Geometric Orientalizing Archaic Classical Hellenistic Ancient Greece Geometric Orientalizing Archaic Classical Hellenistic

Key Ideas Innovations led to classical art Idealized human form Temple architecture still influential today Mostly sculpture, architecture and pottery Pottery has paintings on it Polytheistic religion rooted in mythology – deities were human-like Transition from the mythical to the rational Formation of city-states: i.e., Sparta, Athens, Corinth

More key ideas….. Artists begin signing sculpture and pottery Celebration of the athlete Sculptural innovations: nude male figures (along with some female nudes, eventually); large-scale marble and bronze sculptures (bronze allowed for more bold composition); stone sculptures no longer attached to walls or blocks; very realistic depictions; fluidity

Deities/Heroes 12 major ‘Sky’ deities live on Mt. Olympus – they defeated the ‘Earth’ deities (AKA – Titans or Giants) Human heroic deeds attributed to the deities Many Roman equivalents Characteristics of individual deities change over time

5 Children of the Earth and Sky Zeus (Jupiter) – supreme deity Hera (Juno) – sister/wife of Zeus – goddess of marriage Hestia (Vesta) –goddess of the hearth Poseidon (Neptune) – god of the sea Hades (Pluto) – god of the underworld, the dead and wealth

7 Sky Gods Offspring of the First 5 Ares (Mars) – god of war Hephaistos (Vulcan) – god of fire and forgery Apollo (Phoebus) – god of sun, light, truth, music, archery, healing Artemis (Diana) – goddess of the hunt, wild animals and the moon Athena (Minerva) – goddess of war, wisdom, civilization, victories and cities Aphrodite (Venus) – goddess of love Hermes (Mercury) – messenger of the gods

Supporting gods Demeter: goddess of agriculture Persephone: goddess of fertility and queen of the underworld Dionysus: god of wine Eros (Cupid): god of love Nike: goddess of victory Pan: god of wilderness/protector of shepherds/half goat Ge: goddess of the Earth/mother of the Titans

Human Heroes Herakles (Hercules): granted immortality for the Twelve Labors Theseus: killed the Minotaur Perseus: killed Medusa (snake-haired)

Trojan War Heroes Greeks Trojans Agamemnon Odysseus (Ulysses) Achilles Petroclus Ajax Paris Priam Hector Sarpedon Aeneas (progenitor of the Romans)!!!!!! LINKAGE!!!!!

Geometric Art 900-700 BCE

Geometric Art Key Ideas Followed the 200 year “Dark Age” of ancient Greece that came after the collapse of Mycenaean society Ceramic decoration using linear motifs: diamonds, spirals, cross-hatching Ceramic painted using slip (mixture of clay/water) First Greek temples – very simple

Centaur, 10th century BCE, terra-cotta Cross-hatching Geometric shapes Reduction in form – simplified geometric solids Thrown on a potter’s wheel, then solid legs , arms, tail added Painted with red slip May symbolize duality of humans (good/bad) Found in cemetery

Funerary Krater, 8th Century BCE, terra-cotta, approx. 43” Krater is a grave marker Humans are part of narrative Focus is on the reaction of mourners, not the deceased Repetitive geometric pattern of funeral Body is ready to be cremated (new burial practice for the area Afterlife in ancient Greece was not able to be understood, according to their beliefs Torsos are triangles Stylized shields Dots for eyes

Orientalizing Art 700-600 BCE

Olpe, 600 BCE, ceramic with black-figure decoration Olpe is a pitcher Stylized flowers (rosettes) Source of motifs was near east and Egypt Hybrid creatures Less densely-packed design than in geometric