Ancient Aegean and Greek Art
Part I: Ancient Aegean Art
The origins of the Greek world.
Map of the Eastern Mediterranean
Map of the Eastern Mediterranean
Timeline for Early Aegean Art
Cycladic Art
• Cycladic art
comes from the
southern Aegean
Cycladic Islands.
• Most has been
found on Naxos,
Paros, Syros, and
Thera
(Santorini).
Image of a Woman from Syros
G,79
• The striking
similarity of
Cycladic
sculpture to
modern art has
led to its being
in high demand
amongst
collectors.
Cycladic Images of Musicians
G.80
• Images of a
harpist and a
double flute
player,
sculpted in
marble
Cycladic Images of Musicians
• The Cycladic
sculpture of the
seated harpist (or
lyre player), seen
from another angle.
• Found on the island
of Keroi, it dates
from 2700-2500
BCE.
Cycladic Frescoes, G-85
• The most famous
of the Cycladic
frescoes is the
image of the
young fisher, with
his catch (perhaps
a votive offering),
from Thera
(Santorini) shown
here.
Akrotiki
• Akrotiri is Greece’s
equivalent to Pompeii.
• Buried by the ash from
the volcanic eruption
on Thera, it is being
excavated to reveal a
remarkably wellpreserved city.
Akrotiki
• Akrotiri’s
frescoes
revel a great
deal about
life on
Thera
nearly 3500
years ago.
The Palace at Knossos, G,82
• Aerial view of the Palace at Knossos, associated with
the story of the Minotaur and the labyrinth.
The Palace at Knossos
• Plan of the
Palace at
Knossos,
excavated by
Sir Arthur
Evans, who
attributed it to
the legendary
King Minos
Palace of Minos at Knossos
• Stairwell of the Palace at Knossos.
Palace at Knossos
• Sir Arthur Evan’s
excavations of the palace
at Knossos showed that
the Minoans enjoyed all
the latest modern
conveniences, including
plumbing.
• This is a bath room from
the royal apartments. Note
the “wave” motif fresco
above the stone bath tub.
• Flushing toilets were also
found at Knossos.
“La Parisienne” from Minos, G83
• Image of a woman,
perhaps a dancer or
goddess, according to
various interpretations.
• Fragment of a fresco
from the walls of the
palace at Knossos.
Frescoed Walls from Knossos
• Frescoed walls
in the palace at
Knossos.
• The upper
panel features
dolphins.
• Note the spiral
chain pattern
beneath the
dolphins.
Minoan Bull-leaping Fresco
Minoan Bull-leaping Images
• The image of the
bull-leaping
acrobat appears
frequently in
Minoan art,
including
decorative arts,
ornaments, and
sculptures, as
well as frescoes.
Minoan Bull-fighting Image
Minoan Snake Goddess
• A recurring
theme in
Minoan art is
the “Snake
Goddess,”
shown in two
sculptural
versions on
this slide.
Faience Snake Goddess G89
• The mother goddess, also known as the
snake goddess, is the source of all life
and the central figure in Minoan
religion. Here she is represented in
elaborate court dress, exposing her
breasts. She holds two snakes which
symbolize the mysterious life. On her
hat sits a lion.
• This anatomically improbable figure of
the snake goddess has been made using
the faience technique, which involves
painting brightly coloured glazes on
fired clay. It dates from c 1600 BCE.
Bull’s Head Vessel Rhyton,J86
• Rhyton, or ritual vessel, in the shape
of a bull’s head, made of carved
stone, with inlaid shell, jasper and
crystal. It dates between the 17th15th centuries BCE and was found at
Knossos.
• The horns have been restored; they
were probably originally made of
wood. The piece is hollow with a hole
in the top where liquid could be
poured in; when the head was tipped
the liquid would pour out from the
mouth.
Harvester Vase,G89
• The “harvester” vase, carved in
steatite, a soft stone, from Hagia
Triada Crete, c.1550-1500 BCE.
• A masterpiece of stone carving, the
Harvester Vase shows a priest
leading a group of men on their way
home from harvesting crops. The
warmth and high spirits captured on
the vase is uniquely Minoan.
