Ancient Greece to
The Roman Empire
3,000 B.C. – 500 A.D.
First, an overview!
https://www.khanacademy.org/humani
ties/art-1010/new-topic-2014-0807T19:34:44.865Z/v/greek-and-romanart
Listen carefully!
LOCATION, LOCATION,
LOCATION
Timeline
1. Aegean Age
3,000 - 1,200 BC
2. Greek Dark Ages 1,200 – 800 BC
3. Greek Age
A. Archaic
800 – 500 BC
B. Classical
500 – 330 BC
C. Hellenistic 330 BC – 1 BC
4.Roman
A.Republic
500 BC – 1 BC
B. Empire
1 AD – 500 AD
BC/AD – BCE/CE
Archaic Period
The Formative Years
800 – 500 BC
Ideas were taken from Meso & Egyptian cultures
Two Greek cities emerged strong
Athens – the heart and soul
Sparta – very militaristic/loved war
Towards the end, the Persians attacked and the
Athenians and Spartans came together and
WON.
Classical Period
The Great Greek Awakening
500 – 330 BC
After the Persian War, Sparta (land) and
Athens (naval) emerge again as great
powers.
Great strides were made in government,
science, history, art and humanism
Hellenistic Period
Alexander the Great ushered in the
Hellenistic Period with the conquest of the
First Persian Empire.
Alexandria, Egypt was the heart of the
Empire during this period - Library of
Alexandria
With his death, the Empire fractured.
Diadochi kingdoms took over from there.
Architecture
Archaic Period
• City-states were situated on a hill for
protection
• The highest point and grouping of the
temples was called the Acropolis.
Classical Period
The most famous acropolis was built
during this time by Pericles – Acropolis
of Athens - Parthenon
Parthenon
• A temple dedicated to the goddess
Athena, patron of Athens
• Doric Order
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/anci
ent-art-civilizations/greek-art/beginners-guidegreece/v/the-classical-orders
Architecture cont.
Hellenistic Period
More buildings/structures
More types of buildings/structures
BIGGER buildings/structures
Pottery
Archaic Period
Three phases
– Geometric - patterns
– Orientalizing – adding of figures
– Black-figure – black silhouettes; start of
narrative scenes
If any animals or humans are depicted,
they are rigidly stylized
http://www.incrediblethings.com/artdesign/superheroes-as-ancient-greek-art/.
Wall Murals
• Flat
• Sharply outlined
Tomb of the Diver – Southern Italy
Sculptures
Rigid and Stylized  Realistic, beauty of the human body
The shift was propelled forward with the
idea of humanism.
Doryphoros
(Spear-Bearer)
Ideal statue of a nude male athlete or warrior
Original named, “Canon”
Original in bronze (marble copy)
Polykleitos developed Greek canon
height of the head was used as the unit of
measurement for determining the overall height
of the body
Doryphoros is 8 heads tall
Contrapposto
Weight on one leg, hips and shoulders are no
longer parallel, and spine is in an S curve
Disc Thrower
Polyclitus- famous sculptor
during Classical Period.
Focused on athletes to
celebrate their achievements.
Athletes were favored by
the gods.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MthUbt6p1cg
Aphrodite of Cnidus
• First woman to be sculpted
• Praxiteles preferred to sculpt deities
Sculpture in the Hellensitic Period
• They were realistic but also told a story
Greek Theatre
• Serious
drama
• Comedic
drama
Oedipus Rex
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXyek
9Ddus4
*After watching the short video, draw the family
tree of Oedipus.
Oedipus
Jocasta
Laius
Antigone
Ismene (she is not mentioned in the video, but she
is the daughter of Oedipus)
Oedipus Rex
 Written by Sophocles 429 BCE – first part of a three-part cycle
Oedipus was the son of Laius and Jocasta, king and queen of Thebes.
After having been married some time without children, Laius and Jocasta
consulted an oracle.
 What is an oracle?
**A prophet, someone who can see/tell the future
The Oracle prophesied that if Jocasta should have a son, the son would
kill her husband Laius and marry her. When the couple had a son, Laius had
his ankles pinned together so that he could not crawl, and gave the boy to a
servant to abandon. The sympathetic servant passed the baby on instead of
leaving him to die, where he ended up being adopted by the King & Queen of
Corinth.(Oedipus becomes a prince).
 Many years later, Oedipus is told that the king of Corinth is not his real father.
Oedipus seeks counsel from the same Delphic Oracle. The Oracle does not tell
him the identity of his true parents but instead tells him that he is destined to
kill his father and marry his mother. In his attempt to avoid the fate predicted
by the Oracle, he decides to not return home to Corinth. Oedipus decides to go
to Thebes.
Oedipus Rex
As Oedipus travels he comes to a place where three roads meet, and here he
encounters a chariot, driven by his (unrecognized) birth-father, King Laius. They fight
over who has the right to go first and Oedipus kills Laius in self defense, fulfilling
part of the prophecy.
 Continuing his journey to Thebes, Oedipus encounters a Sphinx which would stop
all those who traveled to Thebes and ask them a riddle. If the travelers were unable to
answer correctly, they were killed and eaten by the sphinx; if they were successful,
they would be able to continue their journey. The riddle was:
"What walks on four feet in the morning, two in the afternoon and three at
night?" Oedipus answers: "Man; as an infant, he crawls on all fours, as an adult,
he walks on two legs and, in old age, he relies on a walking stick.”
Oedipus was the first to answer the riddle correctly. The Sphinx is astounded
and inexplicably kills itself by throwing itself into the sea, freeing Thebes.
Oedipus Rex
 Grateful, the people of Thebes appoint Oedipus as their king and give him the
recently widowed Queen Jocasta's hand in marriage.
 In a search for the identity of the killer of Laius, Oedipus follows Creon's (his brother-inlaw) suggestion and sends for the blind prophet, Tiresias, who warns him not to try to find
the killer. In a heated exchange, Tiresias exposes Oedipus as the killer.
A messenger then reveals that Oedipus was adopted. Jocasta then goes into the palace
where she hangs herself. Oedipus seeks verification of the messenger's story from the
very same herdsman who was supposed to have left Oedipus to die as a baby. Thus, Oedipus
finally realizes in great agony that so many years ago, at the place where three roads meet,
he had killed his own father, King Laius, and as a consequence, married his mother,
Jocasta.
 Using the pin from a brooch he takes off Jocasta's gown, Oedipus gouges his eyes
out.
Prophesy in Oedipus Rex
There are three instances of prophesy in Oedipus:
a.) The oracle tells Laius and Jocasta that their son
will kill Laius and marry Jocasta.
b.) the oracle says that the plague will be lifted if the
murderer of Laius is banished.
c.) Tiresias tells Oedipus of the same prophesy as
Laius and Jocasta.
**This prophesy motif is prevalent in many Greek
tragedies and reveals the theme of denial or
blindness to the truth (symbolized by Oedipus
gouging his eyes out at the end).
Oedipus Sensory Figures
1. Create a simple drawing of your character chosen from the story (Oedipus,
Jocasta, Lauis, Antigone).
2. Label each sense – what the character may be seeing, hearing, saying, feeling,
thinking, etc.
3. These can be both physical and mental experiences (for instance, a person can
feel sad, but they can also feel the hot or cold of the weather depending on
Where the setting is).
4. You MUST use some color!
I hear…
I feel with my hands…
I think…
I see…
I feel with my heart…
I feel with my feet…