Greeks /Romans and their impact on Western Culture

 From about 500 B.C A.D. centered in the region around the Mediterranean  Led by two distinct but related culture the Greeks and Romans (Greco-Roman)  Guiding principles: order, reason, intellect, humanism & discipline  Little imagination, or emotion  Period ended with the fall of Rome / the beginning of the Dark Ages

 Few areas of human thought were not pioneered by Classical Greece: - Drama, history, city planning, democracy, medicine, math, philosophy, etc. - Not only first in their field, but often considered greatest of all time  Of the arts: most significant contributions are sculpture, architecture, & theater

 The greatest Greek painter Polygnotus has no surviving works  Many Greek works of art were destroyed by early Christians for their Pagan references  Other bronzes were melted down when metals were scarce in the Dark Ages

 Classical artists saw the human form as both sacred and secular  Became increasingly accurate in the depiction of the human body.  Poses became more naturalistic & frequently depicted everyday people

 Doric (formal & austere) A 3 rd Style is Corinthian  Ionic (relaxed & decorative)

 Greatest building from the era, The Parthenon designed by Phidias is Doric

 Greece was first culture to use coins regularly & make them an art form  The principle of coin design established by Greece is still followed today – - Portrait on one side – Symbol on other – First to use inscriptions  Many survive, teach us & can be collected by average people

 Pursued lofty moral themes & lessons  Usually Utilized 1 lead actor and a “chorus” to provide background & insight  3 dominated the era, provide all significant surviving plays…

 Aeschylus: most famous poet/playwright – wrote Agamemnon – appealed to intellect – added a second & later third lead actor  Sophocles: contemporary of Aeschylus – wrote Oedipus – more human and subtle than others  Euripides: most realistic of Greek tragedy – deal w/ emotions not events – wrote The Trojan Women

 Brief tales that contains a moral lesson stated clearly at the end as amoral Proverb  Use of animals as central characters w/ Anthropomorphism – use of human characteristics  Aesop – considered father of the fable – Fox & the Grapes / Tortoise & the Hare

 The first record of Acting is from 534 BC  The Greek performer Thespis is the first known Actor

 Prior to Thespis, stories were told in songs & dance or 3 rd person recitals,  no one had ever assumed the role of a character.  In honor of Thespis, actors today are still commonly called  Thespians

 Roman arts borrowed heavily from the Greeks while they focused on powerful government and military  Clearly the art of Romans was not as “fine” as the Greeks  By comparison, virtually every artistic technique used during the Renaissance 1,900 years later was invented by the Greeks (except oil paint & mathematically accurate perspective)

 Greeks worshipped the aesthetic qualities of great art & wrote extensively on artistic theory  Roman art was more decorative & indicated status and wealth  The BIGGEST impact of the Romans was the ability to spread (through conquest) and preserve the accomplishments of the Greeks

 Most Roman painting was done on wood panels which eventually decayed  However, more Roman painting has survived than that of the Greeks  The city of Pompeii, encased in lava in 79 A.D. is the source of many preserved works of art

 Often Roman painting was copied from older Greek works, or done by immigrants from the Greek colonies.  There are 4 distinct periods during the 900 years of Roman history  Landscape painting was an important contribution of the Romans

 It is in architecture that Roman art produced its greatest accomplishments.  It was the innovative use of concrete (invented earlier) that enabled Rome’s greatest works  Roman architecture capitalized on the use of two elements: Arches & Domes  Incredibly durable, some buildings are STILL in use, often as churches

Pantheon: a temple, completed in 126 A.D. – best preserved building of its age in the world, the dome is the original unreinforced  concrete.

 Coliseum: an arena, completed in 80 A.D. – held over 50,000  site of gladiator fights, races, even staged naval battles,  had a retractable fabric roof

 Circus Maximus: a chariot racing stadium completed around 50 B.C. held about  150,000 spectators.

 It is believed that music was an extensive part of public life, but few unique contributions are recorded  Roman theater adapted and translated Greek plays – they were most interested in comedies  Few contributions were made in the language arts – Vergil’s Aeneid perhaps the most significant  When the Roman Empire reached its territorial peak in 116 A.D., it spanned 2.5 million square miles.

 The first-ever shopping mall was built by the Emperor Trajan in Rome. It consisted of several levels and more than stores that sold everything ranging from food and spices to clothes. 150