Ancient Greek art is divided into periods from 900-30 BCE. The Geometric period introduced standardized vessel shapes and geometric decoration. The Orientalizing period showed Egyptian and Near Eastern influence through imported motifs. The Archaic period saw the rise of stone construction and life-sized sculpture. Figures were idealized with contrapposto poses. Black-figure and red-figure pottery styles developed, with artists sometimes signing their work.

1. Ancient Greece 900-30 BCEThe Artist as Creator

2. ANCINET GREEK ART is separated into the following time
periods
GEOMETRIC Art 900-700 BCE
ORIENTALIZING Art 700-600 BCE
ARCHAIC Art 600-480 BCE
CLASSICAL Art 480-400 BCE
LATE CLASSICAL Art 400-323 BCE
HELLENISTIC Art 323-30 BCE

3. Ancient Greek Vocabulary (buckle up!)
ACROPOLIS: literally, a “high city”, a Greek temple complex built on a
hill over a city
AMPHORA: a two-handled Greek storage jar
ARCHITRAVE: a plain, unornamented lintel on the entablature
CANON: a body of rules or laws; in Greek art, the ideal mathmatical
proportion of a figure
CARYATID (male: ATLANTID): a building column that is shaped like
a female figure
CELLA: the main room of a Greek temple where the god is housed
CONTRAPPOSTO: a graceful arrangement of the body based on tilted
shoulders and hips and bent knees
CORNICE: a projecting ledge over a wall
ENTABLATURE: the upper story of a Greek temple
FRIEZE: a horizontal band of sculpture
KILN: an oven used for making pottery (more on next slide)

4. KOUROS (female: KORE): an archaic Greek sculpture of a standing
youth
KRATER: a large Geek bowl used for mixing water and wine
KYLIX: a Greek drinking cup
METOPE: a small relief sculpture on the façade of a Greek temple
MOSAIC: a decoration using pieces of stone, marble, or colored glass
(called “tesserae”) that are cemented to a wall or a floor
PEDIMENT: the triangular top of a temple that contains sculpture
PERISTYLE: a colonnade surrounding a Greek temple
PROPYLAEUM (plural- PROPLAEA): a gateway leading to a Greek
temple
RELIEF SCULPTURE: sculpture that projects from a flat
background. A very shallow one is a “BAS-RELIEF”
SHAFT: the body of a column
THOLOS: an ancient Greek circular shrine
TRIGLYPH: a projecting grooved element alternating with a metope
on a Greek temple

5. KEY IDEAS of ANCIENT GREEK ART:
•Introduces concept of classical art
•Idealized human form
•Beauty of the nude body
•Figures express a great range of emotions
•Greek temples become extremely
influential in the development of European
architecture
•Greek pottery echoes the development of
Greek sculpture and forms virtually all our
knowledge about Greek painting

6. Historical background….
•Mycenaen society collapsed around 1100 BCE
•Greeks got reorganized around 900 BCE and formed city-states
•Sparta, Corinth, Athens- defined Greek civilization, competing
against each other, united only by language and fear of outsiders
•Worst struggle was Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) when
Athens was crushed by Sparta. And the struggle continued until…
•Alexander the Great established a mighty empire, united Greece,
and conquered the Persians….but…..
•He died young and Greece crumbled again
•The Romans took over about 100 years after Alexander died

7. PATRONAGE AND ARTISTIC LIFE
•Artists signed their work- as a symbol of accomplishment and as
advertising
•Potters and painters signed their vases
•Signing formula: “so and so made it” or “so and so decorated it”
•Many artists were theoreticians as well as sculptors and architects
•POLYKLEITOS wrote a famous book on the canon of human
proportions
•IKTINOS wrote on the nature of ideal architecture
•PHIDIAS supervised hundreds of workers in workshops and was
responsible for designing the Acropolis

8. •A lot has survived (surprise!)
•Professional pottery practiced through entire Greek era
•Some vessels are everyday items, some are tomb monuments
•Massive KRATERS have holes at bottom to allow liquid to run out of
the pot and onto the grave (KRATER = bowl for mixing water and wine)
•Tomb monuments have scenes with mourners
•Most pots designed for a purpose (function over form)
•Never drank wine straight (mixed with water in a KRATER)
•Portable AMPHOR stored oil or wine- opening big enough for ladle)
•KYLIX = wide-mouth drinking cup- displayed scenes on flat bottom
•Painters wrote inscriptions on pots- explained the narrative scene or
identified people or objects
GREEK POTTERY:

