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Idealism
Throughout the different eras, Greek artists sought to attain the “ideal” in art, meaning
they portrayed their views of perfection through sculpture and architecture. The Classical
period held the ideal of perfection through mathematics. The Hellenistic period had the ideal
of the balance between power and emotion. These ideals influenced Greek art and
architecture throughout time.
The balance of power and emotion was specially valued during the Hellenistic era.
Greeks valued young, healthy, and strong men because of the great impact war had on them in
all aspects of their life. Incorporating that into historical art like The Battle of Issus, c. 100 B.C.E.
This art piece is a Roman floor mosaic based on a Greek mural; it shows the battle between
Greece and Persia, placing small pieces of glass and forming an elaborate battle field where
Alexander leads a battle against the Persians. Strong and powerful warriors fighting to the
death demonstrates their strength. Since, with strength comes power, the warriors in the
mosaic have bulging muscles and great weapons. The detail of the mosaic allows the emotion
on the warriors face to come through. Pain, fatigue and determination is clearly shown,
Alexander’s bravery as he enters and Darius’ horror at the sight of him are also evident. This
balance, of emotion and power, are what make up Hellenistic art.
For the classical period, rather than strength and emotion, they idealized perfection. An
example of this would be Iktinos and Kallikrates, Pantheon, from c. 420 B.C.E. The Parthenon is
a building in Acropolis, presumably dedicated to Athena. As it was dedicated to the goddess, it
was very important for it to be perfect. Although the building is on uneven ground it is
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perfectly proportioned, using the mathematical equation: x=2y=+1. This gives the optical
illusion that it’s vertical and horizontal, when in reality there is a curvature to the whole
building. Using math made construction of this building and future ones a lot easier. This idea
of mathematical perfection wasn’t only used in architecture but also in sculpture. Polykleitos,
“Spear Bearer”, c. 420 B.C.E. is an example of this. The statue was recreated using math and
only the resemblance of a former statue. That made the statue essentially perfect and the
people at that time preferred it that way. That supports how they idealized perfection
throughout the classical period.
Throughout the different Greek periods idealism changed drastically. Classical Greece4
viewed perfection through mathematics as their ideal. While Hellenistic Greek idealism was
mainly focused on power and emotion.