2
GREECE
TEXT PAGES 46-87
Identify the role played by each of the following Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, and mythical creatures and indicate their Roman equivalents. (see Table at the top of page 48)
Aphrodite (Venus) Goddess of love and beauty
Apollo (Apollo) God of light and music, twin brother of Artemis
Artemis (Diana) Goddess of the hunt and wild animals, twin sister of Apollo
Athena (Minerva) Goddess of wisdom and warfare, born from the head of Zeus
Demeter (Ceres) Goddess of grain and agriculture
Dionysos (Bacchus) God of wine
Eros (Amor or Cupid) Son of Aphrodite, winged god of love
Hera (Juno) Goddess of marriage, wife of Zeus
Hermes (Mercury) Messenger of the gods
Poseidon (Neptune) God of the sea
Zeus (Jupiter) King of the gods, ruler of the sky
PREHISTORIC AEGEAN ART
1. List three stylistic characteristics of prehistoric statuettes from the Cyclades.
(page 48)
a. Flat form
b. Body is represented in a schematic manner
c. Simple geometric forms, mostly triangular
2. Identify each of the following:
Homer Author of ancient epic poems (page 55)
Labyrinth A maze (page 49)
Minos Legendary king of Crete, father of Ariadne (page 49)
Minotaur A mythological creature that is half man and half bull (page 49)
3. What is the difference between wet or true fresco and dry fresco? True fresco is painted on wet plaster. In true fresco, the pigment becomes part of the wall when it dried. True or wet fresco was used by the Minoans. Dry fresco on the other hand is painted on dry walls. This technique was used by the Egyptians. (page 50)
4. List four architectural characteristics of the palace at Knossos:
a. Maze-like plan (page 49)
b. Buildings organized around central rectangular courts (pages 49-50)
c. Consisted of many stories, with interior staircases built around light and air wells (page 50)
d. Wooden painted columns that taper at the base (page 50)
5. In what way did the shape of a Minoan column differ from that of other columns? Draw a small sketch of a Minoan column below. You may need to refer to FIG. 2-24 for more information on Greek columns.
Minoan columns have bulbous capitals and their shafts taper toward the base. This is different from Greek columns, which are wider at the base and taper toward the top of the shaft. (page 50)
6. Name two works of art that represent the Minoan love of nature.
a. Landscape with swallows (Spring Fresco), Thera, Greece, ca. 1650 BCE. (see 2-5 on page 51)
b. Octopus jar, Palaikastro, Greece, ca. 1500 BCE. (see 2-6 on page 51)
7. In Minoan painting, human beings were most often represented in profile pose with a fullview eye, similar to conventions observed in Egypt and Mesopotamia, but they can be identified as Minoan because:
Minoan figures are stylized in their shape with pinched waists, extended limbs, and long curly hair. They are also highly animated. (page 51)
8. List three characteristics of Minoan sculpture as seen in the Snake Goddess (FIG. 2-7).
a. Small scale (page 52)
b. Costume of flounced skirt and open bodice (page 52)
c. Exposed breasts (page 52)
9. Describe the structure of the following and/or draw a sketch of each.
corbeled arch post and lintel
A corbeled arch is made by placing blocks in horizontal courses and then cantilevering them inward until they meet. In a corbeled arch, a triangular space is left open. (page 52) Post and lintel construction consists of two posts that hold up a lintel that is laid across the posts. (page 54)
10. Describe the structure of a tholos tomb like the one shown on FIGS. 2-10 and 2-11:
A tholos is a beehive-shaped tomb. It is constructed out of stones laid on a circular base and corbeled in toward the center, to create a domed vault. (page 54)
11. Describe the technique used to create the mask shown on FIG. 2-12?
Repoussé is the technique of hammering or beating a piece of metal from behind to create a relief. (page 55)
What was the function of the mask? Funerary mask (page 54-55)
GREEK ART
GEOMETRIC AND ARCHAIC ART
1. Define or identify the following terms and describe how each was portrayed in Greek art:
kore (korai) Statues of young unmarried women or goddesses (page 56)
siren Females that lured men to their death with their singing.