• The black colour of the vase would
become one of the common colours
for Greek pottery
Harvester Vase from Hagia Triada
• This detail shows the
extent to which the
sculptor has been able to
represent human
expressions of emotion
naturalistically.
• It also shows
considerable attention to
anatomical detail.
Sarcophagus from Hagia Triada
• Unique stone
sarcophagus from
Hagia Triada decorated
on four sides in fresco
with religious scenes,
possibly a celebration
of the dead figure
rising from the ground
on the right.
• While the running
wave pattern is clearly
Minoan, the style of the
figure painting is
closely related to the
Egyptian style.
Hagia Triada Sarcophagus (detail)
• This detail from the Hagia
Triada Sarcophagus shows a
Minoan priestess at an altar.
Notice the decorative treatment
of the altar piece with the
abstract running wave pattern
seen on the tomb itself.
• From a chamber-tomb near the
palace of Hagia Triada, c.1400
BCE. Now in the Museum of
Herakleion, Crete.
Aegean Systems of Writing
• When Arthur Evans excavated
Knossos, he found three types of
script. He called them hieroglyphic,
linear A, and linear B (bottom).
• Minoan hieroglyphics were
impressed into clay sealstones (top
left) to depict physical objects or to
record quantities.
• Over time, Minoan hieroglyphics
became more stylized and linear,
evolving into Linear A, with
roughly 90 symbols. The glyphs
were incised with a stylus (top
right). Quantities were represented
by numerals, not multiple
impressions of the same sign.
The Mycenaean World
A Vanished Culture
Linear B
•
•
Mycenaean clay jar used to store olive
oil or wine, decorated with Linear B
script.The Mycenaeans spoke and
wrote an early form of Greek. The
written language was called Linear B by
archeologist Sir Arthur Evans.
By 1952 enough tablets of linear B had
been found (mostly at Pylos) that
Michael Ventris, an English architect,
was able to solve the puzzle. He
discovered that there were 89
characters and that it was a syllabic
script. Most of the phonetic values were
represented by one consonant and one
vowel. Though Linear B can now be
translated, Linear A still remains a
mystery.
Mycenae
• Mycenae, the legendary home of the
Atreides, is situated upon a small
hill-top on the lower slopes of Mount
Euboea, between two of its peaks.
• The site, inhabited from Neolithic
times (about 4000 BCE), reached its
peak during the Late Bronze Age
(1350-1200 BCE), giving its name to
a civilization which spread
throughout the Greek world. During
that period, the acropolis was
surrounded by massive walls except
on its SE flank where a steep ravine
provided natural defense.
Mycenae
• Mycenae was occupied
without interruption
until 468 BCE, when it
was conquered by the
city of Argos and its
population banished.
• Reoccupied in the 3rd
century BCE for a short
time, Mycenae had been
abandoned for some
time when Pausanias
visited the site during
the 2nd century CE.
Lions Gate at Mycenae, G92
• The Lions Gate at
Mycenae is a vaulted
corbel which moves
weight to the sides so
the lintel will not
break under it. The
relief carved on the
slab is the oldest
really monumental
sculpture known in
the European world.
The Lions Gate at Mycenae
• The relief carved on
the slab is the oldest
really monumental
sculpture known in
the European world.
• Weighing more than a
car, it is a major
engineering
achievement that the
Mycenaeans were
able to move this
stone into place.
The Corbelled Arch, G91
• The corbelled arch
used by the
Mycenaeans was also
used in Egypt, in
South East Asia, and
in Mexico, where it is
a common feature of
Mayan architecture.
The Megaron
• A unique feature of
Mycenaean construction
is the Megaron, a large,
closed room with a
circular hearth in the
centre. Around the hearth
stood four columns; above
the hearth was a circular
opening in the roof to
ventilate the smoke. If the
megaron was the throne
room of the palace, the
throne would be against
the wall directly across
from the hearth.
The Megaron
• All that remains
today of the
Mycenaean
Megaron are the
ruins of the
circular hearth
and the bases of
the four columns
that once
surrounded it.
The Treasures of Mycenae
• In 1876, the German
archaeologist Heinrich
Schliemann began
excavating Mycenae.
Within the walls
Schliemann uncovered a
series of royal graves.
