Ancient Greek: Archaic
Archaic Period (750 - 500 BC) - The Archaic Period in Greece refers to the years between 750 and 480 B.C., more particularly from 620 to 480 B.C. The age is defined through the development of art at this time, specifically through the style of pottery and
Homer
A Greek poet, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey
Ancient Greek: Classical
Classical Period (500-336 BC) - Classical period of ancient Greek history, is fixed between about 500 B. C., when the Greeks began to come into conflict with the kingdom of Persia to the east, and the death of the Macedonian king and conqueror Alexander t
Ancient Greek: Hellenistic
Hellenistic Period (336-146 BC) - period between the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great and the establishment of Roman supremacy, in which Greek culture and learning were pre-eminent in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. It is called Hel
Etruscan History
Etruscan history is the written record of Etruscan civilization compiled mainly by Greek and Roman authors. Apart from their inscriptions, from which information mainly of a sociological character can be extracted, the Etruscans left no surviving history
Etruscan Kings of Rome
(about the time of Ancient Greek: Archaic)
Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (616-579)
Servius Tullius (578-535)
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (535-510/509) BC
Early Roman Republic
(about the time of Ancient Greek: Classical)
It all began when the Romans overthrew their Etruscan conquerors in 509 B.C.E. Centered north of Rome, the Etruscans had ruled over the Romans for hundreds of years.
Once free, the Romans established a republic, a government in which citizens elected repr
Middle Roman Republic
(about the time of Ancient Greek: Hellenistic)
Late Roman Republic
(about the time of Ancient Greek: End of Hellenistic)
Roman Empire
(about the time of Ancient Greek: Post Hellenistic)
Greek Timeline
Greek vs Roman Timeline
Pre-Hellenistic
LandscapeP Poor/Harsh, but beautiful
Compartmentalized - See limits/measurable
Polis - mountains/plain shore
Colonization - 7th Century BC - Population
polis
a city state in ancient Greece, especially as considered in its ideal form for philosophical purposes.
Elements of City
Wall
Tombs
Agora
Acropolis
Areopagus
Domestic vs. Monumental
Symposium (drink and talk)
Andron (men's place) - main entertainment room
Gynaikon (women's quarters)
acropolis
a citadel or fortified part of an ancient Greek city, typically built on a hill.
agora
a central spot in ancient Greek city-states
andron or andronitis
the part of the house reserved just for men. Men used this room to entertain their friends and business associates
areopagus
The Areopagus is a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. In classical times, it functioned as the court for trying deliberate homicide.
gynaikon or gynaikonitis
This was the room set aside only for women. This is where the women of the house entertained their women friends and relatives. This was also the room where they did their weaving and spinning to create fabric. They looked after their children in this roo
peristylium
The peristylium (sometimes called the peristyle in English) was in effect the garden of the house. Though in the case of the Roman house, it was incorporated into the house itself and was usually surrounded by columns supporting the roof.
symposia
social events with food and wine, were held in this room
tombs
During the early Archaic period, Greek cemeteries became larger, but grave goods decreased. This greater simplicity in burial coincided with the rise of democracy and the egalitarian military of the hoplite phalanx, and became pronounced during the early
Ancient Agora of Athens
late fifth/fourth century; mid second century
Greek courtyard townhouse/country house
In most of ancient Greece, a house was built around an open air courtyard. Houses were built of stone, wood, and clay bricks. They were sturdy and comfortable. Larger homes might have several bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathing room, a woman's sitting area, a
free (citizen) men's "symposium
In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Symposiums are often featured on Attic pottery.
more free (citizen) men's "symposium
Krater
Krater, also spelled crater, ancient Greek vessel used for diluting wine with water. It usually stood on a tripod in the dining room, where wine was mixed. Kraters were made of metal or pottery and were often painted or elaborately ornamented.
Bell Krater
Bell krater, a bowl used in ancient Greece for diluting wine with water.
