AP Art History
Ancient Greece Outline
“Man is the measure of all things”- Greek philosopher Protagoras
Characteristics of Greek Culture:
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Compared to Egyptians who lived their lives according to their obsession with the
afterlife, Greeks are the first major civilization that lived their lives based upon the
concept of humanism
Varied, dynamic, stylistic changes evident from Archaic – Hellenistic
Greek way of looking at things includes a reliance on reason and a rational inquiry into
their observation of the world
Greek humanist view was what led them to create a democracy; they believe in being
ruled by law as part of the community, not the arbitrary law of a monarch or God
The belief that humans must live free as man encouraged unparalleled contributions to
the fields of art, literature, and science; freedom to investigate
High place of man in the natural order + Limitations of man (mortality)= Tragic vision of
the human condition
History:
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Two major groups, the Dorians (from mainland Greece) and the Ionians (from the
Aegean Island groups), were the earliest people to create strong kinship groups based on
language and common beliefs
Divided geographically, the early Greeks created small, independent city-states
Throughout the years, an intense military, political and commercial rivalry will evolve
between the city-states
Chronology:
Geometric Period and Orientalizing Periods ca. 900-600 B.C.E.
Vase Painting:
 Large funerary vases as votive offerings
 Abstract motifs as well as abstract human forms
 Organized on registers
 Increasing interest in the Near East led to the Orientalizing period
Dipylon Vase c750 BCE
Archaic Period: ca. 600-480 B.C.E.
Architecture:
 Greater sense of permanency
 Temples no longer built of mud brick, but stone and marble
 Different elevations of order, Doric and Ionic
 Standard Doric elevation (seen in the Temple of Hera I) included fluted columns that
rested directly upon the stylobate, and a three-part entablature.
Temple of Hera I, Paestum, Italy, c550 BCE
Siphnian Treasury, reconstruction, c530-525 BCE
Sculpture:
 Usually life-size or larger, painted
 "archaic smile”
 male=kouros, female=kore
Dying Warrior, Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, c480 BCE
N.Y. Kouros (Standing Youth) c600 BCE
Calf Bearer, c560 BCE
Kroisos, c530 BCE
Kore, 520-510 BCE
Vase Painting:
Black-figure technique eventually taken over by red-figure technique as method of decoration
Andokides Painter, Ajax and Achilles Playing a Game, Bilingual amphora, c525-520 BCE
Early and High Classical Periods ca. 480-400 BCE
In early fifth century BCE, the Greek city-states united to successfully stop a Persian invasion.
However, the final defeat of the Persians did not come until after the destruction of many cities,
including Athens.
Architecture and Architectural Sculpture:
 Examples represent a time of transition
 Temples more compact, columns become more widely spaced with a smoother transition
from the vertical shaft to the horizontal elements of the architrave.
 Architectural sculpture shares this new refinement. Pediment statuary becomes lifesize
and displays a variety of movement and action.
 It was Pericles, who ruled Athens 462-429 BCE, that encouraged Athenians to rebuild the
Acropolis that had been destroyed by the Persians in 480 BCE. This monumental
undertaking was highlighted by the construction of the Parthenon.
Temple of Hera II, Paestum, c460 BCE
Athena, Herakles, and Atlas, Pediment Sculpture, Temple of Zeus, c470-456 BCE
The Parthenon, c447-438 BCE
Three Seated Goddesses, East pediment of Parthenon, 438-432 BCE
Lapith Fighting Centaur, Metope relief, Doric frieze, south end Parthenon, 438-432 BCE
Horsemen, detail from Procession, Ionic frieze, north side, Parthenon, 438-432 BCE
Erechtheion, c430's-405 BCE
Porch of the Maidens (Caryatid Porch), Erechtheion, c421-405 BCE
Sculpture:
 Early classical statuary represents a complete break with the rigid, unnatural Egyptian
inspired poses used by archaic sculptors.
 New concern to render the human form in natural poses that illustrate how a human
actually stands.
 Sculptors from the High classical Period believed that rue beauty was only found in
perfect form. Sculptors such as Myron and Polykleitos believed that true beauty existed
in perfect proportions, in harmonious numerical ratios. Polykleitos wrote about his ideas
in his treatise called the Canon
Kritios Boy, c480 BCE
Young Warrior (Riace Warrior), c450 BCE
Myron Diskobolos (Discus Thrower), c450 BCE
Polykleitos Doryphoros (Spear Bearer), c450-440 BCE
Nike (Victory) adjusting Her Sandal, Temple of Athena Nike, 410-407 BCE
Late Classical Period ca. 400-330 BCE
At the end of the Peloponnesian War, democracy was restored. Athens never regained her
empire status, but the arts did continue to flourish. The artists of the fourth century BCE
experimented with new subjects and new artistic styles, that turned away from the rigid
conventions of the High Classical period.
Architecture:
Polykleitos the Younger, Epidauros Theater, 350 BCE
Polykleitos the Younger, Corinthian capital, 350 BCE
Sculpture:
Lysippos, Weary Herakles, c. 320BCE
Hellenistic Period c. 330-30 BCE
Sculpture became much more individual and emotional. The ideal athlete was replaced by the
suffering, wounded warrior. “violent movement, unbridled emotion”
Sculpture:
Dying Gaul, 230-220 BCE
Nike of Samothrace, c190 BCE
Aphrodite (Venus de Milo), C150-125 BCE
Seated Boxer, 100BCE
Old Market Woman, c. 150-100 BCE
Laocoon, first century CE
Some information used with permission from Matt Curless.