• Grave Circle A, shown
here, would rival the
tomb of Tutankhamen
for the richness of its
contents, untouched by
robbers.
Treasures of Mycenae, G93
• Schliemann found bodies
with gold masks, breastplates,
armbands, and girdles. In the
women’s graves were golden
diadems, gold laurel leaves,
and exquisite ornaments
shaped like animals, flowers,
butterflies, and cuttlefish.
• The most famous item is this
beaten gold funerary mask
that Schliemann misattributed
as belonging to the legendary
Mycenaean King
Agamemnon.
The Treasures of Mycenae
• Inlaid dagger blade with lion hunt, from Grave Circle A,
Mycenae, Greece, c. 1600-1500 BCE. Bronze, inlaid with gold,
silver and niello, approximately 24 cm long, National
Archaeological Museum, Athens.
The “Treasury” of Atreus
The “Treasury” of Atreus
• Cutaway view of the Treasury of Atreus, Mycenae,
Greece, c. 1300-1250 BCE.
• The tholos is made of thirty-three superposed rings of
conglomerate ashlar blocks, perfectly fitted so that each
slightly projected beyond the edge of the one below it.
The “Treasury” of Atreus
• The Treasure of
Atreus is a tholos or
bee-hive shaped
dome tomb found at
Mycenae.
• It represents one of
the largest domes
built prior to the
Italian Renaissance.
Mycenaean Sculpture, G94
• Head of a woman (sphinx ?),
from Mycenae, c. 1300-1250
BCE. Painted Plaster, approx.
18 cm High. National
Archaeological Museum,
Athens.
• The cheeks and chin are
decorated with red circles
surrounded by a ring of red
dots recalling the facial paint
or tattoos recorded on Early
Cycladic figurines of women.
Mycenaean Ceramic Art: Warrior
Krater
• This ceramic shape is a
krater, a large bowl for
mixing wine and water.
• The subject of the
painting rendered on it is
a set of Mycenaean
soldiers marching in a
file.
• At the beginning of the
line is a woman waving
them off in departure.
Narrative Themes
• How do these two sets of images tell stories?
• How do the stories they tell differ?
Reviews and Useful Links for
Chapter 4
• http://www.hart.k12.ca.us/valencia/director
y/jmarcucilli/page/Notes/aegean.htm
• http://wcuvax1.wcu.edu/~nsmith/StuGu4.h
tm
• http://www.public.iastate.edu/~tart/fall2003
arth280website/aegean.html
Part II: Ancient Greek Art
The origins of the classical ideal.
The World of Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece: City States and
Colonies
Timeline for Early Greek Art
•
Interactive Timelines of Greek Art - click on the URL to go to
the site.
http://www.worldhistoryposter.com/en/timeline_frame.html?screenshots/greek_art.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/eusb/ht04eusb.htm
Geometric Period
• Bronze statuette group of
hero and centaur
(Herakles and Nessos?),
believed to be from
Olympia Temple model
from sanctuary of Hera
near Argos
Geometric Period: Vase Painting
• Detail, Dipylon Vase,
showing clearly the
abstract elements that
lead this style to be
called “geometric.”
• Note the use of the “key”
pattern in the upper
register of this section.
Geometric Period: Vase Painting
• Dipylon Krater c. 750 BCE. 1 m.
high. Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York.
• This wine mixing jar with a wide
mouth is done in the “geometric”
style, which gets its name from the
abstract and stylized forms the
painters of this period employed.
• This vase was unearthed at the
Dipylon Cemetery in Athens. The
centre of the ceramics industry was
located here at the cemetery in an
area known as the Kerameikos, the
origin of our word ‘‘ceramics.”
The Geometric Style
• 9th and 8th century BCE
• Pottery is the main medium through which this style was
expressed.
• Very precise, but mostly just shapes and decorations
• Representations of gods, animals and men
• But …only abstract representations
• Repetitive patterns rather than individual studies
• Parts of the body arranged as triangles, sticks and blobs
• Figures are reduced to geometric patterns
Orientalizing Period
The Lady of Auxerre
The “Lady of Auxerre” is an example of the
so-called Daedalic style cultivated in the Greek
world of the seventh century BCE. Typical, in
this respect, is her wig (which could be
Egyptian) and triangular face, while her dress
is of the ancient Cretan type. Therefore, she
was classified as "Greek Cretan". The
Daedalic type is characteristic rather of minor
arts, almost the only type of art existing during
this so-called orientalizing period of Greek art.
