Chapter Two
The Greek World
The Classical Tradition
The Cyclades
• The Cyclades are a group of more than 100 islands in the Aegean Sea
between mainland Greece and the island of Crete
• They form a roughly circular shape, giving them their name, from
the Greek kyklos, “circle
• No written records of the early Cycladic people remain, although
archaeologists have found a good deal of their art in and around
hillside burial chambers
Figurine of a Woman from the Cyclades
Marble, 15¾", ca. 2500 BCE
• The Cycladic figures originally
looked quite different because
they were painted
• Most depict women, but male
figures also exist
• Their function remains
unknown, but some scholars
suggest they were used for
home worship and then buried
with their owner
Minoan Culture in Crete
• The Minoans flourished on Crete from about 1900 to 1375 BCE
• Their name comes from the legendary King Minos, who was said to
have ruled the island’s ancient capital of Knossos
• Ample archaeological evidence tells us that the Minoans worshiped
female deities
• The Minoans regularly sacrificed bulls, as well as other animals, and the
bull was at least symbolically associated with male virility and strength
The Snake Goddess
or Priestess from Crete
Faience, 11-5/8", ca. 1500 BCE
• When discovered by Arthur
Evans during his early twentiethcentury excavation on Crete,
the figure lacked a head. The
cat is original, although it was
not found with the statue
• Most of her left arm, including
the snake, was absent
• The snake in her right arm was
missing a head. It could just as
easily have been a sheaf of grain
or a necklace
Bull Leaping (Toreador Fresco), from the palace
complex at Knossos, Crete
Fresco, app. 24½", ca. 1450-1375 BCE
Bull Leaping (Toreador Fresco)
from the Palace Complex at Knossos
Fresco, 24½", ca. 1750-1375 BCE
Bul
As in Egyptian art, women are traditionally depicted with light skin, men
with a darker complexion.
Vaphio Cup
Gold, 3 ½", ca. 1650-1450 BCE
• This cup was discovered in a
tomb at Vaphio, just south of
Sparta
• Mycenaean invaders used Crete
as a base for operations for
several centuries and probably
acquired the cup there
• Minoan metalwork was prized on
the mainland
Mycenaean Culture
on the Peloponnese
• Mycenaean culture was the forerunners of ancient Greek culture
• They were essentially feudal in nature—powerful kings controlled
the cities and surrounding countryside, and they expected loyalty
and financial support from the inhabitants
• Walled cities and art depicting battle and hunting scenes tell us
that the hierarchical and warlike Mycenaeans lived and died by
the sword
Lion Gate,
Mycenae, Greece
Limestone, panel approx. 9'6" high, ca. 1300 BCE
Heinrich Schliemann and the
Discovery of Mycenae
• Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890) was a German archaeologist
• Following excavations at Hissarlik/ancient Troy (in modern Turkey),
he turned his attention to other sites mentioned in the Homeric
epics
• At Mycenae he discovered gold and silver death masks of fallen
heroes as well as swords and daggers. Most of the treasure he
found in shaft graves, vertical pits some 20 to 25 feet deep enclosed
in a circle of stone slabs
The Mask of Agamemnon
Gold, approx. 12", ca. 1600-1550 BCE
•
This mask is testament to the
enormous wealth Mycenae’s
kings amassed
•
Schliemann believed this to be
the death mask of Agamemnon,
but it predates the Trojan War
by some 300 years
•
Schliemann may have added the
handlebar mustache and large
ears, perhaps to make the mask
appear more “heroic”
Botkin Class Amphora
Black-figure decoration on ceramic, 11-9/16" high
ca. 540-530 BCE
•
Amphora—Greek jar with an eggshaped body and two curved
handles used for storing oil or wine
•
Two warriors confront one
another with unwavering
determination and purpose
•
Areté—“being the best one can
be” or “reaching one’s highest
human potential.” Homer uses the
term to describe both Greek and
Trojan heroes
The Rise of the City-States
• Gradually, communities began to organize themselves and to exercise
authority over their own limited geographical regions, which were
defined by natural boundaries—mountains, rivers, and plains
