Ancient Greek Art Flashcards
Why is Greek literature so praised?
Because the Greeks were the first Western people to write at length about their artists. They adapted the Phoenician alphabet to their own use.
Who are the main three subgroups of Greeks that are distinguished in the first Millenium BCE?
- The Dorians (centered in Peloponnese)
- The Ionians (inhabiting Attica, Euboea, the Cyclades and the central coast of Asia Minor)
- The Aeolians (ended up in the northeast Aegean)
Why studying Greek art is complicated?
Because we have three separate and often conflicting sources of information:
- The Greek works we found, which is only a fraction of what existed.
- Roman copies of Greek originals (especially sculptures). They tell us some things, but without originals, we can’t determine how faithful a copy is.
- The literature. They name celebrated artists and monuments, but often deal with lost works and fail to mention surviving Greek works that we number among the greatest masterpieces of their time.
What’s the name of the oldest surviving style of Greek art developed?
The Geometric Style. It’s called so because of the predominance of linear designs. Dates back to the ninth century BCE. In this style, painted pottery and small-scale clay and bronze sculptures were made.
How did Athenians use large vessels during the beginning of the first millennium BCE?
Vessels were used as funerary markers over burials. Holes in its base allowed mourners to pour liquid offerings (libations) during funerary rituals.; the librations filtered down to the dead buried below. Earlier, ashes of their dead were placed inside vases. A woman’s remains were put in a belly-handled amphora (where wine and oil were usually stored), and a man’s ashes were stored in a neck amphora (a wine jar with a long neck).
When did the Orientalizing period take place and why?
Between 725 and 650 BCE. It reflected strong influences from the Near East and Egypt and absorbed Eastern motifs and ideas, including hybrid creatures such as griffins and sphinxes.
What is aryballos?
A parfume jar.
What’s the main innovation in the vessel graphics of the Orientalizing style?
At this time vase painters learned to refine a black gloss slip, which they used to create silhouette or outline images.
What are bronze tripod cauldrons and protomes?
Large vessels mounted on three legs. They are among the costliest dedications in Greek sanctuaries during the Geometric and Orientalizing periods. Protomes are images of sirens and griffins that were attached around the edge of such bowls.
How did Greeks call city-states and which were the ways they were governed?
Polis. Monarchy (“monarchoes” = sole ruler), aristocracy (“aristoi” + “kratia” = rule of the best), tyranny (“tyrannos” = king), oligarchy (“oligoi” = the few), and democracy (“demos” = the people).
Tell two architecture styles of Greek Archaic Art and explain their origin and difference.
- Doric style. Comes from Crete and south Peloponnese. A Doric column consists of a shaft, usually marked by flutes (shallow vertical grooves) and a capital, made up of a flaring, cushionlike echinus and the abacus (a square tablet). The frieze on the entablature is made up of alternating triple-grooved triglyphs and smooth or sculpted metopes.
- Ionic style. Developed on the Aegean islands and the coast of Asia Minor. An Ionic column has an ornate base. Its shaft is more slender, less tapered. The capital has a volute (a double scroll) below the abacus. Above the architrave, the frieze is continuous.
- Both have main chamber called cella or naos housing the god’s image. The only room before cella is a porch or pronaos. Builders fastened stone blocks without mortar by using metal dowels or clamps. For ceiling, wooden beams were used.
Entasis
A technique of making column shaft, when about a third way of the way up they bulge outward slightly, receding again at about two-thirds of their height, which creates a swelling effect.
How do you call a Greek temple with two rows of columns surrounding it?
A dipteral temple.
How scholars name the Greek sculptures when their function is unknown?
The female sculptures are called Kore (plural “korai”), which means “maiden” and Greek.
The make sculptures are called Kouros (plural “kouroi”), for “youth”.
Explain the difference between peplos, himation and chiton.
All are types of Greek clothes.
Peplos is a plain woolen garment.
Himation is an outer heavy garment worn over the left shoulder and under the right.
Chiton is a light rectangle of fabric draped and fastened at the shoulder by pins.