Her pose prefigures the korei of the Archaic
period.
nLimestone, approx. 65 cm high, Louvre.
Egyptian and Greek Images
Archaic: Kouros and Kore
Life-sized or over-life-sized sculpture
was was not introduced to Greece
until the seventh century BCE; the
following 150 years saw very few
changes in the presentation of the
human form. The kouros, or standing,
naked male form, and the kore, the
draped, female figure, were
particularly popular. In imitation of
the style of standing figures from
Egypt, these statues were rigidly
posed, with the weight of the body
equally distributed on both legs. Their
smiling faces stared straight ahead.
Archaic: Kouroi
• Archaic kouroi (sing.: kouros)
are not portrait sculptures of
individuals. Often used as
grave markers, they are
stylized representations of the
ideal male form and physical
presence.
• Left: Kroisos kouros from
Anavysos, Grave marker, c.
540-515 BCE. Painted marble,
2 metres high, Athens,
National
Museum of Archaeology.
Right: Kouros, c. 590–580
BCE, Naxian marble, 193 cm
high. Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
The Calf-Bearer
Moschophoros (calf-bearer). Archaic
statue of a bearded man carrying a calf on
his shoulders. According to the inscription
on the base, it was offered by Rhombos.
His cloak was once painted. The eyes of
the figure were originally inset with
polished stone.
Note the geometric composition formed by
the calf’s legs and the man’s arms, also the
archaic smile on the man’s face.
Lifesize marble, c.570 BCE, Acropolis
Museum, Athens.
Archaic: Korai
• The korai of the Archaic period
are not portrait scuptures of
individual women of the time.
Rather, they are stylized
representations of the ideal
female
form and physical presence.
Kore in Greek means “maiden.”
Archaic Kore from the Acropolis
Kore with almond-shaped eyes found at
the Acropolis.
The young woman is clad in a chiton and
short himation, which buttons on the left
shoulder.
A band with a painted maeander
ornamented the diadem on her hair and
garments.
Life size marble, c. 500 BCE, Acropolis
Museum, Athens.
Archaic: Black Figure Style
• Black on reddish clay
• Details can be scratched
into clay and appear as
white lines, so the artists
could be more detailed
• The primary problem of
Black Figured Ware was
how to represent distance
and perspective.
• But…still difficult to show
shading
Archaic: Black Figure Style (detail)
• In the archaic period,
artists begin to sign
their works, which
often have narrative
themes drawn from
Greek myths or
Homer’s Odyssey.
Some important
painters of this period
are: Exekias, Psiax,
Douris, and the
Amasis painter.
Archaic: Black Figure Style (detail)
Detail of the
Music Lesson
by Douris
Archaic: Red Figure Style
• Opposite of
Black Figure
nred on black
background
• This meant that
shading could
be applied on
by brush and
the figures
could be more
detailed.
Psiax, Herakles
Wrestling a Lion, Attic
Black Figure Amphora,
c. 530 BCE
Archaic: Red Figure Style
In early examples of red-figure
decoration figures are stiff and
ungraceful with expressions that
recall earlier styles; hair and beard
are arranged with care and draperies
fall straight to ground. Later, stiff
attitudes give way to figures of
youthful grace and charm with
pleated draperies that float about
limbs and a subtlety of facial
expression. Many remains of Red
Figured Ware have been found under
debris of Parthenon burnt by the
Persians in 480 BCE.
The Sarpedon Vase
The Sarpedon Vase: detail
“Bilingual” amphora
• Ajax and Achilles
Playing a Game:
bilingual amphora
painted by the
Andokides Painter
c. 525-520 BCE
Individuality and the Artist’s Ego
• Much pride taken in painting
the beautiful archaic pots.
There was good natured
competition between
workshops.
• This amphora by
Euthymides is signed:
"Euthymides painted me as
never Euphronios could" !