2. List three characteristics typical of vase decoration from the Geometric period.
(page 56)
a. Flat two-dimensional space
b. Angular geometric shapes set into multiple horizontal bands
c. Abstract human figures in composite perspective
3. List three characteristics of the Daedalic style as seen in the Lady of Auxerre (FIG. 2-14) that are shared by the Kouros (FIG. 2-15).
(page 57)
a. Triangular shape of the head and hair
b. Flat face with eyes, nose, and mouth on the front of the face, ears on the sides, and hair on the back of the head
c. Love of pattern, as seen in the hair of both statues and the skirt of the Lady of Auxerre
4. Define or identify the following:
kore (korai) Statues of young unmarried girls (page 56)
kouros (kouroi) Nude male statues (page 56)
5. What characteristics do 6th-century kouros figures share with Egyptian statues? (page 56)
· Similar stance with one foot forward, arms at sides, and hands in fists with thumbs forward
· Rigid frontality
In what respects do they differ from them? (page 57)
· Greek kouroi are carved fully in the round
· Greek kouroi are nude
6. What is the “archaic smile” typical of many Greek 6th-century figures thought to signify? The “archaic smile” is thought to artistically indicate that the person portrayed is alive. (page 58)
7. What is the major difference between the Peplos Kore (FIG. 2-17) and the Lady of Auxerre (FIG. 2-24)?
The Peplos Kore’s body is depicted in a softer and more natural form (page 58)
8. Draw a simple floor plan of a typical Greek temple like the one that appears on page 59 and identify the following features: peristyle, naos or cella, pronaos, stylobate, columns in antis.
Where did the people stand when worshipping at the temple?
Outside of the temple (page 58)
9. List four differences between the Doric and Ionic orders.
(page 59)
Doric Ionic
a. Strong sturdy-looking columns a. Slender tall columns
b. Columns sit directly on stylobate b. Columns sit on a base
c. Plain capitals c. Decorative capitals
d. Sculpture located in metopes d. Sculpture in continuous frieze
10. Label the parts on the following diagram and indicate the architectural order for each half of the figure below.
shaft volute pediment stylobate entablature triglyph architrave capital
metope cornice frieze
11. What features of the facade of the temple of Hera at Paestum (FIG. 2-18) identify it as a Doric building? (Answer based on observations)
· Thick heavy columns
· Columns sit directly on stylobate
· Plain capitals
· Plain architrave
12. Define the following terms:
entasis Swelling in the middle of the shaft of a column (pages 60-61)
gorgon A demon with a woman’s body and bird wings; Medusa was a gorgon (page 61)
gigantomachy The great mythological battle between the gods and giants; also a used as a metaphor for the triumph of reason over chaos (page 61)
foreshortening A perspective device that depicts something in three-quarter view, giving the illusion of the object receding sharply back into the picture plane (page 63)
13. How does the black-figure technique of pottery decoration differ from the red-figure technique? The technique of black-figure painting is carried out when an artist paints black silhouettes of figures on the clay surface and adds detail and decoration by incising through the black paint to reveal the clay underneath. Red-figure painting is the opposite and is accomplished by painting the background black and leaving the red clay surface to denote the figures. Interior details are added to the figures with thin applications of black paint. (pages 61-62)
Name a painter who worked in each.
Black-figure: Exekias (page 62)
Red-figure: Euphronios or Euthymides (page 63)
14. List three refinements seen in the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina (FIG. 2-24) compared to the Temple of Hera at Paestum (FIG. 2-18). (Any three of these answers would be correct) (page 64)
· More compact and refined structure consisting of 6 columns on the façade and 12 on the sides.
· Columns are more widely spaced and more slender.
· Capitals create a smooth transition between columns shafts and architrave.
· Double colonnade down the center of the cella.
