Ancient Greek civilizations and developments have exercised a profound influence on the cultures of many regions of the modern times. This can be seen in the fields of sculpture and architecture. On the European continent, the art in the ancient Roman Empire was mainly copied from the Greeks and the early European artists were inspired by the Greek artists. In the East, the invasion of Alexander the Great led to links and cultural exchange hence the development of the Greco-Buddhist art. The development of Greek art can be traced from the Cycladic and Minoan civilizations. The developments can be divided into three historical periods which correspond to the historical names. These are generally named as the Archaic, the classical and the Hellenistic. The Archaic art is associated with the period before the Persian wars of 480 BC while the classical art runs from the period after the Persian wars to the time of Alexander the Great. The Hellenistic art comes after the death of Alexander the Great. The Archaic is considered to have been rigid and primordial, the classical is more complicated and realistic while the Hellenistic is basically florid and quite decorated. The different forms of art were developing at different speeds in various parts of the Greek society and there was no particular transition time from one artistic period to another. The strong local traditions which were heavily conservative and the local cults have aided historians to the origin of most of the ancient arts (Murray, p 15).
Ancient Greek art is defined as the art produced in the Greek speaking areas between 1000 BC and 100 BC which excludes the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations of the period between 1500 BC and 1200 BC. The flourishing of Greek art was halted by the conquest of the Greek world by the Romans. The ancient Greek word tekhni has been interpreted to mean art but it actually meant skill or craftsmanship. The early Greek painters and sculptors were trained in the trade as apprentices especially to their fathers before they were hired by the wealthy aristocrats. The ancient Greek art has mainly been preserved in the form of sculpture and architecture apart from other smaller forms like coins, pottery and gems. Painting was the most highly respected form of art although most of the painted works were destroyed over the years. The only surviving Greek paintings include the terra cotta and paintings on the tombs especially in Macedonia and Italy. The masterpieces of the Greek paintings that survive to date are copies of the Roman times and they are generally inferior (Murray, p 10).
Ancient Greek sculptures
Sculpture is the most important remain of ancient Greek art even though not much of it is still in existence. Their sculptures depicted their belief in the human form as the most important representation of artistic work. They saw the gods as having the human form and little difference was there between the sacred and secular representation of art. In the archaic period, the kouros was the most significant art form represented by a standing male nude. It could be used to represent Apollo or Herakles or the champion of the Olympic competition. The standing female nude (kore) was rare because female nudity was initially not permitted in the Greek society. The statues were commissioned by the nobility or the state mainly for public remembrance, thanks giving to temples, oracles and sanctuaries. During the archaic period, the statues were not used to depict the actual personality but represented the ideal beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice. In most cases, they were representations of young men even if they were placed on the tombs of very old people (Crystal link, Para 5).
The classical period experienced a tremendous revolution in Greek art which has been attributed to the introduction of democracy and the demise of the aristocratic culture. In this period, there were changes both in style and function of the sculptures. The poses in the art became more natural and the technical skills in showing the human nature were more common. From this period, most of the sculptures began to represent real people. The first sculptures to represent real people were the statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton which were erected in Athens to mark the ousting of the tyrannical government which were essentially the very first public monuments of real humans. The classical period also saw the increased use of the statues (Crystal link, Para 10). The great buildings made during this period including the Parthenon in Athens increased the demand for decorative statues to fill the triangular spaces of the pediments. This was a challenging aesthetic and technical problem but was instrumental in stimulating the development of sculptures.
Some statues were used for funeral purposes and were transformed from the impersonal kouros of the previous years to the personified family settings of the classical era (Hill, Para 5). These monuments are now found in the suburbs of Athens but were formerly on the outer reaches of the ancient city as cemeteries. Individual sculptors can be identified during the classical period. The most famous was Phidias who was in-charge of the designing and construction of the Parthenon and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. They were seized during the Byzantine period and taken to Constantinople where they were destroyed by fires. The other was Praxiteles who made the Aphrodite of Knidos which has been termed as the greatest statue in the world (Acropolis Museum., Para 4).
Greek art and culture spread during the reign of Alexander the Great due to his widespread conquests into the East. As a result, Greek culture and art were immensely influenced by the cultures of other people they interacted with. This is visible in the archeological findings in Afghanistan and the evolution of the Greco-Bactrian and the Indo-Greeks. Greco-Buddhist art was a combination of Greek art and the visual depiction of the Buddhist religion. This also ushered in the Hellenistic period in the development of Greek sculpture and architecture. During this time, Greek art underwent changes in quality and originality due to the influence from other cultures and styles. New centers of Greek sculpture sprang up in several cities including Alexandria, Antioch and Pergamum. In this period, sculptures became more naturalistic as common people, females, children, animals and family scenes were accepted as subjects in the sculptures. The statues were now used by the wealthy to decorate their houses and gardens. Realistic pictures of people of all age groups were produced and the artist were no longer inclined in depicting the sculptures as elements of beauty and perfection (Crystal link, Para 15). The artists strived to portray the inner emotions of the daily lives rather than the heroic beauty. The style was transformed from the god-like tranquility to the human emotions and the dramatic to the histrionic bathos. The sculptures from the Hellenistic period have survived because they were spread in many cities in the Hellenistic world. Examples of Hellenistic sculptures include the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Statue of Aphrodite (Venus de Milo) on the Melos Island, the Dying Gaul and the monumental group Laocoon and the sons (Acropolis Museum, Para 7).