Red Figure Pottery
Red-figure pottery is a type of Greek pottery that flourished from the late 6th to the late 4th century bc. During this period most of the more important vases were painted in this style or in the earlier, black-figure style. In the latter, figures were p
red-figure calyx krater by the Niobid Painter
Apollo and Artemis killing the children of Niobe, red-figure calyx krater by the Niobid Painter, c. ...
Red Figure Pottery's Two Time Periods
Red-figure pottery can be roughly divided into two periods: the first from about 530 to 480 bc, the second from about 480 to 323 bc.
Red Figure Pottery's Early Period
In the early vases�the subjects of which included heroic and Dionysiac scenes as well as scenes from daily life�the details are added in black pigment or in dilutions of black that appear brown. The artists had mastered foreshortening and could convey the
Red Figure Pottery's Early Period Artists
Oltos, Epictetus, Euphronius, Euthymides, Onesimos, Douris, and the Brygos Painter.
Epictetus
Epictetus, (flourished c. 520-480? bc) Greek potter and painter who worked in Athens. His work is praised for its care, grace, vitality, delicate line, and fine draftsmanship. He signed his works as both maker and decorator.
Euphronios
Euphronios, also spelled Euphronius (flourished c. 520-470 bce) one of the most celebrated Greek painters and potters of his time. He experimented with new ideas, forms, and designs within the context of the Archaic tradition, especially the adoption and
Euthymides
Euthymides, (flourished c. 515-500 bc) an early adopter of the Athenian red-figure technique, a contemporary and perhaps rival of Euphronius. He is admired for his explorations in foreshortening and for his studies in movement, both departures from Archai
Amphora
Amphora, ancient vessel form used as a storage jar and one of the principal vessel shapes in Greek pottery, a two-handled pot with a neck narrower than the body.
Types of Amphora
There are two types of amphora: the neck amphora, in which the neck meets the body at a sharp angle; and the one-piece amphora, in which the neck and body form a continuous curve.
Neck Amphora
The neck amphora is common from the Geometric period (c. 900 bc) to the decline of Greek pottery
The one-piece amphora
The one-piece amphora appeared in the 7th century bc.
Antis
Antis, in which the side walls protrude to flank the columns on the porch in front)
Prostyle
Prostyle is an architectural term defining free standing columns across the front of a building, as often in a portico. The term is often used as an adjective when referring to the portico of a classical building which projects from the main structure.
Stoas
A stoa, in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usually of the Doric order, lining the side of the building; they created a safe, enveloping, protective a
Doric Order
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek or classical architecture. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns. It was the earliest and in its essence the simplest of the orders, though st
Doric Column
The Greek Doric column was fluted, and had no base, dropping straight into the stylobate or platform on which the temple or other building stood. The capital was a simple circular form, with some mouldings, under a square cushion that is very wide in earl
Doric
HEAVY SIMPLICITY
Ionic Order
The Ionic columns are the thinnest and smallest columns out of the three canonic orders.
The Ionic capital is characterized by the use of volutes. The Ionic columns normally stand on a base which separates the shaft of the column from the stylobate or pla
Ionic
It is called Ionic because it developed in the Ionian islands in the 6th century B.C. Roman historian Vitruvius compared this delicate order to a female form, in contrast to the stockier "male" Doric order.
Corinthian Order
The Corinthian order is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The Corinthian, with its offshoot the Composite, is the most ornate of the orders, characterized by slender fluted columns and elab
Corinthian
LEAFY BUT NOT AS POPULAR, the Corinthian is similar to the Ionic order in its base, column, and entablature, but its capital is far more ornate, carved with two tiers of curly acanthus leaves.
What are the three elements that compose a Greek structure?
Greek architecture followed a highly structured system of proportions that relates individual architectural components to the whole building. This system was developed according to three styles, or orders. Each order consists of an upright support called
Entablature
The entablature, a horizontal element, is divided further into three different parts: the architrave (lowest part), the frieze (middle), the cornice (top).