• The population of even the largest areas was dedicated to agriculture,
and agricultural values—a life of hard, honest work and self-reliance—
predominated
• Due to colonization, eventually there were as many as 1,500 Greek citystates scattered around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including
large colonies in Italy
The City-States of Ancient Greece
The Classical Orders
• Classical Greek architecture is composed of three vertical elements
—the platform, the column, and the entablature—which comprise
its elevation
• The relationship of these three units is referred to as the
elevation’s order
• There are three orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The Doric , the
heaviest of the columns, is sturdy and simple. The Ionic is lighter
and more elegant in detail. The Corinthian is smaller yet, seemingly
supported by mere leaves
The Classical Orders
Doric Columns at the Temple of Hera I
Pasteum, Italy, ca. 560 BCE
Male Sculpture and the
Cult of the Body
• The physically fit male not only won accolades in athletic competitions,
but he also represented the conditioning and strength of the military
forces of a particular polis
• The male body was also celebrated in a widespread genre of sculpture
known as the kouros (pl. kouroi), “young man”
• They could be found in sanctuaries and cemeteries, most often serving
as votive offerings to the gods or as commemorative grave markers
New York Kouros
Marble, 6' 4", ca. 600 BCE
• sServes same funerary function as Egyptian
sculpture
• EEarliest known life-size standing sculpture
of a male in Greek art
• IIn the Egyptian manner, the young man’s
arms drop stiffly to his side and his fists are
clenched. Both heels remain unnaturally
cemented to the ground
• FFacial features—wide, oval eyes, sharply
delineated brow, carefully knotted hair—recall
the Sumerian votive statues
Female Sculpture—The Kore
• Kore (pl. korai)—“maiden”
• Just as the kouros statue seems related to Apollo, the kore statue
appears to have been a votive offering to Athena, the protector of
Athens
• Male citizens dedicated korai to Athena as a gesture of both piety
and evident pleasure
• Just as the kouroi, the korai became more naturalistic
Peplos Kore
Polychromed marble, 47½", ca. 530 BCE
Kore, from Chios (?)
Polychromed marble, 21", ca. 520 BCE
• This kore wears a chiton, a
linen garment that clings more
closely to the body and is
gathered to create pleats and
folds that allow the artist to
show off his virtuosity
• It is also remarkable for the
amount of original paint on it
"Sculptures of the Sixth Century”
Video will play automatically.
From The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human
(length: 4:23). Item #34480 © 2004
Athenian Pottery
• Extremely high quality clay was available in Athens, which turned a
deep orange color when fired
• By the middle of the sixth century BCE, Athens had become a major
center of pottery making
• Moving away from the earlier geometric designs, many of the pots
from the Archaic Period depict gods and heroes
Death of Sarpedon
Red-figure decoration on a calyx krater, 18"
ca. 515 BCE
• To create red-figure vases,
artists used special “slips,”
mixtures of clay and water,
which they painted over the
background around the
figures
• The vase was fired in three
stages
• Areas painted with the slip
turned black, while the
figures emerged red
Women at a Fountain House
Black-figure decoration on a hydra vase, 20-7/8"
ca. 520-510 BCE
• Black-figure vases are the
reverse of the red-figure
variety
• Figures painted with the
slip, so after firing they
remain black against an
unslipped red background
• This hydria, or water jug,
shows women carrying
similar jugs as they chat at
a fountain house, a scene
from everyday life
The Golden Age of Athens
• Athens’ Golden Age dates from 480 BCE (defeat of the Persians at
Salamis) to 404 BCE (defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian Wars)
• The statesman Pericles, an aristocrat by birth who was democracy’s
strongest advocate, convinced the Athenians to rebuild their
devastated city
• Athens at this time was a culture of astonishing sophistication and
diversity
• Aristotle’s term, eudaimonia—“the good or flourishing life”—defines