The Hellenistic period in the development of art ended at around 31 BC after the battle of Actum. During this period, there were dramatic improvements in sculpture as compared to the preceding periods. The artist in this period did not stick to the traditional conventions and regulations but introduced a sense of freedom and experimental patterns that gave them an opportunity to portray the sculptures in different points of view. The artists were able to combine different styles and ideas which were obtained from other areas (Dillon, p 86).
Ancient Greek architecture
Greek architecture developed in three styles which have been categorized as the Doric, the ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric style was basically simple and sturdy with a plain top common in mainland Greece and the colonies in the south of Italy and Sicily. The columns in this style were flute-like with no base while the capitals were composed of a flat slab (Abacus) and the cushion-shaped slab (echicus). The capitals also contained the entablature comprising the architrave, the frieze and the cornice. Examples of existing Archaic Doric architecture include the Temple of Apollo at Corinth and the Temple of Aegina (Dismoor, p 72). The ionic style was thinner and more graceful with a decorated capital in a scroll-like design and was found in the eastern regions of Greece and the islands. The bases ionic style had more vertical flutes as compared to the Doric architecture. The capitals of the ionic style had two volutes and the abacus was narrower while the entablature contained three bands. The Corinthian style was very rare in Greek regions but common in Roman temples and it had an elaborate decorated with acanthus leaves. The Corinthian style was an improvement of the ionic style and was very common in the Hellenistic period. The style had a bell-shaped echicus which was decorated with acanthus leaves, spirals and palmettes (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Para 5).
The ancient Greek architecture was represented in the temples since religion was a major element of the Greek society. The remaining representation of the Doric order is the Parthenon on the Acropolis which has sustained massive damages over the centuries and its remains stand to date. The Erechtheum was built in the Ionic order based on the classical period of Greek architecture and art with sanctuaries to Athena Polias, Poseidon and Erectheus. The temple of Apollo at Didyma and the Temple of Athena mike were also built during the ionic period.
Greek architecture is more pronounced in temples which were the most important public buildings (Jenkins, p 71). Ancient Greek architects aimed at achieving precision and excellence of workmanship that are the feature of all forms of Greek art. Most of the information about Greek architecture and sculpture has been reconstructed from the archeological sources. The early art works were destroyed by natural and human factors but some of them have sustained the onslaught to date. The excavated remains have been preserved in different parts of the world in museums especially in Europe. Some of the major architectural designs and sculptures have been copied by the modern civilizations. Like all other forms of Greek civilizations, Greek art has had a profound impact on modern developments as they have been incorporated in modern styles.
Ancient Greek art is defined as the art produced in the Greek speaking areas between 1000 BC and 100 BC which excludes the Mycenaean and Minoan civilizations of the period between 1500 BC and 1200 BC. The flourishing of Greek art was halted by the conquest of the Greek world by the Romans. The ancient Greek word tekhni has been interpreted to mean art but it actually meant skill or craftsmanship. The early Greek painters and sculptors were trained in the trade as apprentices especially to their fathers before they were hired by the wealthy aristocrats. The ancient Greek art has mainly been preserved in the form of sculpture and architecture apart from other smaller forms like coins, pottery and gems. Painting was the most highly respected form of art although most of the painted works were destroyed over the years. The only surviving Greek paintings include the terra cotta and paintings on the tombs especially in Macedonia and Italy. The masterpieces of the Greek paintings that survive to date are copies of the Roman times and they are generally inferior (Murray, p 10).
Ancient Greek sculptures
Sculpture is the most important remain of ancient Greek art even though not much of it is still in existence. Their sculptures depicted their belief in the human form as the most important representation of artistic work. They saw the gods as having the human form and little difference was there between the sacred and secular representation of art. In the archaic period, the kouros was the most significant art form represented by a standing male nude. It could be used to represent Apollo or Herakles or the champion of the Olympic competition. The standing female nude (kore) was rare because female nudity was initially not permitted in the Greek society. The statues were commissioned by the nobility or the state mainly for public remembrance, thanks giving to temples, oracles and sanctuaries. During the archaic period, the statues were not used to depict the actual personality but represented the ideal beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice. In most cases, they were representations of young men even if they were placed on the tombs of very old people (Crystal link, Para 5).
