ANCIENT GREECE GARDNER CHAPTER 5-8 PP. 145-154

HELLENISTIC PERIOD 320-30 BCE Alexander’s conquest of the Near East and Egypt ushers in a new cultural age called the HELLENISTIC PERIOD Begins with the death of Alexander in 323 BCE and ends with the double suicide of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra -> they were defeated by Augustus at the Battle of Actium Cultural centers were the court cities of the Greek kings who succeeded Alexander Antioch in Syria Alexandria in Egypt Pergamon in Asia Minor

HELLENISTIC ARCHITECTURE Variety, complexity and sophistication of Hellenistic culture Architecture on an imperial scale and wide diversity -> the wealth of the East Center of culture shifts from the Greek mainland to the wealthy lavish cities of the Hellenistic monarchs in the East Pergamon in Asia Minor – Altar of Zeus at center right

PERGAMON One of the most significant Helllenistic cities -> the kingdom controlled most of western and southern Asia Minor Bequeathed to Rome in 133 BCE Immensely wealthy -> vast sums spent on the capital city and its acropolis GALLIC CHIEFTAIN KILLING HIMSELF AND HIS WIFE, Roman marble copy of bronze original, 230-220 BCE, 6’11”, from Pergamon

The most famous Hellenistic sculptural ensemble, 175 BCE Altar was an elevated platform, framed by Ionic stoa-like colonnaded with projecting wings on either side of broad staircase All around the platform was a larger than life sculpted 400 ft long frieze -> gigantomachy The frieze = violent movement, swirling draperies, vivid scenes of death and suffering (2-38/1) GREAT ALTAR ZEUS AND ATHENA AT PERGAMON Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) Hellenistic Greek c. 175 B.C.E. Marble (architecture and sculpture) FLASHCARD

(2-38/1) GREAT ALTAR ZEUS AND ATHENA AT PERGAMON Athena Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) Hellenistic Greek c. 175 B.C.E. Marble (architecture and sculpture) Gigantomachy Describes battle between gods and giants -> the giants are being dragged up the stairs of the altar of Zeus and Athena Parallels the victory of Alexander over the Persians Deeply carved and overlapping figures -> creates spatial illusion Drama, intensity, movement = Hellenistic sculpture Athena grabs Alkyoneos by the hair, Nike is crowning Athena, Gaia is begging for mercy for her sons the giants FLASHCARD

DYING GAULS Dying Gaul, Roman marble copy of bronze original 230-220 BCE, 3’ ½” high Victory of Pergamon over the Gauls -> barbarians shown w/bushy hair, mustaches, neck bands Gallic trumpeter collapsed on his shield -> stares at the ground in pain -> recalls the dying warrior from east pediment of Temple of Aphaia at Aegina Enemy is presented as a noble and savage foe who fights to the end

(2-37) WINGED VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE Hellenistic Greek c. 190 B. C. E (2-37) WINGED VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE Hellenistic Greek c. 190 B.C.E. Marble FLASHCARD Nike alighting on a warship, from Samothrace, Greece, 190 BCE, marble, 8’1” high Nike is crowning the naval victor -> right arm held crown Wings still beating, wind sweeps her drapery Statue was part of a two-tiered fountain with war galley and nike in upper portion, large boulders in lower portion, flowing water created sound and drama

VENUS DE MILO In Hellenistic period sculptors undressed Aphrodite and explored the eroticism of the nude female form Larger than life marble statue of Aphrodite found on Melos, 150- 125 BCE, 6’7” high More overtly sexual than the Knidian Aphrodite -> slipping garment teases the spectator

BARBERINI FAUN Sleeping Satyr (Barberini Faun), 230-200 BCE, marble, 7’1” high Archaic statues smile, Classical statues look away, Hellenistic statues often portray sleep -> fantasy and dreams -> the antithesis of Classical ideal of rationality and discipline Satyr has consumed too much wine -> thrown down panther skin on a convenient rock -> fallen into a drunken, restless sleep Blatantly sexual -> spread legs focus attention on the genitals

(2-41) SEATED BOXER (DEFEATED BOXER) Hellenistic Greek c. 100 B. C. E (2-41) SEATED BOXER (DEFEATED BOXER) Hellenistic Greek c. 100 B.C.E. Bronze Seated boxer, from Rome, ca. 100-50 BCE, bronze, 4’2” Hellenistic art treated traditional themes but in novel/new ways -> Greek athlete -> but not a young victorious athlete w/ a perfect face and body Older, defeated boxer w/a broken nose and battered ears Compare the Hellenistic boxer to the Early Classical Riace warrior -> appeals to the emotions and compassion not the intellect FLASHCARD

FLASHCARD (2-additional/chapter 5) OLD MARKET WOMAN Hellenistic Greek c. 150-100 B.C.E. Marble Classical period = idealism Hellenistic period = this statue = realism Many Hellenistic statues portray old men and women from the bottom on the social order Haggard old woman -> bringing chickens, fruits, vegetables to sell at the market -> wrinkled, bent with age, broken spirit and lifetime of poverty New interest in social realism -> the poor, foreigners

HELLENISTIC ART UNDER ROMAN PATRONAGE Beginning of the 2nd century the Romans defeat the Macedonians and “free” Greece Greece becomes a Roman province in 146 BCE In the 80’s Athen’s sides with an enemy of Rome -> Roman general Sulla crushes the Athenians Greeks artist will continue to be in great demand to furnish Romans w/endless copies of Classical and Hellenistic masterpieces -> and create new statues A LA GRECQUE = in the Greek style Lucius Cornelius Sulla

LAOCOON Laocoon and his sons, from Rome, early 1st century, marble, 7’10” high Depicts the Trojan priest Laocoon and his son being strangled by sea serpents in punishment for trying to warn the Trojans about bringing the the Greek’s wooden horse into the city The 3 Trojans writhe in pain as they struggle to free themselves from the death grip of the serpents Akin to images of the great frieze on the Altar of Zeus at Pergamon