9. SOME STANDARD SHAPES
OF GREEK VESSELS
[Fig. 05-22]

10. The Geometric Period
•The beginning of Greek art, found in painted pottery and small
scale sculpture
•Geometric forms decorate ceramics- spirals, diamonds, cross-
hatching, complex linear designs
•Began at the time of the founding of the Olympic games
•Artists established different categories of shapes of ceramic
vessels
AMPHORA: two- handled vase used to carry wine and oil
KYLIX: wide, flat vessel with designs painted on the inside

11. DIPYLON VASE, c. 750-700 BCE
Ceramic
•A Grave marker
•Done in remembrance rather than to
appease the soul of the dead
•Detailed record of funerary rituals
• The deceased is lying down about to be
cremated (new), other figures are in
mourning, in a funeral procession
•Contains no reference to an afterlife
•Afterlife was colorless and ill-defined
•Souls were passive, did not make demands
upon the living
•Geometric style is not a continuation of the
Mycenaens- totally new, primitive style
•Emergence of Greek tradition of story-
telling

12. Detail image
of Dipylon Vase
•Mourners are in anguish (hands tearing out hair)
•Abstract forms to represent humans- triangle torsos, geometric heads
in profile, round dots for eyes, long thin arms, tiny waists, long legs
with bulging thighs (all very Geometric style)
•Greek funerary art focuses on emotional reactions of survivors

16. CENTAUR, late
900’s BCE
ceramic
•Centaurs prominent in Greek
mythology- have good and bad
side- may symbolize the dual
nature of humans
•Geometric painted decoration
•Human and animal body parts
reduced to geometric shapes
(cubes, pyramids, cylinders,
spheres)
•Design painted with SLIP (a
mixture of water and clay)
•Found broken in half- each half in
a different grave

17. MAN AND
CENTAUR
c. 750 BCE. Bronze,
height 4-5/16”
•Confront each other after
the man has stabbed the
centaur in its left side
•Bodies are geometric
shapes
•Solid forms and open
(negative) space that
makes it interesting to look
at from any view
•Might have been a votive
offering to the gods

18. ORIENTALIZING STYLE:
•Influence from Egypt and Near East (through trade)
•Greek art absorbed many Oriental ideas and motifs
Eleusis Amphora 675-650 BC
•New curvilinear motifs appear
•Animals taken from Near Eastern Art
•Narrative is much more important
•Narratives came from Greek myths and
legends
•Oriental lions and monsters- represented
the unknown forces of fate faced by Greek
heroes
•This shows the blinding of the giant
Polyphemus by Odysseus- has dramatic
force

20. OLPE (PITCHER)
c. 650-625 BCE. Ceramic with black-figure decoration
Orientalizing style included…
•Real and imaginary animals
•Abstract plant forms
•Human figures
•OLPE = wide-mouthed pitcher
•Silhouetted creatures striding in
horizontal bands
•Stylized flower forms- “ROSETTES”
•BLACK FIGURE POTTERY STYLE
(dark figures against light clay color)

21. ARCHAIC ART

22. Archaic Period: 600- 480 BCE
•Stone and marble replaced wood and mud brick construction
•Most important new idea: the desire to build and sculpt in stone- the
desire for permanence-but vase painting continued
•Vase painting is unique in that most pottery is not considered art,
but rather craft- not reproducible - Archaic vases were smaller- no
longer used as grave monuments
•Pottery combines beauty with function
•Athens is dominant center for pottery manufacturing
•After the 6th century, the best vases have artist signatures- became
well known for their personal style
•Archaic painting was drawing filled in with solid, flat color

23. FRANCOIS VASE, by Klietias, c. 570 BCE
•Signed by potter and painter
twice
•More than 200 figures
represented in six superimposed
rows and two rows on each
handle
•Nearly every feature is labeled
(horses, dogs, water jars, etc.)
•Mythological subjects, boar
hunt, dance of maidens rescued
from minotaur by Theseus,
chariot race, animals and
monsters, Ajax carrying the
dead body of Achilles (on
handle)
•Separate themes on each band
echo one another – similar
meanings in different
mythological episodes
•Said to have every Greek god
on the vase
•It’s got it all!!!

24. Ajax and Achilles Playing a Game
(dice)- by Exekias, 540 BCE
• Greek Archaic AMPHORA
• Black figure style, decorative geometric
band
• Concentration and subdued emotions
portrayed
• Legs, spears and poses mirror each other
• Wearing body armor, set aside shields
• Achilles is dominant (wears helmet)
• Spears show depth (overlapping)- spears
at the ready- enemy will not catch them
unaware!
• Decorative curly-cues dominate legs
• Cloaks elaborately engraved
• Exekias matches shape of painting to
shape of jar- triangle of two men rises to
mouth of jar, handles continue line of
their shields
• Achilles wins by saying “four” (Ajax
says “three”)- ironic- Ajax will bury his
friend, who will die in a battle.

