 Polis
 Basic Greek city-state, consisted of a group of self-governing
people
 Acropolis
 Elevated place in the center of the city occupied by the
temples of the gods
 Geometric Style
 A style of vase painting that made use of bold, simple, linear
designs
 Archaic Style
 A style of two-dimensional and three-dimensional art
 2D art utilizes a sense of three-dimensional space
 3d art consists of figures in stiff frontal poses
 Emerged around 3000 BCE
 Named after King Minos
 Settled the island of Crete
 Rich and adventurous people
 Homes consisted of elaborate complexes
 Had running water, drainage systems, heating/cooling
systems, and underground storage facilities
 Civilization was centered on trade, not military power
 Religion was polytheistic
 Cult of the Sacred Bull
 Celebrated by “bull dancing” or “bull leaping”
 May have been the foundation for the myth/legend of
the Minotaur
 Minoan civilization disappears around 1500 BCE
 Early conquerors of the area
 Controlled the island of Crete after the Minoans
disappeared
 Called “tamers of horses”
 Fought from chariots
 Left all conquered lands in ruins
 Provided Greece with myths, legends, and heroes
 Also provided a source of ethics and moral order
 Primarily conquerors
 Did involve themselves in some trade
 Maintained their rule through military strength
 Mycenaeans used their soldiers and armada of ships to
conquer the legendary city of Troy
 The Trojan War serves as the basis for the Greek epic
poem The Iliad
 Religious practices included burying the dead with
honor
 Also mummified corpses and buried them with their
valuables
 Used paintings
as decoration
 Boar Hunt
indicates that
the
Mycenaeans
domesticated
dogs as well as
horses
 Mycenaean palaces were fortresses
 Were constructed from large stone blocks
 Placed at the top of the highest hill
 Mycenaean civilization collapsed in 1200 BCE
 Also called the “Greek Middle Ages”
 Occurs between the time of the Mycenaeans and the
time of the Greek city-states
 Roughly 400 years or so
 Very little cultural or artistic activity during this time
period
 Conquerors and other peoples filtered in and out of
the region with little or no lasting impact on art or
culture
 Life switched from fortified cities to isolated farming




communities
Trade and commerce slowed almost to the point of
nonexistence
Iron replaced bronze for tools and weapons
Significant changes in burial practices occurred
Political power shifted from kings to powerful families
 After the “Greek Middle Ages” the people began to
develop a sense of unification
 These people called themselves “Hellenes”
 People from several different areas began to speak the
same language
 Also used a common calendar which provides us with
the date for the first Olympic Games
 The Games were meant to represent life’s struggles
 The word “athletics” is derived from a Greek word that
meant struggle
 The time of the Games was one where Greeks could
meet in a non-lethal context
 Recognized their larger cultural, linguistic, and religious
identities
 The main event was a foot race to honor Zeus (king of
the gods)
 Later events included boxing, wrestling, and chariot
racing
 800-480 BCE
 Saw the emergence of the Greek polis
 A polis consists of a collection of self-governing people
 Each polis was surrounded by villages
 Functioned as independent states
 Each polis had its own sense of self
 The polis is made up of two cities
 A lower city where the people lived
 An acropolis (high city)
 An elevated place in the center of the city
 Power in the polis belonged to the landowners and
tribal leaders
 The concept of a king gradually faded away
 Was replaced with a group of elected officials
 Often viewed as the precursor to modern democracy
 The focus of Greek religion was this life
 A large collection of gods formed the foundation of
Greek religion
 The history of the gods was recorded in myths
 Traced by Homer in The Iliad
 Also in Hesiod’s Theogony
 Known as Olympian gods because they lived on Mount
Olympus
 The gods were descendants of the gods of the heavens
and the earth
 The gods were represented in human terms
 They were sometimes better than us, and at times they
were worse that us as well
 Implies that humans can be godlike
 Zeus (god of the sky) was the king of the gods
 Zeus’ brothers Poseidon and Hades ruled the rest of
the universe
 Poseidon was god of the seas and earthquakes
 Hades was god of the underworld and land of the dead
 Dionysus
 God of wine and reveling
(fun, celebration)
 Annual festivals honoring
Dionysus gave birth to early
Greek drama
 The archaic period laid the foundation for rationalism
and logical thinking that would grow into philosophy
 Philosophy means “love of wisdom”
 Philosophy explores mankind’s place and purpose in
the universe through reason instead of religion
 Pythagoras concluded that mathematical relationships
were universal
 Universal constants could be applied throughout life
 Known for the Pythagorean Theorum
 A2 + b 2 = c 2
 Utilized this mathematical truth to reveal a larger,
