EXAM #1

Question 1

Akropolis

Answer 1

The citadel of an ancient Greece city, located at it’s highest point and housing temples, a treasury, and sometimes a royal place.

Question 2

Amphora

Answer 2

An ancient Greek or Roman jar for storing oil or wine, with an egg-shaped body and two curved handles.

Question 3

Basilica

Answer 3

A large rectangular building. Originally Roman centers for administration, later adapted to Christian church use.

Question 4

Black figure

Answer 4

A technique of ancient Greek ceramic decoration in which black figures are painted on red clay ground.

Question 5

Buon Fresco

Answer 5

A painting technique in which waterbased pigments are applied to a plaster surface. If the plaster is painted when wet, the color is absorbed by the plaster, becoming a permanent part of the wall (buon fresco). Fresco secco is created by painting on dried plaster, and the color may eventually flake off. Murals made by both these techniques are called frescos.

Question 6

Capstone

Answer 6

The final, topmost stone in a corbeled arch or vault, which joins the sides and completes the structure.

Question 7

Caryatid

Answer 7

A sculpture of a draped female figure acting as a column supporting entablature.

Question 8

Cella

Answer 8

The principal interior room at the center of a Greek or Roman temple within which the cult state was usually housed.

Question 9

Contrapposto

Answer 9

“Set against”, described of representing human figures with opposing alternations of tension and relaxation on either side of a center axis to imbue figures with a sense of the potential for movement.

Question 10

Cyclopean

Answer 10

A method of construction using huge blocks of rough-hewn stone. Any large scale, monumental building project that impresses by sheer size.

Question 11

Entasis

Answer 11

A slight swelling of the shaft of a Greek column.

Question 12

Forum

Answer 12

A Roman town center; site of temples and administrative buildings and used as a market or gathering area for citizens.

Question 13

Kore

Answer 13

An Archaic Greek statue of a young woman.

Question 14

Kouros

Answer 14

An Archaic Greek statue of a young man or boy.

Question 15

Krater

Answer 15

An Ancient Greek vessel for mixing wine and water, with many subtypes that each have a distinctive shape.

Question 16

Labrys

Answer 16

The Greek “Double headed axe”. A very popular motif in Minoan architecture.

Question 17

Megaron

Answer 17

The main hall of a Mycenaean palace or ground house.

Question 18

Metope

Answer 18

The carved or painted rectangular panel between the triglyphs of a Doric frieze.

Question 19

Minoan

Answer 19

Bronze age civilization that existed on the island of Crete (And other Aegean isles) from about 1900-1375 BCE. Divided into two periods, “Old Palace” from 1900-1700 BCE, and “New Palace” from 1700-1375 BCE.

Question 20

Module

Answer 20

A segment or portion of a repeated design. (a basic building block)

Question 21

Keystone

Answer 21

The topmost voussior at the center of an arch, and the last block to be placed. The pressure of this block holds the arch together.

Question 22

Frieze

Answer 22

The middle element of an entablature, between the architrave and the cornice. Usually decorated with sculpture, painting or moldings.

Question 23

Mycenaeans

Answer 23

The Mycenaeans were the peoples populating mainland Greece during the Helladic period (about 3000-1000 BCE). Mycenaeans built citadels and the Megaron, and their architecture is distinctly different from that of the Minoans.

Question 24

Nave

Answer 24

The center space of a church, two or three stones high and usually flanked by aisles.

Question 25

Olpe

Answer 25

Any Greek Vessel without a spout.

Question 26

Pediment

Answer 26

A triangular gable found over major architectural elements such as Classical Greek porticos, windows, or doors. Formed by an entablature and the ends of a sloping roof or a raking cornice.

Question 27

Peristyle

Answer 27

In Greek architecture, a surrounding colonnade. Surrounded on the exterior by a colonnade.

Question 28

Pier

Answer 28

A masonry support made up of many stones, or rubble and concrete, often square or rectangular in plan, and capable of carrying very heavy architectural loads.

Question 29

Pronaos

Answer 29

The enclosed vestibule of a Greek or Roman temple, found in front of the cella and marked by a row of columns at the entrance.

Question 30

Reconstitution

Answer 30

“Fixing” damaged art or architecture, but generally taking artistic liberty in doing so. - This happened to the parthenon in the 1920s, when attempted reconstruction resulted in pieces in the wrong places and further damage to the integrity of the marble structure. -We also discussed this in class when taking about the “Labyrinth” at Knossos, and how the archaeologists associated with Sir Arthur Evans reconstituted much of the art to fit their theory of the site’s history.

Question 31

Red figure

Answer 31

A technique of ancient Greek ceramic decoration characterized by red clay- colored figures on a black background. The figures are reserved against a painted ground and details are drawn, not engraved.

Question 32

Relieving Triangle

Answer 32

The triangular block above a lintel in megalithic architecture used to direct the weight and pressure off of the lintel.

Question 33

Slip

Answer 33

A mixture of clay and water applied to a ceramic object as a final decorative coat. (Also) a solution that binds different parts of a vessel together, such as the handle and the main body.

Question 34

Stylus

Answer 34

An instrument with a pointed end which makes a delicate line or scratch. (Also) a special writing tool for cuneiform writing with one pointed end and one triangular.

Question 35

Symposium

Answer 35

An elite gathering of wealthy and powerful men in ancient Greece that focused principally on wine, music, poetry, conservation, games and love making.

Question 36

Temenos

Answer 36

An enclosed area reserved for worship in ancient Greece.

Question 37

Tholos

Answer 37

A small, round building. Sometimes built underground.

Question 38

Verism

Answer 38

Style in which artists concern themselves with describing the exterior likeness of an object or person, usually by rendering its visible details in a finely executed, meticulous manner.

Question 39

Vertical Perspective

Answer 39

The use of overlapping figures to create the illusion of depth. Example: the Parthenon Marbles