The classical period experienced a tremendous revolution in Greek art which has been attributed to the introduction of democracy and the demise of the aristocratic culture. In this period, there were changes both in style and function of the sculptures. The poses in the art became more natural and the technical skills in showing the human nature were more common. From this period, most of the sculptures began to represent real people. The first sculptures to represent real people were the statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton which were erected in Athens to mark the ousting of the tyrannical government which were essentially the very first public monuments of real humans. The classical period also saw the increased use of the statues (Crystal link, Para 10). The great buildings made during this period including the Parthenon in Athens increased the demand for decorative statues to fill the triangular spaces of the pediments. This was a challenging aesthetic and technical problem but was instrumental in stimulating the development of sculptures.
Some statues were used for funeral purposes and were transformed from the impersonal kouros of the previous years to the personified family settings of the classical era (Hill, Para 5). These monuments are now found in the suburbs of Athens but were formerly on the outer reaches of the ancient city as cemeteries. Individual sculptors can be identified during the classical period. The most famous was Phidias who was in-charge of the designing and construction of the Parthenon and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. They were seized during the Byzantine period and taken to Constantinople where they were destroyed by fires. The other was Praxiteles who made the Aphrodite of Knidos which has been termed as the greatest statue in the world (Acropolis Museum., Para 4).
Greek art and culture spread during the reign of Alexander the Great due to his widespread conquests into the East. As a result, Greek culture and art were immensely influenced by the cultures of other people they interacted with. This is visible in the archeological findings in Afghanistan and the evolution of the Greco-Bactrian and the Indo-Greeks. Greco-Buddhist art was a combination of Greek art and the visual depiction of the Buddhist religion. This also ushered in the Hellenistic period in the development of Greek sculpture and architecture. During this time, Greek art underwent changes in quality and originality due to the influence from other cultures and styles. New centers of Greek sculpture sprang up in several cities including Alexandria, Antioch and Pergamum. In this period, sculptures became more naturalistic as common people, females, children, animals and family scenes were accepted as subjects in the sculptures. The statues were now used by the wealthy to decorate their houses and gardens. Realistic pictures of people of all age groups were produced and the artist were no longer inclined in depicting the sculptures as elements of beauty and perfection (Crystal link, Para 15). The artists strived to portray the inner emotions of the daily lives rather than the heroic beauty. The style was transformed from the god-like tranquility to the human emotions and the dramatic to the histrionic bathos. The sculptures from the Hellenistic period have survived because they were spread in many cities in the Hellenistic world. Examples of Hellenistic sculptures include the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Statue of Aphrodite (Venus de Milo) on the Melos Island, the Dying Gaul and the monumental group Laocoon and the sons (Acropolis Museum, Para 7).
The Hellenistic period in the development of art ended at around 31 BC after the battle of Actum. During this period, there were dramatic improvements in sculpture as compared to the preceding periods. The artist in this period did not stick to the traditional conventions and regulations but introduced a sense of freedom and experimental patterns that gave them an opportunity to portray the sculptures in different points of view. The artists were able to combine different styles and ideas which were obtained from other areas (Dillon, p 86).
Ancient Greek architecture
Greek architecture developed in three styles which have been categorized as the Doric, the ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric style was basically simple and sturdy with a plain top common in mainland Greece and the colonies in the south of Italy and Sicily. The columns in this style were flute-like with no base while the capitals were composed of a flat slab (Abacus) and the cushion-shaped slab (echicus). The capitals also contained the entablature comprising the architrave, the frieze and the cornice. Examples of existing Archaic Doric architecture include the Temple of Apollo at Corinth and the Temple of Aegina (Dismoor, p 72). The ionic style was thinner and more graceful with a decorated capital in a scroll-like design and was found in the eastern regions of Greece and the islands. The bases ionic style had more vertical flutes as compared to the Doric architecture. The capitals of the ionic style had two volutes and the abacus was narrower while the entablature contained three bands. The Corinthian style was very rare in Greek regions but common in Roman temples and it had an elaborate decorated with acanthus leaves. The Corinthian style was an improvement of the ionic style and was very common in the Hellenistic period. The style had a bell-shaped echicus which was decorated with acanthus leaves, spirals and palmettes (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Para 5).
The ancient Greek architecture was represented in the temples since religion was a major element of the Greek society. The remaining representation of the Doric order is the Parthenon on the Acropolis which has sustained massive damages over the centuries and its remains stand to date. The Erechtheum was built in the Ionic order based on the classical period of Greek architecture and art with sanctuaries to Athena Polias, Poseidon and Erectheus. The temple of Apollo at Didyma and the Temple of Athena mike were also built during the ionic period.
Greek architecture is more pronounced in temples which were the most important public buildings (Jenkins, p 71). Ancient Greek architects aimed at achieving precision and excellence of workmanship that are the feature of all forms of Greek art. Most of the information about Greek architecture and sculpture has been reconstructed from the archeological sources. The early art works were destroyed by natural and human factors but some of them have sustained the onslaught to date. The excavated remains have been preserved in different parts of the world in museums especially in Europe. Some of the major architectural designs and sculptures have been copied by the modern civilizations. Like all other forms of Greek civilizations, Greek art has had a profound impact on modern developments as they have been incorporated in modern styles.
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