universal truth about life
 Harmony of Spheres
 Deduced the numeric relationships among musical
notes
 Formed the basis of dividing musical scales into octaves
(groups of eight tones)
 Geometric Style
 Utilizes linearity (strong use of lines)
 Uses zigzags, diamonds, and maze patterns
 Human form shown in silhouette
 Head, legs, and feet in profile
 Designs fill virtually every space on the vase
 Decorated in horizontal bands called registers
 Figures would serve narrative purposes
 Archaic Style
 Three dimensional space developed
 The human body is depicted in a three-quarter position
 Fabrics were depicted with more details
 Pottery in the Archaic Style is divided into two types
 Black-Figure pottery
 Red-Figure pottery
 Black figures are placed onto the red clay of the pot
 Details would be incised (carved out)
 White would sometimes be added
 Color women’s hair
 Old men’s beards
 Red used for horses’ manes and clothes
 Reverses the style of black-figure pottery
 Black color creates the background for the images
made on the red clay surface
 Contours, fabric lines, etc. appear in black
 Figures appear more lifelike when they appear in the
color of the clay rather than the black figures earlier in
the period
 Kouros
 Freestanding statues from the Archaic Period
 Featured young males
 Kouros means male youth
 Exhibit a stiff, frontal pose
 Emphasize physicality
 Broad shoulders, well defined muscles, etc.
 Not very lifelike however
 The nature of a freestanding statue allows the sculptor
to present the human form independently from
non-living matter
 Two defining
characteristics
 Represents an
idealization of the
human form
 Attempts to indicate
movement
 The left foot is slightly
ahead of the right foot
 Kritios Boy
 Marks the transition out of
stiff poses into more subtle
movements
 First example of
contrapposto stance
 Head gently turns to one
side
 The body stands at rest
 Displays a natural shifting
and distribution of weight
 Music played a fundamental role in Greek life and
education
 In mythology, music had the power to influence
behavior
 Doctrine of ethos
 Music had the power to influence character
 Music embodied cultural values
 Music, poetry, and dance were inseparable
 Greeks favored vocal music
 Songs celebrated the acts of
gods
 Instruments typically were
used to accompany vocals
 Popular instruments included
 The aulos (a woodwind that
used two reeds)
 The lyre (a stringed
instrument)
 Greeks believed the gods invented dancing
 Oldest sources on Greek dance come from the Minoan
civilization
 Dance was at the center of Greek religious rituals
 Greeks held dance competitions with large choruses
 This practice is what gave birth to Greek theatre
 Began as oral tradition before progressing to written
works
 Epic Poetry
 Long narrative poems that used an elevated style of
language
 Homer
 Greatest of the Greek poets
 Composed the Iliad and the Odyssey
 Created the mythological history that the Greeks
accepted as their true history
 Sappho
 One of the first lyric poets
 Lyric poetry focuses on the individual
 Also accompanied by music played on a lyre
 One of the first poets to write in the first person point of
view
 One of few well known female poets of the time
 Hesiod
 Poetry focused on hard work and the struggle of
everyday life
 Most famous work focuses on the mythological history
of the gods
 Theogony describes Zeus’ defeat of the Titans and the
emergence of every Greek god
 Aesop
 Attributed to writing over
200 fables
 Fables are stories, typically
involving animals as
characters, that teach some
kind of moral lesson
 “The Tortoise and the Hare”
teaches that arrogance leads
to defeat
 Aesthetics – A branch of philosophy dealing with the




nature of beauty & art and their relation to human beings
Classicism – Style of art relying on the fundamentals of
simplicity, clarity of structure, and appeal to the intellect
Hellenistic Style – An approach to art characterized by
individuality, virtuosity, and emotion
Frieze – A portion of a structure decorated with relief
sculptures
Relief Sculpture – Images project depth from the
background
 The Persian Wars
 Persian invaders were held off by the Greeks in 490 BCE
at the Battle of Marathon
 Persians returned in 480 BCE and defeated the Greeks at
Thermopylae but were defeated again in 480 by the
Greek navy near the island of Salamis
 The Greeks defeated the Persians again at the Battle of
Plataea in 479 BCE
 The Persians would never set foot in Greece again
 What to take away from the Persian War
 The Greeks found that they were capable of defending
their homelands by unifying
 In the aftermath, the Athenians began to spread
influence and power throughout the Aegean Sea
 Formed the Delian League
 Pericles became a great ruler and ruled during the
Classical Period of Greek arts
 Peloponnesian Wars
 Series of wars between the city-states of Athens and
Sparta
 Clashes of ideologies
 Sparta stood for the old ways of warriors and militarism
