Art 133-World Art History I
Study Guide Chapter 4, Aegean Art
Pictures/Slides from Text
1. 4.2, Figure, 2500 BCE, Athens Greece, Cycladic
2. 4.3, Harpist, 2800-2900 BCE, Athens, Greece, Cycladic
3. 4.4, 5, 6, Palace Complex Knossos, 1700-1400 BCE, Crete, Minoan
4. 4.9, Spring Fresco, 1600-1500 BCE, Athens Greece, Minoan
5. 4.13, Harvester Vase, 1500-1450 BCE, Crete, Minoan
6. 4.14, Bulls Head Rython, 1500-1450 BCE, Crete, Minoan
7. 4.16, The Toreador Fresco, 1550-1450 BCE, Knossos Crete, Minoan
8. 4.22, The Lion Gate, 1250 BCE, Mycenae, Greece, Mycenaean
9. 4.24, 25, 26, Treasury of Atreus, 1300-1250 BCE, Mycenae, Greece, Mycenaean
10.4.27, Mask of Agamemnon, 1600-1500 BCE, Mycenae, Greece, Mycenaean
11.4.29, Vaphio Cups, 1500-1450 BCE, Athens, Greece, Mycenaean
12.4.30, Three Deities, 1400-1300 BCE, Athens, Greece, Mycenaean
Facts/Information from Text
13. Archaeologists have identified three distinct ancient cultures in the Aegean,
Cycladic, Minoan and Mycenaean
14.Much information about the ancient cultures of the Aegean comes from the
writings of a Greek poet named Homer and his two epic tales entitled the, “Iliad
and the Odyssey.”
15.The Cycladic culture is best known for stylized stone representations of the
human figure.
16.The ancient Minoan culture is found on the island of Crete and is best known for
the construction of elaborate palaces.
17.Minoan palace building is separated into two phases known as the First and
Second Palace Periods. The Second Palace Period was brought on by heavy
damage caused by an earthquake around 1700 BCE.
18.Early study of ancient Aegean cultures was largely conducted by two European
scholars around 1900 CE, German born Heinrich Schliemann and British Arthur
Evans.
19.An interesting fresco discovered in 1967 on the island of Thera known as the
“Spring Fresco” is noted as being the earliest known example of pure landscape
painting.
20.Early Mycenaean construction on the Greek mainland were built of massive
blocks of limestone, each weighing as much as 5 tons or around 10,000 pounds.
21.The stone sculptures of the “Lion Gate” from Mycenae are said to be the first
large scale stone sculptures on the Greek mainland.
22.A construction at Mycenae known as the “Treasury of Atreus” from around 13001250 BCE is actually believed to be a royal tomb.
23.Like the ancient Egyptians, most of the artifacts from Mycenae were discovered
as the contents of monumental royal tombs known as Tholos.
24.A small ivory carving discovered in Mycenae known as the “Three Deities”
suggest a trade link between Aegean cultures and those of Egypt and Syria, as
ivory is not commonly found in Europe.
25.The ancient cultures of the Aegean are thought to be the ancestors of the greatest
artistic, philosophical and political culture of the ancient world to be examined in
our next chapter 5, Greek Art.