15. What features of the warrior from the west pediment of the temple of Aphaia at Aegina (FIG. 2-26) marks it as archaic? (page 65)
· Rigid frontal torso
· Archaic smile
What features of the warrior from the east pediment of the temple of Aphaia at Aegina (FIG. 2-27) illustrate the new Classical mode? (page 65)
· More natural and complex pose
· Figure reacts to his situation, has a self-consciousness
THE EARLY AND HIGH CLASSICAL PERIODS
1. What feature of the pose of the Kritios Boy (FIG. 2-28) marks it as Classic rather than Archaic? Contrapposto stance (page 66)
2. Briefly describe the lost wax or “hollow casting” method of casting bronze.
The lost wax method of casting bronze begins with the artist making a wax model of the sculpture, which is then covered in a clay investment and filled with a clay core. These clay pieces are then attached with metal pins. Then the wax is melted out and molten bronze is pored into the cast. Once the bronze is cool, the clay investment and most of the clay core are removed. (page 67)
3. One of the most frequently copied classical statues was the Doryphoros (FIG. 2-31) by
Polykleitos . Briefly describe Polykleitos’s principle of symmetria.
Polykleitos believed that an ideal statue, such as his Doryphoros, could be made using a set of mathematical proportions. Polykleitos’ proportions related each part of the human body to larger parts of the human body in a set of ratios. (page 69)
4. What was the main purpose of the Parthenon?
The Parthenon was a temple dedicated to Athena and celebrated Athens’s victory over the Persians. (page 71)
What was its basic style? Doric (page 70)
Two Ionic elements used in it are: (page 70)
a. Inner frieze around the cella wall was Ionic b. Ionic columns in the treasury
Like Polykleitos, the creators of the Parthenon believed that beauty was achieved by the use of harmonious mathematical proportions. However, the architects deviated from strict mathematical precision. List three illustrations of this deviation.
a. Stylobate curves upward toward the center (page 70)
b. Peristyle columns lean inward slightly (page 70)
c. Corner columns are thicker (page 70)
What reason did the Roman architect Vitruvius give for the deviations?
Vitruvius explained that these modifications were made to compensate for optical illusions. If the stylobate were level, it would appear to sag. Similarly, the corner columns, if they were the same size as the rest of the columns, would appear thinner. (page 70)
Describe the Athena Parthenos:
The Athena Parthenos was made of gold and ivory and was 38 feet tall. She was dressed and armed with a shield, spear and helmet. In one hand she held Nike, the personification of victory. On Athena Parthenos’ soles and shield were mythological allusions to the Athenian’s victory over the Persians. (page 71)
What do the metopes of the Parthenon depict, and what are they thought to symbolize?
The metopes depict the story of the battle of the Centaurs and Lapiths (or centauromachy). (page 71)
What is thought to have been the meaning of the inner frieze?
The inner Ionic frieze is believed to represent the Panathenaic Festival (pages 72-73)
5. Why is the Erechtheion an unusual building?
The Erechtheion is unusual because of its asymmetrical plan. (page 73)
What explanations have been given for its unusual features?
It is believed the Erechtheion was built in this asymmetrical manner so that other preexisting shrines could be incorporated into this complex. (page 73)
6. List three stylistic features that characterize the relief of Nike adjusting her sandal (FIG. 5-54). (pages 74-75)
a. Elegant and graceful
b. Clinging and transparent drapery that reveal naturalistic anatomy
c. Folds of drapery create abstract patterns
7. The use of the white-ground technique was most popular on vases known as
lekythos. What were the advantages of the white-ground technique over the black- figure or red-figure techniques? Were there any disadvantages?
White-ground technique allowed a wider range of colors since the pigments were applied on white background. However, not all of the colors were permanent. (page 76)
LATE CLASSICAL ART
1. What effect did the changes in Greek political and social life after the Peloponnesian War have on art?
The uncertainty and political chaos that followed the Peloponnesian War brought to art a new interest in the individual and the depiction of the real world, not the idealized world of the 5th century. (page 77)
2. Briefly characterize the ways in which the work of the following sculptors differed from the work of sculptors of the 5th century.
Praxiteles- Praxiteles’ sculptures are more sensual and introspective. They also depict everyday activities such as taking a bath. (pages 77-78)