2) GREEK HUMANISM The civilization of Ancient Greece emerged in the ninth century BCE and passed through five periods of intense artistic activity spanning more than 800 years. Through Greek colonization, it spread from the Greek mainland to Asia Minor (Western Turkey) and Magna Graecia (Southern Italy and Sicily). During the Hellenistic period, Greek art and culture were dominant throughout the Mediterranean. The ancient name of Greece is “Hellas” and they call themselves “Hellenes”. Democracy constituted the life of the Greeks, although the reality was that in this Hellenic society, women were in no way equal to me and slavery was the norm. Women played little or no part in public or political life, but remained secluded in thier homes, emerging only for weddings, funerals, and religious festivals. The Greek World 2

3) Greece went through a dark age during a few centuries preceding the 8th century BCE. Economic conditions improved, Homers poems were recorded and the first Olympic games were established. The human figure returned in Greek paintings, ceramics and small bronze statuettes. 3

3) The Diplyon Krater is the earliest examples of Greek figure painting. This vase is well over 3 feet tall and marked the grave of a man buried around 740 BCE in Athens. Abstract ornamentation cover much of the surface surrounding a mourning scene and procession in honor of the deceased. Horizontal bands reflect the narrative style found in the art of the Ancient Near East 2500 years earlier. The key, aka the meander, comprises the top band, while highly stylized mourning figures, warriors, and animals describe the event. Rpfile and frontal views continue during this period. 3

Mantiklos Apollo, statuette of a youth dedicated by Mantiklos to Apollo, from Thebes, Greece, ca. 700-680 BCE. Bronze, approx. 8" high. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 5) The seventh century BCE is referred to as the Orientalizing period because of accelerated colonization and exposure to the Eastern artworks. Motifs and pictorial vocabulary were borrowed by Greek artists during this time. In this statuette dedicated to Apollo, the artist shows an interest in reproducing the details of the huan body such as in the hair and the pectoral and ab muscles. Greeks conceived the Gods in human form which this may be the case, especially if what was held in the left hand was a bow (power of the deity) Orientalizing Art 5

6) Lady of Auxerre got her name from the French town Auxerre where she was last located. It’s not clear if she is a deity or mortal for she is lacking a headdress (deity) and the placement of her right hand shows her in prayer (mortal). How is this abstract in form? 6

Archaic Period 600-480 BCE 7) The exposure to Egyptian art and architecture in the late seventh century inspired Greek sculptors and architects to develop a new type of monumental figurative sculpture, and to design and build a new type of monumental temple architecture. 7

Kouros: Greek for “young man.” Compare Contrast 8) Kouros is one of the earliest examples of life-size statuary in Greece. Note the similarities to Egyptian statues. What are the differences? (liberated from the original rock stone to express movement; nude (exposed perfect bodies) Kouros: Greek for “young man.” 8

9) The grave of Kroisos: Sometime around 530 BCE, a young man named Kroisos died a hero's death in battle. His grave at Anavysos, not far from Athens, was marked by a kouros statue displaying increased naturalism and proportion. 9

Peplos Kore ca. 530 BC marble Acropolis Kore: Greek for “young woman.” Peplos Kore ca. 530 BC marble Acropolis 10) Broken and buried korai: A stylistic "sister" to the Anavysos kouros is the statue of a kore wearing a peplos, a simple, long, woolen belted garment that gives the female figure a columnar appearance. 10

Doric Order The frieze is divided into triglyphs and metopes. Massive in appearance, its columns firmly planted on the stylobate. It is severely plain. Decorative sculpture only appears in the metope and pediment “voids.”

Pegasus “Gorgon” Medusa Chrysaor Legs in motion (fleeing from Perseus) “swastika” symbol

12 Temple of Hera I (“Basilica"), Paestum, Italy 12) Heavy, cigar shaped columns with pancake-like capitals are placed close together are characteristic features of Archaic Greek architecture. This is located south of Naples, Italy. Greek architects sought the ideal proportional relationship among other parts as did sculptors with the human form in the archaic period. Temple of Hera I (“Basilica"), Paestum, Italy ca. 550 BCE. Archaic Period Architecture. 12

EXEKIAS, Achilles and Ajax playing a dice game (detail from an Attic black-figure amphora), from Vulci, Italy, ca. 540-530 BCE. Whole vessel approx. 2' high. Vatican Museums, Rome. 14) Exekias, black-figure master: The acknowledged master of the black-figure technique was an Athenian named Exekias, whose vases were not only widely exported but copied as well. 14

EUPHRONIOS, Herakles wrestling Antaios (detail of an Attic red-figure calyx krater), from Cerveteri, Italy, ca. 510 BCE. Whole vessel approx. 1' 7" high. Louvre, Paris. 15) Euphronios, and red-figure: One of these younger and more adventurous painters was Euphronios, whose krater depicting the struggle between Herakles and Antaios reveals the exciting possibilities of the new red-figure technique. 15

17 Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece, ca. 500-490 BCE. 17) Aegina and the Transition to the Classical Period Evolution and revolution: The design of temples undergoes considerable refinement over the course of the sixth century. The design and placement of architectural figural sculpture are made more unified and consistent, while at the same time, individual figures are given a more lifelike quality of movement and expression. 17 Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece, ca. 500-490 BCE.

Temple of Hera I Compare and Contrast These two structures. Temple of Aphaia, Aegina

Compare / Contrast