25. Dionysos with Maenads
by Amasis Pinter, c. 540 BCE
•By an anonymous artist
•Black-figure decoration on ceramic
amphora
•AMPHORA = large, all-purpose storage
jar
•Bands of decoration above and below
central scene (typical)
•Wine god Dionysos with MAENADS
(female worshipers)
•Maenads with arms around each other
present offerings to Dionysos- imposing,
richly dressed, holding a KANTHAROS
(wine cup)
•Joyful encounter between god and
humans
•Strong shapes, bold patterns, fine details

26. Dionysus in a Boat, by Exekias, Kylix, 540 BCE
•Black-Figured style
•Entire design is silhouetted in
back against reddish clay
•Details are scratched in with a
needle
•White and purple added to
make areas stand out
•Has spare elegance of form

28. ARCHAIC vs. CLASSICAL

29. Lysippides Painter HERAKLES
DRIVING A BULL TO SACRIFICE
c. 525-520 BCE. Black-figure
decoration on an amphora.
Andokides Painter HERAKLES
DRIVING A BULL TO
SACRIFICE
c. 525-520 BCE. Red-figure
decoration on an amphora.
Transition to red-figure style

30. Lapith and Centaur, by The Foundry Painter, c.490-480 BC
•Red-figured style
•Gradually replaced
black-figured style
around 500 BC
•Done in brush- able
to show overlapping
and foreshortening,
precise detail
•Also able to build up
glaze to create depth

31. The Death of Sarpedon by Euphronios (painter) and Euxitheos
(potter). c. 515 BCE. Red-figure decoration on a calyx krater.
•Dark slip painted on as
background around
outlined figures (left
unpainted)
•A scene from Homer’s
Illiad- Greek warrior
Sarpedon killed by
Patroclus
•Hypnos (sleep) and
Thanatos (death) carry the
dead warrior from the
battlefield (personification)
•Hermes watches over
(messenger of the gods-
winged hat, staff with
coiled snakes)-leads dead
to the underworld
•Balance between verticals
and horizontals, strong
diagonals
•Bands echo dead’s body
•FORESHORTEN some
body forms and limbs
exaggerated
anatomical
detail

32. Eos and Memnon, by Douris, c.490-480 BCE
•Very
expressive
brushwork-
•limbs under
drapery, more
delicate strokes
•Has signature
of painter and
potter

33. First a few words about innovations of Greek sculpture…..
•Unafraid of nudity (Egyptians thought nudity was embarrassing)
•Greeks glorified the perfection of the human body
•At first, only male statues were nude. Then women- but they were
reluctant, and the nude female statues weren’t as popular
•Large Greek marble sculptures are cut away from the stone behind
them
•Large-scale bronze sculptures are treasured- lighter than marble-
made sculpture experiments more ambitious
•Introduce CONTRAPPOSTO pose- relaxed way of standing with
knee bent and shoulders tilted- informal and fluid stance- figures
appear to move.

34. •Early sculpture similar to Egyptians
•Innovative-truly free-standing- Egyptian sculptures had stone
between legs
KEY IDEAS ABOUT GREEK ARCHAIC SCULPTURE
•Rise in monumental sculpture around 650 BC- probably based on
visits to Egypt- there were colonies of Greeks in Egypt
•Limited to grave monuments- KOUROS and KORE figures, or
sculpture from Greek temples
•Marble is stone of choice (but sometimes bronze, limestone, terra
cotta, wood, gold, or iron were used)
•Sculpture was often painted, especially on temple façade
•Backgrounds highlighted in red
•Lips, eyes, hair, and drapery routinely painted
•Sculpture often has metallic accessories: thunderbolts, harps, etc.
•Bronze sculpture is hollow. Eyes inlaid with stone or glass

35. Greek
Egyptian

36. ARCHER ("PARIS")
From the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. c. 500-490 or
470s BCE. Marble.
This is what the
sculpture looks like
today

37. RECONSTRUCTION OF ARCHER
From the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. 2004 CE.
This is what the
sculpture would
have looked like in
the Archaic period

38. METROPOLITAN KOUROS
Attica, Greece. c. 600-590
BCE. Marble, height 6'4-5/8”
Daedalus- “skillful one”-
legendary artist who was a
great sculptor and was said
to have built the labyrinth in
Crete and the temple at
Memphis in Egypt- every
piece of Archaic art was
attributed to him before
recorded names