Athens during this Golden Age
Athens as It Appeared
in the Late 5th Century BCE
The Acropolis
• Cost of rebuilding the Acropolis, which had been left in a state of ruin
after the Persian invasion of 480 BCE, was enormous, financed mostly
by tributes that Athens assessed upon its allies in the Delian League
• Phidias was the chief sculptor; Ictinus, Callicrates, and Mnesicles were
the chief architects
• Work on it began in the 440s BCE and continued until 406 BCE
• The complex consists of four main structures: the Propylaia, the
Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike, and the Erechtheoin
Model of the Acropolis
The Parthenon
Temple of Athena Nike
• Designed by Callicrates and
built in 425 BCE
• Overlooking the entryway just
to the west
• Far more delicate—graced by
slender Ionic columns
• Probably meant to celebrate
what the Athenians hoped
would be their victory in the
Peloponnesian Wars, as nike
is Greek for “victory”
Decorative Sculptures
of the Parthenon
The decorative sculptures
were located in three main
areas: in the pediments at
each end of the building, on
the metopes, or square panels
between the beam ends
under the roof, and on the
frieze that runs across the
outer wall of the cella
Young Men on Horseback
Segment of the North Frieze
Marble, 41"
This is just a small section of the entire procession, which extends completely
around the Parthenon.
Lapith Overcoming a Centaur
South Metope, Marble Relief, 4' 5"
• The 92 metopes on the four
sides of the temple narrate
battles between the Greeks
and four enemies: the Trojans,
giants, Amazons, and centaurs
• Executed in high relief, these
metopes represent the clash
between the forces of
civilization—the Greeks—and
their barbarian, even bestial,
enemies
Kritios Boy
Marble, 46", ca. 480 BCE
• This sculpture, attributed to the
sculptor Kritios, was discovered
in 1895 in a pile of debris on the
Acropolis
• Its contrapposto (“counterpoise”) stance—slightly bent
knee, extended leg—seems to
result from the growing desire
of Greek sculptors to dramatize
the stories narrated in the
decorative programs of temples
and sanctuaries
Polyclitus,
Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)
Marble, 6' 6", ca. 540-440 BCE
• Polyclitus was one of the great
artists of the Golden Age
• His Doryphoros a demonstration of
Polyclitus’s treatise on proportion
known as The Canon (from Greek
kanon, meaning “measure” or
“rule”)
• Ideal human form determined by
the height of the head from the
crown to the chin. The head was
one-eighth the total height, the
width of the shoulders was onequarter the total height, and so on
Greek Theater
• Drama originally was a participatory ritual tied to the cult of
Dionysus—dialogues among choruses of people
• Thespis (mid-sixth century BCE), a playwright from whom we derive
the word thespian, is credited with first assuming the role of an
actor by interacting with the chorus
• The three major forms of Greek drama are the satyr play, comedy,
and tragedy
Theater, Epidaurus
Early 3rd century BCE
Hellenistic Art
• Hellenistic art reflects the growing taste for images of men and
women in quiet, sometimes dreamy and contemplative moods
• It displays a sense of animation, drama, and psychological complexity
• The most admired sculptors were Lyssipus, Praxiteles, and Skopas
(very little of the latter’s work survives)
Nike (Victory) of Samothrace
Marble, 8' 1", ca. 300-190 BCE
• This Hellenistic sculpture was
probably commissioned to
celebrate a naval victory
• The dynamic forward
movement of the striding
figure is balanced dramatically
by the open gesture of her
extended wings and the
powerful directional lines of
her windblown gown
• This sculpture represents a
new direction in art—freedom
to explore the emotional
extremes of human experience
Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos
Marble, 6' 8", 350-325 BCE
• This sculpture was commissioned
by people of the port city of
Knidos, a Spartan colony in Asia
Minor
• It was enshrined in a circular
temple, easily viewed from every
angle
• Quite possibly the first fully nude
depiction of a woman in Greek
sculpture, this statue quickly
became an object of religious
attention—and open sexual
adoration