that reflects his face
Psychological intensity of the drama
-> alexander w/out helmet, gazing at Darius

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Time of innovation and experimentation
First use of exterior Corinthian capitals -> Choragic Monument of
Lysikrates, Athens, 334 BCE

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Plays performed during sacred festivals
Finest theater in Greece constructed in 350 BCE at Epidauros in the
Peloponessos
Architect is Polykleitos the Younger
Situated on hillsides
ORCHESTRA
THEATRON
Wedge shaped sections, of stone benches separated by stairs -> seated 12,000
Harmony of proportions, unobstructed views, excellent accoustics

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Tholos now in ruins at Delphi, 375
BCE
Best preserved example of round temple of the Classical period
Exterior colonnade of Doric columns
Interior columns were CORINTHIAN
CAPITALS
Greeks did not embrace the
Corinthian capital for temple design -> when used it was for interiors

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More ornate than the Doric or
Ionic
Double row of acanthus leaves -> tendrils and flower emerge from them -> bell shaped echinus
Does not become popular until
Hellenistic and Roman times