4. The Art of Ancient Greece (1600-31 BC)
What was it about? What were the goals?
Greek art consisted of monuments to their culture, religion, and history – much like the Egyptians. They built temples to worship their pantheon of gods and goddesses, and to proclaim the greatness of their culture. They decorated every surface they could with myths and legends of their favorite heroes, such as Achilles, Odysseus, and Heracles (the Greek name for Hercules). While Greek art and architecture borrowed many ideas from Egypt – their use of columns, their ideas of symmetry, geometry, formality, purity, and the use of strong outlines – the Greeks added two important innovations, which they found through observation: gesture, and foreshortening.
Greek sculptors used gesture to express emotion, choosing new ways to position their figures. Socrates, who was trained as a sculptor, taught his pupils in art to represent the "workings of the soul", and to observe how "feelings affect the body in action."
A bit of historical context:
The ancient Greeks lived in separate city states, ranging from Turkey to the south of France, but they shared the same language and religion. Sometimes they fought each other, and sometimes they worked together to fight other enemies. They were always semi-independent due to geography. There are so many islands and mountains, it’s a difficult place to rule over. So, the Greek cities never had the same rigidity to their culture that Egypt had.
The history of ancient Greece can be organized into periods (or ages):
The Bronze Age 3200 – 1100 BC
The Mycenaean Age (Late Bronze Age, aka Age of Heroes) 1600 – 1100 BC
The Greek Dark Ages 1100 – 800 BC
Archaic Period 700 – 480 BC
Classical Period (Golden Age, ending with Alexander the Great) 480 – 323 BC
Hellenistic Period (after the death of Alexander the Great) 323 – 31 BC
Greek Pottery can also be divided into stylistic periods:
Proto Geometric 1050 – 900 BC
Geometric 900 – 700 BC
Oriental (Corinthian) 800 – 600 BC
Black Figure 620 – 480 BC
Red Figure 520 – 320 BC
White Ground around 500 BC
The Archaic Period is when Greece began forming colonies that spread along the Mediterranean Sea. These united Greek city-states defeated the Persians in a number of wars during the Classical Period, extending their territory to its fullest extent under Alexander the Great. It was during the Hellenistic Period that Greece was defeated and subjugated by the Romans, who copied much of their culture and religion, spreading it around the ancient world. This is why Greece is considered the Cradle of Western Civilization.
The underlying philosophy of the Greeks:
The Greeks were great thinkers, and developed many competing philosophies. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and many others began new movements that still thrive today: stoicism, Epicureanism, skepticism, cynicism, and so on. Central to the Greeks’ way of life was individual freedom, which they saw as necessary for personal growth and a prosperous society. They valued strength, both physical and mental. They wanted to be superior in every way, so they could defeat their many enemies. More than that, they wanted to answer some of the fundamental questions of life and science. They saw knowledge as the secrets of the gods – to understand the world through science, mathematics, and nature was to understand the gods themselves.
How was their culture represented in other arts – music, architecture, and literature?
Although we commonly associate Greek civilization with their marble temples and statues, the ancient Greeks didn’t consider visual art so important – they saw it as a simple skill of mimesis: recreating what you see. The Greeks worshipped nine muses, and not a one represented visual art, while five represented different kinds of poetry, and others inspired history, astronomy, and theatre. Ancient Greece had a rich literary tradition of drama, oratory, poetry, and philosophy.
Furthermore, music was central to Greek culture, with instruments such as the lyre, aulos (double flute), and syrinx (pan flute).
The sculpture above (circa 100 BC) shows Pan teaching a boy how to play. While none of their music survives today, a group of scholars and archaeologists, under the name Synaulia, have tried to recreate these instruments, and make music based on them.
What made it great?
