Achilles Painter
An Athenian vase painter of the fifth century Classical period who worked in the white-ground style. He specialized in lekythoi (oil jars) with funerary themes.
Alexander the Great
Macedonian king who invaded the Persian empire in 334 B.C.E. By the time of his death in 323 he had brought the entire Persian empire under his control.
Amasis
Athenian vase painter of the archaic period, later 6th century B.C.E. He was known for his light-hearted and decorative scenes.
Andokides
Painter and Lysippides Painter: Athenian vase painters, pioneers in the red-figure style. They produced a number of "bilingual vases," that is, vases decorated on one side in the older black figure technique, by the Lysippides Painter, and the other with
Douris
Athenian red-figure vase painter of the late Archaic to early Classical period, active ca. 490-480 B.C.E. His figures show more naturalistic movements and drapery than earlier red figure works. He specialized in painting cups, but also decorated some larg
Euphronios
Athenian vase painter of the late Archaic Period, active in the last quarter of the 6th century, a pioneer of the red figure style. His best known works include a kalyx krater depicting the death of the hero Sarpedon.
Exekias
Athenian vase painter of the Archaic period, active in the mid to later 6th century, who worked in the black figure style. His figures are psychologically expressive and strongly characterized as individuals, as for example in the amphora that portrays Ac
Hagesander, Polydoros, and Athenodoros of Rhodes
The three sculptors who collaborated on the great Hellenistic statue group of Laoco�n and his two sons. They were probably active in the 1st century B.C.E., and worked in Italy for Roman clients.
Iktinos and Kallikrates
The architects who designed the Parthenon.
Kroisos
A young man who died in battle in the 6th century B.C.E. and was commemorated with a grave marker in the form of a marble statue. This statue is also known as the "Anavyssos Kouros.
Lysippos
A sculptor of the 4th century Classical and early Hellenistic style, who spent most of his career in Macedonia working as a court artist of Alexander the Great. His work, which survives only in Roman copies, includes the Apoxyomenos (athlete scraping hims
Myron
Sculptor of the Early Classical period, best known for his statue of a discus thrower who has just completed the back-swing. The original statue was bronze and does not survive, but many marble copies do.
Perkiles
Head of state in Athens in the mid 5th century B.C.E., the patron who initiated the rebuilding of the temples on the Acropolis that had been destroyed in the Persian war of 480. The rebuilding program continued after his death.
Pheidias
Sculptor of the fifth century Classical style, known for his colossal cult statues in gold and ivory. His statue of Athena Parthenos stood in the Parthenon of Athens. The original is now lost, but small scale copies survive.
Polykleitos
Sculptor of the fifth century Classical style who formulated a new canon of human proportions to replace the old Egyptian grid system that had been used during the archaic period. His statue known as the Doryphoros, or Spear Bearer, illustrated his canon.
Praxiteles
Athenian sculptor of the fourth century Classical style. Best known for his daring nude statue of Aphrodite at Knidos. The statue of Hermes with the infant Dionysus, from Olympia, may be an original from his workshop.
Amphora
A storage jar with handles on each side of the neck. The ones that were used to hold wine for symposia were usually decorated with painting.
Bilingual Vase
A vase decorated with both the black figure and the red figure technique.
Black Figure
A method of decorating terra cotta vases in which the figures are painted as silhouettes against a light colored background of unglazed clay. Interior details were added by scratching through the glaze with a stylus before the vase was fired. Additional l
Contrapposto
The natural distribution of weight in a standing or walking figure, in which one leg is straight, the other flexed, and the hip on the side of the flexed leg angles downward. Sculptors of the Classical period abandoned the archaic grid system in order to
Corinthian Order
A style of architecture identical to the Ionic order except that the capital takes the form of an acanthus plant growing up around a basket-like core. Developed in the fifth century B.C.E., it reached its greatest height of popularity during the Roman emp
Doric Order
A style of architecture developed on the Greek mainland and the western colonies of Italy and Sicily. It is characterized by short, heavy proportions, columns without bases, column capitals in the form of a rounded, cushion-like plant (echinus) and a frie
Geometric Style
A type of decoration best represented on pottery, but also found in bronze sculpture and jewelry of the 9th-8th centuries B.C.E. This style is characterized by use of abstract, repeating decorations. Human and animal figures take the form of small, highly
Hydria
A water pitcher. A large vase with two horizontal handles for lifting and a vertical handle for pouring.
Ionic Order
A style of architecture that developed in the Greek cities of Asia Minor. Characterized by tall, slender proportions, columns with bases, column capitals in the form of volutes, and continuous friezes of sculptural figures.
Kore
Literally, "maiden." An archaic-period statue of a young woman, typically wearing ornate drapery and either standing with her feet together or stepping forward on her left foot while holding an offering in her right hand. These statues could be used for g
Kouros
Literally, "youth." An archaic-period statue of a beardless young man, nude, standing with his left foot advanced and his hands at his sides. These statues could be used for grave markers or votive offerings.
