Art 1: Vocabulary
Ancient Greek Art and Architecture
Acropolis Greek, “high city.” In ancient Greece, the site of the city’s most important temple(s).
arch A curved structural member that spans an opening and is generally composed of wedge-shaped blocks (voussoirs) that transmit the downward pressure laterally.
agora An open square or space used for public meetings or business in ancient Greek cities.
Amazonomachy In Greek mythology, the legendary battle between the Greeks and Amazons.
bilingual vases Experimental Greek vases produced in the late 6th century BCE; one side with black-figure decoration, the other red-figure.
black-figure
painting In early Greek pottery, the silhouetting of dark figures against a light background of natural, reddish clay.
canon A rule, for example, of proportion.
capital The uppermost member of a column, serving as a transition from the shaft to the lintel. In classical architecture, the form of the capital varies with the order.
caryatid A female figure that functions as a supporting column.
cella In a classical temple, the room in which the cult statue usually stood.
contrapposto The disposition of the human figure in which one part is turned in opposition to another part (usually hips and legs one way, shoulders and chest another), creating a counterpositioning of the body about its central axis. Sometimes called “weight shift” because the weight of the body tends to be thrown to one foot, creating tension on one side and relaxation on the other.
corbel A projecting wall member used as a support; two walls in which each level projects beyond the one beneath it meet at the top create a corbeled arch or corbeled vault.
Cycladic Art The pre-Greek art of the Cycladic Islands.
dome A hemispheric vault.
encaustic A painting technique in which pigment is mixed with wax and applied to the surface while hot.
fresco Painting on lime plaster in which the pigments are mixed with water and become chemically bound to the freshly laid plaster.
Helladic art The pre-Greek art of the Greek mainland (Hellas).
Hellenistic The term given to the culture that developed after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and lasted almost three centuries, until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 31 BCE.
iconography Greek, the “writing of images.” The term refers to the content, or subject, of an artwork and to the study of content or symbolic meaning in art.
krater An ancient Greek wide-mouthed bowl for mixing wine and water.
kore An Archaic Greek statuary type depicting a young woman.
kouros
(pl. kouroi) An Archaic Greek statuary type depicting a young man.
kylix An ancient Greek shallow drinking cup with two handles and a stem.
lost-wax
process A bronze casting method in which a figure is modeled in wax and covered with clay; the whole is fired, melting away the wax and hardening the clay, which then becomes a mold for molten metal.
megaron The large reception hall in a Mycenaean palace, fronted by an open, two-columned porch.
metope The panel between the triglyphs in a Doric frieze, often sculpted in relief.
Minoan Art The pre-Greek art of Crete, named after the legendary King Minos of Knossos.
Mycenaean The late phase of Helladic art, named after the site of Mycenae.
order In classical architecture, a style represented by a characteristic design of the columns and entablature. The orders are: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian.
pediment In classical architecture, the triangular space at the end of a building, formed by the ends of the sloping roof.
portico A roofed colonnade; also an entrance porch.
red-figure
painting In later Greek pottery, the silhouetting of red figures against a black background, with painted linear details; the reverse of black-figure painting.
repoussé Formed in relief by beating a metal plate from the back, leaving the impression on the face.
stoa In ancient Greek architecture, an open building with a roof supported by a row of columns parallel to the back wall.
terracotta Hard-baked clay, used for sculpture and as a building material.
tesserae Greek, “cubes.” Tiny stones or pieces of glass cut to the desired shape and size to form a mosaic.
tholos A temple with a circular plan.
tholos tomb In Mycenean architecture, a beehive-shaped tomb with a circular plan.
treasury In ancient Greece, a small building set up for the safe storage of offerings.
volute A spiral, scroll-like form characteristic of the ancient Greek Ionic capital.