Simply put, they were incredibly skilled. They made some of the most beautiful, breathtaking works of all time – their sculptures are so life-like, it’s as if they could move and talk. Not simply realistic, these statues showed the Greek ideal of beauty for the human form – something for all artists, and athletes, to aspire to. The Greeks were also great story tellers, filling a single picture with nuance and subtle details. And they built large, breathtaking temples and cities – how they did it without modern machines is still something of a mystery.
The Mycenaean Age 1600 – 1100 BC
The Mycenaean Age was named after the village of Mycenae, the first of its period to be discovered and excavated by archaeologists. The Mycenaean Age is considered the age of heroes because this is when all the epic events took place, which Homer wrote about - the battle of Troy, and the return of Odysseus.
Art of the Mycenaean Age consisted mostly of pottery, with simple, geometric figures and designs. Greek ceramics had distinct shapes, based on function:
Amphora - were mostly wine storage jugs. Also used as urns.
Hydria - were water jugs.
Oinochoe - were wine jugs (for pouring at the table)
Kraters - were jugs for mixing wine and water.
Kylix & Kantharos - were drinking cups.
Lekythos - a jug for olive oil.
Pyxis - for women's cosmetics & jewelry.
The Dipylon Amphora, made around 750 BC, indicates that the Greek “Dark Ages” weren’t all that dark or primitive. This large, elegant ceramic vessel required a great deal of skill to complete. The style is geometric, as there are many repeating geometric patterns circling around the vase. This piece was made to house the ashes of someone special. In the middle, there is a funeral scene with a dead woman lying on a bier, a checkered shroud over her body. Stylized people stand on either side – with triangular torsos, muscular legs, and “wasp-waisted” abdomens, typical of the period.
Archaic Period 700 – 480 BC
The greatest art of the Archaic Period were marble statues of young men (Kouroi) and women (Korai).
Some leading figures:
Polymedes of Argos (sculptor, 6th Century)
Exekias (ceramics painter, active c. 545-530 BC)
The women were dressed in elegant gowns, but the men were nude. These statues were life-size and free-standing, and were used to mark gravestones. They had arrogant, aristocratic facial expressions.
Archaic pottery consisted of oriental and black-figure styles:
The Corinthian jug is "oriental" in style, with its multi-colored figures on a white background, decorated with exotic animals and flowers. The black figure amphora on the right shows Ajax and Achilles playing a board game as a way to get to know one another, before fighting a duel during the siege of Troy.
The Classical Period 480 – 323 BC
The Classical Period was Greece's Golden Age, when they produced their most famous art, architecture, theatre, poetry, and philosophy. This period began with the defeat of the invading Persians (present day Iran). The Parthenon in Athens was built in the Classical Period. Greeks also began the production of gold and silver coins in the Classical Period. Alexander the Great was so famous, that he started a fashion trend - a clean-shaven ruler. Greek and Roman rulers copied this for 500 years, up until the Roman Emperor Hadrian grew a beard.
This red-figure painting shows a detail on the side of a hydria, from 510 BC. The picture is of a music lesson.
This detail of a white ground kylix above shows Aphrodite, goddess of love, riding on a swan, 460 BC.
Leading Figures:
Iktinos (architect active c. 450 BC)
Myron (sculptor, 480-440 BC)
Pheidias (painter, sculptor, and architect, 480-430)
Scopas (sculptor, c. 395-350 BC)
Praxiteles (sculptor, active 360 BC)
Lysippos (sculptor, c. 390-? BC)
Apelles of Kos (painter, active c. 330 BC)
Hellenistic Greece 323 – 31 BC
This period began with the death of Alexander the Great, and the division of his empire. It ended with the Roman invasion. Famous events include the founding and growth of the city Alexandria in Egypt, and the huge library built there, housing between 40,000-400,000 scrolls. It was later destroyed by the Romans. The greatest artworks of Hellenistic Greece were life-like marble statues, for example Nike of Samothrake, and Laocoön and His Sons.
Leading Figures:
Agesander of Rhodes (1st Century BC – 1st Century AD)
Alexandros of Antioch
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