39. METROPOLITAN KOUROS
Attica, Greece. c. 600 BCE. Marble, height 6'4-5/8”
KOUROS = male standing youth (always nude)
KORE= female standing youth (always clothed)
•Produced in large numbers during the Archaic
Period and were originally painted
•Used as grave markers, replacing huge vases of
Geometric period
•Not many varieties- most looked similar despite
the artist
•Neither gods or mortals, but the ideal of physical
perfection in both
•Not a real portrait- a general representation of
the dead
•Hair in neatly braided rows down back
•Eyes wide open, V-shaped pelvis
•Face is mask-like

40. BERLIN KORE
From the cemetery at Keratea, near Athens.
c. 570-560 BCE.
Marble with remnants of red paint, height
6'3”

41. ANAVYSOS KOUROS
From the cemetery at Anavysos, near
Athens. c. 530 BCE.
Marble with remnants of paint, height 6'4”
•KOUROS and KORE figures stand
frontally
•Bolt upright
•Squarish shoulders
•Hair knotted, curlicue ears
•Figures cut free from stone, but arms
sometimes attach to thighs
•One foot placed in front of the other (like
Egypian)- mid-stride
•Shins have neat crease down the front
•Smile a little- sense of life

42. PEPLOS KORE
From the Akropolis, Athens. c. 530
BCE. Marble, height 4’
•PEPLOS: belted garment
•Figure looks like a column
•Some of painted surface survives
•Hair falls naturally in heavy knotted
strands
•Archaic smile
•One hand raised, breaks the symmetry
•Broken hand used to carry offering to
Athena
•Tightened waist
•Breasts revealed beneath drapery
•Rounded, naturalistic face

43. Calf-Bearer, c. 560 BCE, marble
•Rhobos the Calf-Bearer brings
offerings to Athena as thanks
for his prosperity
•Thin coat draped over figure
•Originally painted
•Two figures are united- tightly
woven composition
emphasized by a central X-
shape
•Archaic smile, knotted hair
•Beard = man of maturity

44. Rampin Rider c.550 BCE
•Head found in Acropolis, body found
elsewhere ten years late
•Archaic Smile
•Richly textured beard and hair
•Most beautiful Kouros of the time
•A bit asymmetrical- not typical Archaic

45. Hera from Samos 570-560 BCE
Kore in Dorian Peplos, 530 BCE
•Kore types vary more
than Kouros
•Reflects changing
dress styles
•Flowing fabric- very
column-like
•Fabric forms a separate
layer over the body
•More organic treatment
of hair
•Full, round face, more
natural

46. Architectural Sculpture
• Greeks began to build their temples in stone- from Egyptian tradition
•Egyptians had a history of relief sculptures, but very shallow- no weight or volume
•Near East also had tradition of reliefs, but Greeks took idea from the sculptures of
the Lions (ie: Lion Gate)- Mycenaens architects left an empty triangular space
above the lintel- thought that it held up the wall- became a new type of architectural
sculpture
•Pediment sculpture- sculpture in high relief, but undercut to show depth- to assert
the independence of the sculpture from the architecture
•Architectural sculpture is ornamental rather than narrative, but this will soon
change in Greek art
•Used the pediment only- did not think any other part of the building was suitable
for art
PEDIMENT

47. West Pediment, Temple of Artemis at Corfu c.600-580 BCE, limestone
Who is this figure??

48. •Sculpture first into the pediment shape of the Greek temple
•Gorgon Medusa’s head overlapping top frame- flanked by two large
cats (leopards? panthers?) that protect the temple- she is protector of
animals
•Medusa turns people to stone in one glance, snakes for hair, ugly face
•She frightens away enemies
•Running with head facing viewer and legs in profile, turned body
•Medusa’s son Chrysaor- born from her blood after her decapitation

49. GREEK
HITTITE
AEGEAN
SIMILARITIES?

50. Dying Warrior, east pediment, Temple of Aphaia c. 490 BCE
•Relief gives way to statues- fits in with the shape of the pediment-
height varies with the slope of the triangle- makes the figure both
narrative and ornamental
•In action
•Stiffness
•Slight smile even though he’s dying!

51. Dying Warrior, from the west pediment of the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina,
c. 500-490 BCE, marble
•Pediment sculpture
•Hair in rows of tight curls
•In action
•Stiffness, rigid musculature
•Archaic smile
•Complex cross-legged pose- awkward and unnatural, especially in this life-and-
death struggle he’s apparently in
•Bronze arrow in chest, no signs of pain on body

52. Gods and Giants from the Siphnian Treasury, 530 BCE, marble
•Mythic battle between Greek gods and the giants
•Shows contemporary military tactics and weapons
•Greater organization of space- shows depth by overlapping and more shallow
carving- undercutting of forms creates shadows around legs
•Varying relief depth- attempt at layering figures
•Figures rest on a stage
•Arms and legs are carved in the round
•This is a purely narrative work- high drama

53. Details from Gods and Giants
530 BCE