Ancient Greek Vocab Flashcards
Greek, high city, means a rugged, raised rock; site of the city’s most important temples
acropolis
sculpture in the round placed on a rock
acroterion
an open space or square used for public meetings or business in ancient greece
agora
having for columns both in the front and rear of a temple
amphiprostyle
silhouetting of dark figures against a light background of natural, reddish clay, with linear details incised through the silhouettes
black-figure
the main shrine room of a temple where a cut statue is housed
cella
a graceful arrangement of the body based on the tilted shoulders and hips and bent knees
contrapposto
paint made of pigment mixed with wax
encaustic
lintel above the columns; contains the architrave and the frieze
entablature
slight bulging or curve in the shaft of a column to correct the visual illusion of concavity
entasis
shallow vertical grooves running along the long, narrow cylinder that comprises the majority of the column
fluted shaft
a broad horizontal band of decoration and/or sculpture on architecture
frieze
battle between gods and giants on greek mythology
gigantomachy
tradition of depicting head of figures on the same level; implies a single ground line
isocephalism
an oven used for making pottery
kiln
an archaic greek sculpture of an idealized standing youth
kouros/kore
a large ancient greek bowl used for mixing water and wine
krater
a sculpture is carved out of clay and dipped into wax; the sculpture is put into a clay casing and heated, so that the wax will drip out of a hole at the bottom; as a result, spaceis left between the clay casing and clay interior; molten metal is then poured into the space; after cooling, the case is cracked so that the now-metal scuplture can be release
lost-wax casting
space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze; often decorated with low relief carving
metopes
a style represented by a characteristic design of the columns
order
a ceremonial road for a procession built to honor Athena
panathenaic way
low protective wall or barrier
parapet
virgin, used to refer to Athena as Athena Parthenos
parthenos
the triangular top of a classical building; typically on top of an entablature and a portico
pediment
a garment worn by a women in ancient greece, usually full length and tied at the waist
peplos
colonade aorund the perimeter of the building
peristyle
in later greek pottery the silhouetting of red figures against a black background, with painted linear details; the reverse of black-figure painting
red-figure
covered walkway atteched to a building; used as a framing device for the structure
stoa
the floor of a temple
stylobate
part of a Doric entablature frieze; has three vertical grooves
triglyph
deeply incised drapery that is clingy and tight, so that it reveals the shape of the body
wet drapery
