Chapter Two

The Greek WorldThe Greek WorldThe Classical Tradition

The CycladesThe 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 CycladesFigurine of a Woman from the CycladesMarble, 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 CreteMinoan 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 The Snake Goddess or or PriestessPriestess from Crete from Crete

Faience, 11-5/8", ca. 1500 BCE

• When discovered by Arthur Evans during his early twentieth- century 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 FrescoBull Leaping (Toreador Fresco), from the palace ), from the palace complex at Knossos, Cretecomplex at Knossos, CreteFresco, app. 24½", ca. 1450-1375 Fresco, app. 24½", ca. 1450-1375 BCE BCE

Bull Leaping (Toreador Fresco) from the Palace Complex at Knossos

Fresco, 24½", ca. 1750-1375 BCE

BulAs in Egyptian art, women are traditionally depicted with light skin, men with a darker complexion.

Vaphio CupVaphio CupGold, 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 Mycenaean Culture on the Peloponneseon 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 Heinrich Schliemann and the Discovery of MycenaeDiscovery 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 AgamemnonThe Mask of AgamemnonGold, 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 AmphoraBotkin Class AmphoraBlack-figure decoration on ceramic, 11-9/16" high

ca. 540-530 BCE

• Amphora—Greek jar with an egg-shaped 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-StatesThe 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 city-

states 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 IPasteum, Italy, ca. 560 BCE

Male Sculpture and theMale Sculpture and the Cult of the Body 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 KourosMarble, 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 KoreFemale 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 KorePolychromed 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

From The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human (length: 4:23). Item #34480 © 2004

"Sculptures of the Sixth Century”

Video will play automatically.

Athenian PotteryAthenian 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 SarpedonDeath of SarpedonRed-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 HouseWomen at a Fountain HouseBlack-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 AthensThe 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 Athens as It Appeared in the Late 5in the Late 5thth Century Century BCEBCE

The AcropolisThe 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 AcropolisModel of the Acropolis

The ParthenonThe Parthenon

Temple of Athena NikeTemple 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 Decorative Sculptures of the Parthenonof 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 HorsebackYoung Men on HorsebackSegment 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 CentaurLapith Overcoming a CentaurSouth 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 BoyKritios BoyMarble, 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 (“counter- poise”) 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, Polyclitus, Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)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 one- quarter the total height, and so on

Greek TheaterGreek 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, EpidaurusTheater, EpidaurusEarly 3rd century BCE

Hellenistic ArtHellenistic 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 SamothraceNike (Victory) of SamothraceMarble, 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, Praxiteles, Aphrodite of KnidosAphrodite of KnidosMarble, 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