 Athens stood for a new, more cultured and artistic
democratic society
 Effectively ended the reign of Athenians around the
Aegean Sea
 The Hellenistic Age
 Begins with the conquest of Greece by King Philip II of
Macedonia
 Continued under the rule of Alexander the Great
 Alexander was a student of the Greek philosopher Aristotle
 Alexander developed a vast empire that had Greek
culture at its center
 Greek influence was spread throughout the known
world
 Historia
 Means “inquiry”
 Describes the development of history as a written form
 Marked by careful research
 Herodotus
 “Father of History”
 First to relate history in a descriptive form, rather than
poetic
 Often invented speeches for kings and generals that
inspired troops
 Presented his sources in such a way that readers could
decide how reliable the sources were
 Believed that the present had
its causes in the past
 Who we are now, is based on
what’s already been done
 Thought the Persians were
defeated by the Greeks
because the Greeks were
morally right
 Thucydides
 Wrote a history of the Peloponnesian wars
 Sought to instruct his readers through a clear and
unbiased style of writing
 Wanted his readers to be armed with knowledge when
events of the past happened again in similar ways
 In the middle of the 5th century BCE people began to
question their existence
 At this time, several different philosophies developed
throughout Greece
 All of these philosophies offered a different view of life
and truth
 Stoicism
 Believed humans were the incarnation of logos (reason)
 Approached life with apathy
 Everything that happens is simply fate or the will of the gods
 Epicureanism
 Believed existence was temporary
 A good life is one without troubles
 Avoid getting involved with people, stay healthy, tolerate pain
 Cynicism
 Believed humans were animals by nature
 A good life is one that satisfies our animal needs
 Wisdom dictates that a man who desires nothing will lack
nothing and be satisfied
 Skepticism
 Believed that nothing was certain
 Human senses are unreliable
 Skeptics question everything and refuse to see the truth of
anything
 Mystery Cults
 Groups dedicated to religious extremism
 Relied on emotions more than rationalism
 Members had to go through secret initiations
 Gave people a sense of belonging
 Ethics – The general nature of
morals and of the specific moral
choices made by individuals
 Socrates
 Father of ethics
 Called on people to examine
their lives to find the real
meaning of life
 Questioned everyone about
everything
 Defended the right of people to
speak freely
 Socrates cont.
 The center of Socrates’ thinking was the psyche
(mind/soul)
 Believed everyone had the responsibility to elevate their
psyche to its highest potential
 This was accomplished through education
 Knowledge creates virtuous behavior, evil comes from a
lack of knowledge
 Was eventually arrested and charged with corrupting
the youth of Athens
 Plato
 Taught by Socrates
 The Republic
 A series of dialogues involving
Socrates that lays out the concept
of an idealized political system
 Invented aesthetics
 Believed that art derived from
skills of knowing
 The quality of art comes from the
artists skills
 The beauty of art comes from the
resemblance of an Ideal that exists
beyond reality
 Aristotle
 Student of Plato
 Became a tutor to
Alexander the Great
and taught him to
revere all things Greek
and despise everything
else
 Considered the first
real scientist
 Founder of formal logic
 Poetics
 Aristotle’s major work
 Believed that all art imitates nature
 In order for art to be beautiful it must be well made and
exhibit the proper form
 Elements of composition must include symmetry, harmony,
and definition
 These are the fundamentals of classicism
 Believed the purpose of art was to excite our emotions
so we may purge them and lighten our souls
 This purging effect is called catharsis
 Classicism – An art style that strives for harmony,
reason, intellect, objectivity, and formal discipline
 Art in the classical style represents a form of perfection
rather than real life
 Hellenism – Builds upon the achievements of
classicism while moving toward reflections of emotion
and natural depictions
 Essentially a reaction to the rigid objectivity of the
classical style
 Classical Vase Painting
 Figures develop a new sense of depth
 In some cases this is strengthened through light and
shadow (values)
 Significant advancements in artistic technique such as
foreshortening developed
 Four characteristics of classical style
vase painting
 Portrayal of figures in simple line
drawings
 Monochromatic palette or color
scheme
 Red on black or black on red
 Palette dependent on earthen tones
like red
 Heroic and idealized subject matter
 Reflected the idealized human
form
 Exhibited physical perfection as
well as the stern facial
expressions of rational selfcontrol
 Statues like the Lance Bearer are
meant to represent the perfect
male athlete
 Bridges the gap between
Classicism and Hellenism
 Begins to show a greater
emphasis on emotion