These elements, in turn, were further elaborated with decorative moldings and ornamentation. Each c
Parts of a Column
Plans of Ancient Greek Temples
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in
Sanctuaries: Athens, Acropolis
The slopes, caves and plateaus of the Acropolis hill were the settings in which gods, heroes and nymphs were worshipped. The south slope was home to two of the most important sanctuaries of the city, those of Dionysos Eleuthereus and Asklepios. It was als
Greek Culture
Rises from the void of the collapse of Mycenaean Greek palace culture after collapse of c. 1100 BC
*loss of palace culture, writing, almost pottery
Archaic Art: Orientalizing Phase
Archaic Art, from c. 700 - 480 BC, began with an Orientalizing Phase (735 - 650 BC). In this, elements from other civilizations began to creep into Greek art. The elements were those of the Near East (not exactly what we think of as "Oriental" now, but re
Order vs. Vitality
*chaos
*metastasis - reversal of state
*kosmos - motion of stars
-something inanimate can breath
Archaic Art
The Archaic phase, from c. 700 - 480 BC, is best known for the beginnings of realistic depictions of humans and (no coincidence) monumental stone sculptures. It was during the Archaic that the limestone kouros (male) and kore (female) statues were created
Marble statue of a kouros (youth)
Period: Archaic
Date: ca. 590-580 B.C.
Culture: Greek, Attic
Medium: Marble, Naxian
This noble figure of a youth is one of the earliest freestanding marble statues from Attica, the region around Athens. It is a type of sculpture known as a kouros (male yo
Classical Art
Classical Art (480 - 323 BC) was created during a "golden age", from the time Athens rose to prominence, to Greek expansion and right up until the death of Alexander the Great. It was during this period that human statues became so heroically proportioned
Early classical or "severe style
(c. 480-450 BC)
*new seriousness, consciousness of liberty and responsibility, anxiety
*contrapposto - natural movement of the human form
*articulated - see the individual parts but they are a whole
*pathetic/somatic ??? - projecting life into the inanima
Articulation
analysis into component parts, syntax
Archaic
rendering motion through schemata
*there's a gradual conquest of visual appearance (6th c BC)
Organic Motion
white on black
foreshadowing (?) violent motion
twist and turn
realism theaters pattern
every part of the body moves
Hellenistic Art
Hellenistic Art (323 - 31 BC) - quite like Mannerism - went a wee bit over the top. By the time Alexander had died, and things got chaotic in Greece as his empire broke apart, Greek sculptors had mastered carving marble. They were so technically perfect,
Geometric, c. 1000-c. 725/700
Collapse Mycenaean Bonze Age reduces palace culture to lowest common denominator.
Eighth B.C., Essentially a new start to physical culture. Pottery, independent decorative vocabulary ("sort of "geometric"), population rise, colonization, Homeric epics com
Early Archaic or "Orientalizing" Period, c. 725/00- c. 600 B.C.
Rise of "tyrannies" as charismatic, anti-aristocratic polis leaders, aggressively proactive political leaders. Contact and trading with Near East, acquisition of figural styles, and Near Eastern Floral motifs as decoration, contact with Egypt, c. 630, c.
Later Archaic, c. 600-500/480
Athens, wealthy Ionian cities, militaristic Sparta, supercedes Corinth. Ionia science and pre-Socratic philosophy.
Art: brief period of imitation of Egyptian figural styles, then a "progressive" development of naturalistic appearances, reliance upon "sche
Pioneer Generation" c. 525-490
Athenian Tyrants (Peisistratids) and foundation of democracy, 509.
Experimentation with extreme movement and activity, freedom of movement
Early Classical: "Severe Style", 490-450 BC.
Generation of the Persian Wars, rice of dominance of Athenian imperial democracy (the "Delian League"). Rise of sophist philosophy, Athenian tragedy.
The discovery of organic motion, rhythmic and compensatory correspondences over an inner skeletal structu
Ethos vs. Pathos
experimentation with expressing state of emotion; confidence and doubt