Krater
A large, wide-mouthed bowl, used for mixing wine and water at drinking parties (symposia).
Lekythos
An oil jar, a tall, narrow vase with a small neck. Ornately painted versions were often used to pour offerings to the dead. These ceremonial vases enjoyed great popularity in the mid 5th century B.C.E.
Lost Wax Process
A technique of casting bronze by making a shell of wax that is then encased in a mold and fired. The melted wax drains out, leaving space for molten bronze to be poured in. This technique allowed Greek artists of the 5th century B.C.E. to show figures in
Orientalizing Style
The period during the 7th century B.C.E. when Greeks came into trade contact with near eastern culture, and began to imitate the forms and techniques that they saw used in Phoenician metal work and Egyptian sculpture.
Psychter
A wine cooler, a bulbous vase designed for maximum surface area so that when it is immersed in water it keeps the wine cool.
Red Figure
A technique of vase painting that reverses the procedure of the black
figure method. The artist reserves the figures in the color of the unglazed clay, while filling in the background with black. Interior details can then be painted onto the figure with a
Stele
A vertical stone slab decorated with sculpture. Popular as grave markers in Athens and other Greek cities during the 5th and 4th centuries B.C.E.
White Ground
A method of vase decoration in which the entire surface is covered
with white slip and fired. Figures are then painted over the white
background. This method allowed a broader range of color in vase
decoration than the black- or red-figure method, but was
Aegina
An island near Athens, site of a Doric temple of the late 6th to early 5th centuries B.C.E. The sculptures of the pediments demonstrate the transition from Archaic to Early Classical style.
Athens
One of the largest and most powerful city states of Greece and an important artistic center. Major monuments include the buildings of the acropolis: the Parthenon, Propylaeon, temple of Athena Nike, and Erechtheion. Also the largest exporter of painted po
Corinth
A city on the narrow isthmus between northern Greece and the
Peloponessos, and therefore a major center of trade. Craftsmen of Corinth began to imitate the techniques and styles of imports from near eastern regions in the 7th century B.C.E., creating a di
Delphi
A Pan-Hellenic religious center (i.e., a place visited by people from all Greek-speaking areas), site of a famous oracle, a priestess who would inhale intoxicating gasses from an earthquake fault in order to go into a prophetic trance. Site of many dedica
Ephesus
A large and wealthy city of Ionia in Asia Minor, site of a famous Ionic-style temple to Artemis that was considered one of the wonders of the ancient world.
Epidauros
A sanctuary of Apollo and his son Asklepios, the god of healing. This
shrine became extremely popular in the 4th century B.C.E. The buildings from this period include one of the earliest surviving Greek theaters and a circular temple with a Doric exterior
Knidos
A Greek city of Ionia, in Asia Minor, with a famous sanctuary of the goddess Aphrodite. Praxiteles' nude statue of the goddess stood in a circular temple that allowed visitors to see the statue from every angle.
Melos
A Greek island in the Aegean where a Hellenistic statue of the goddess Aphrodite was found. This famous work, which shows the goddess half nude and half draped, is commonly called the "Venus de Milo.
Olympia
A Pan Hellenic sanctuary of the god Zeus, whose festivals were celebrated every four years with athletic contests. Site of one of the earliest Doric temples, which was built partly in stone and partly in wood, and also the site where the Hermes of Praxite
Paestum
Greek city of Italy, site of several Doric temples, and of a small tomb decorated with frescoes of the early Classical style. This is one of the few surviving examples of Greek fresco painting.
Pella
Capital city of Macedonia. Under Philip II and his son Alexander the Great, it became a major artistic center, because the Macedonian kings hired Greek architects, painters, sculptors and mosaicists, etc. The kings hoped not only to rival the Greek city s
Pergamon
A small but wealthy Hellenistic kingdom in Asia Minor. The king Attalos
I dedicated a group of statues of dead and dying Gauls in the sanctuary of Athena to commemorate the city's victory over an invading nomadic tribe. A later king, Eumenes II, built a m
Pompeii
A city in Italy that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 79 C.E. The
volcanic ash that buried the town preserved the houses and many works of art, including a mosaic floor that represents Alexander the Great in battle against Darius of Persia. This wo
Riace
A town in the south east of Italy. Two bronze statues of warriors were found in the sea just off the coast of this town. We do not know whether they are the work of Greeks of southern Italy or whether they were being brought to Italy as spoils of war duri
Rome
The city in Italy that became the center of a large empire. By the mid 2nd century B.C.E., Rome controlled most of Alexander's former empire, and many Greek artists went to Italy to seek commissions from Roman patrons.
Samothrace
An island in the northern Aegean, site of a temple complex that became a popular Pan Hellenic sanctuary in Hellenistic times. A Hellenistic period statue of a winged victory was found at this site.