 Displays a new sense of space
 Attempts are made to show
figures in motion
 The Scraper is one of the
earliest examples of
movement in sculpture
 Began to reflect the increasing interest in the
differences between individuals
 Sculptors tended to focus on pathos (acts of suffering
meant to evoke pity) and technical skills
 Laocoon and his Two Sons details the suffering of the
Trojan priest and his children as they are punished by
the gods
 Notice the expressions on the faces and the details in
their muscles as they strive to break away from the seaserpents
 Classical Greek architecture follows the post-and-
lintel structure
 Horizontal slabs called lintels are laid across vertical
stone columns called posts
 Greek temples offered very little interior space
 The focus of the temples became the exterior
appearance and the aesthetics associated with it
 Greek Temples also followed three orders (styles)
 Doric
 Ionic
 Corinthian
 These orders can be identified by the capital (top
portion) of the columns

Doric
Ionic
Corinthian
 Doric Order
 The Parthenon
 Ionic Order
 Temple of
Athena Nike
 Frieze around
the top depicts
the battle of
Marathon
 Corinthian Order
 Temple of Olympian Zeus
 The Altar of Zeus
 Excavated from the temple at Pergamon
 Relocated and reconstructed in pieces over the course of
50 years
 Considered one of the wonders of the ancient world
 Known for its great frieze
 The frieze is over seven feet tall and 450 ft. wide
 The figures are sculpted with an incredible amount of depth
 Figures also have tremendous details in texture
 Clothing, skin, objects, etc. were painstakingly finished to reflect
real world textures
 Depicts a narrative about a battle between the gods and
giants
 Classical style theatre seeks to portray the ideal
through description and audience imagination
 Objects and people are described through poetic
dialogue so the audience doesn’t have to see them
 Tragedy was the major dramatic form of the time
 A tragic play is made up of four distinct parts
 Prologos, or prologue
 Parados, or the entrance of the chorus
 The main action of the play
 Exodus, or conclusion
 Theatre productions were part of three annual
religious festivals honoring the god Dionysus.
 These festivals featured different forms of drama
 Tragedy
 Satyr Plays
 Comedy
 Greek drama was performed in outdoor stadiums
known as amphitheatres
 Greek
amphitheatres
consisted of three
main structures
 The orchestra,
where the play
was acted out
and where the
chorus
performed
 The skene, or
changing house
 Theatron, or
seating area
 Aristotle’s Poetics outlines the majority of what we
know about Greek tragedy
 According to Aristotle, there are six elements that are
necessary for tragedy.
 Plot – The basic structure of the play/the main events of





the story
Character – the people in the play and their motivations
Thought - themes
Diction - word choice
Song – sounds and music
Spectacle – visual elements like scenery and costumes
 Classical Greek theatre consisted mostly of narration
and dialogue
 Action and violence of any sort occurred off-stage and
characters would relate the events to the audience
 Costumes were minimal
 Actors, always men, would wear some kind of colored
robes with a decorative mask
 The costumes and masks made a character easily
identifiable to the audience
 Aristotle saw tragedy as a form in which a heroic
character goes through hardships that end in disaster
 Tragedy is meant to evoke catharsis
 Purge the audience of their pity and fear
 Three writers were prominent during this time
 Aeschylus
 Sophocles
 Euripides
 Aeschylus
 Wrote tragedies with an
elevated poetic style
 Dealt with large moral
themes
 Posed existential
questions like “Are we
responsible for our own
actions? Are we subject
to fate or some outside
force?”
 Sophocles
 Best know for writing
Oedipus Rex
 Oedipus Rex was used by
Aristotle as the example of a
perfectly crafted tragedy
 Writing style followed the
classical ideas of increasing
realism
 Explored more human
themes
 Responsibility, dignity, etc.
 Euripides
 Carried the classical notion of
realism further than other
playwrights
 Tragedies dealt more with
psychology and individual
emotions rather than epic
events
 Wrote in a poetic style that was
much less formal and more
conversational
 Also experimented with scenery
shifting and the effects it could
have
 During the Hellenistic period comedy became the
prominent style of theatre
 The greatest comedic playwright was Aristophanes
 Aristophanes wrote topical satires (poking fun at the
people with political power or current issues)
 By the end of the Hellenistic period religion had all
but disappeared from the plays themselves
 The chorus also faded away
 Dance during the Greek classical period remained tied
to theatre
 It reflected conventions of the classical style such as
form and clarity
 Dance also figured heavily in the Mystery Cults
dedicated to Dionysus
 These dances were characterized by emotions rather
than intellect
 Were most likely very wild and erratic