Exam 2: Greece Flashcards
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian Orders
Doric: simple and thick, no base, wider at the bottom
Ionic: thin, simple base, curlique capital
Corinthian: thin, elaborate capitals with floral/intricate designs
Volute
- Ornate decoration of capital
- curly part
Acanthus
- Leaflike ornamentation at the top of Corinthian columns
- leaf on Corinthian column capitals
Pediment
- Triangular area above columns
- The roof that is held up by the columns
Capital
- Tops of columns–like hats
- The head of the column
Base
- Bottom part of columns (“the foot”); not present on Doric order
- (doric has no base)
Triglyph
- Found in doric order; sort of like mini columns between the rectangular architrave and the triangular pediment
- found in doric, divided into three by grooves, separates two consecutive metope
Metope
- Space in between triglyphs (doric order)
- rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric
Frieze
- Sculpted or painted art in a band near the ceiling or Ionic order
- the horizontal band near the ceiling that has sculpted or painted decorations.
Fluting
- Grooves in the columns
- the grooves (Don’t throw it off). The indentations in the columns
Entasis
Curvature of columns; perfectly straight columns appear concave, so columns were constructed with a slight bend to look perfectly straight
- the columns are wider in the middle, and narrowest at the top
Naos
- Inner area of temples containing the cult statue of a god
- center of temple for worship, where statute would be present
Agora
- A public and open meeting place
- an open place used for congregating or as a market. The place to practice Greek politics
Stoa
- Colonnade with a roof; sort of like a walkway to keep people out of the sun
- a covered hall, columns with a cover; used as a meeting hall or market building
Colonnade
- Rows of columns
- the long row of columns in the stoa
Caryatid
- Unique columns shaped like women; found at the Erechtheion
- women-shaped columns
Doric
20 flutes, thin to wide, short, entasis, no base, manly
Ionic
tall, elegant, curly, 24 flutes, feminine
Corinthian
tall, slimmer than ionic, maiden-like
(including volute- curly part, acanthus - leaf on Corinthian column capitals, pediment- like the roof that is held up by the columns)
Democracy
- people lead the people
Oligarchy
- small group of people that lead the people
Metics
- Foreigner who lived in Athens but was not a citizen
- Free men who were not citizens because they came from some other polis in Greece or from a Greek colony. They performed most of the “hands on” tasks such as construction, sewing, and all small trades, including even pottery and painting.
Skepticism
a philosophy that some knowledge can never be truly obtained
Sophism
method of teaching in Greece, studied philosophy
Relativism
philosophy that truth is relative based on each one’s moral sense
Rhetoric
the art of persuasion used to argue in Greek politics and culture
Dialectical Method
a method that juxtaposes different points of views and seeks to reconcile them; a process of inquiry and instruction characterized by continuous question-and-answer dialogue; “Socratic Method”
Inductive Reasoning
a type of reasoning that moves from specific instances to general principles and from particular truths to universal ones. (ex: I pull three marbles from a bag and they are all black, therefore all the marbles in the bag must be black…think generalization)
Idealism
the eternal perfection of pure ideas untainted by material reality
Allegory
- An extended story that symbolizes something larger; eg. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
- a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning (Plato’s Allegory of the Cave)
Symposium
- Drinking party where political discussions often took place
- a meeting of people in which they would drink wine and speak openly about arts
Empirical Investigation
Aristotle created a method of studying the material world around him to understand and gain knowledge of universal truths. (observation rather than theory or pure logic)
Syllogism
a type of deductive reasoning consisting of two premises from which a conclusion can be drawn
Tragedy
- A play where the social order dissolves, and only gets worse by the end
- a type of drama whose basis is conflict; it often explores the physical and moral depths to which human life can descend
Comedy
- A play where social norms are threatened, but are resolved by the end
- an amusing or lighthearted play designed to evoke laughter in an audience. Extremely racist and sexist plays
Satyr Play
- a comic play that was one of the three major forms of Greek drama; see farce. (Farce a broadly satirical comedy, closely related with comedy plays)
Catharsis
- An emotional release; occurs as a result of viewing tragedies; Aristotle thought the purpose of theater was catharsis, and that the best way to achieve it was implementing pity and fear into the plays
- the entrapping of the audience within the play, that they become so involved emotionally it is draining. We feel pity and/or pain for the plot characters. Thought to be emotionally cleansing. Aristotle believed that a play that caused catharsis would cause a change in the audience.
Hubris
- fatal flaw… his/her pride. It usually causes the destruction of all in a tragedy
- Excessive pride or disregard of the gods, especially in the case of epic heroes; often served as a tragic flaw
- Excessive pride or self-confidence
Tragic Flaw
- A flaw of an epic hero that leads to his/her downfall in Greek tragedy
- Hamartia in other words, fatal flaw. It usually causes the destruction of all in a tragedy. Causes the downfall of the protagonist.
Deus ex machina
- ”God from the machine.” A Euripides plot device where a god/random character came in to advance the plot
- Plot twist, often involving the divine intervention for the better or for the worse. Such as the “flying chariot that Medea takes to escape Jason and his house.”
Contraposto (or Contrapposto)
- Stance common in sculptures from the Classical Greek era–one leg stepped out with the knee bent, in a balanced pose
- a natural twisting in the body; a special stance in which the statue would spread its legs, one leg farther in front than the other. We see this in the sculpture Spear Bearer (Figure 5.4 Sayre)
Idealization
philosophy that what is modeled is not correct but is easier to understand
Chryselephantine
- Containing gold or ivory overlays
- Greek architecture overlaid with gold and ivory. Like the statue of Athena (But also all the statues that were put in the naos (middle of the temples) were made of ivory and were overlaid with gold.)
Centauromachy
- Fighting against barbarian centaurs, depicted on a pediment of the temple of Zeus
- a picture of centaurs and men representing the centaurs as barbarians and violent outsiders
Classical
- In Hellenistic art, one can see that the art forms went beyond understanding human anatomy and looked at how the body moved and how it looked when in action. In classical art, one cannot see these aspects.
- The Hellenistic art form is seen to be depicting more emotions; portraying the dramatic features that are filled with happiness, anger, agony, and humor. The classic sculptures do not come with these emotions but were idealized or static.
- In classic art forms, one can see more of rules and conventions. On the other hand, much freedom could be seen in the Hellenistic art forms.
- In classical art forms, one can come across more religious and naturalistic themes. On the contrary, the Hellenistic art forms came out with more dramatic expressions of the spiritual as well as the preoccupation.
Hellenistic
- “Greek-like” art, spread through the conquest of Alexander the Great
- a period of Greek History that begins with the death of Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE) and extends to the Roman defeat of Cleopatra in Egypt in 30 BCE
Thermistocles
led the Greeks to victory in the war with the Persians. (Athenian politician and war general)
Pericles
He was the leader of Athens. He was very prominent in Athenian politics, and he was always supported by Athenian citizens, and he stayed in his pro
role for decades. Everything was flourishing during his time, and so he decided that they should rebuild the Acropolis. So they rebuilt the very expensive Parthenon, and they decided to rebuild it from all the treasury of multiple city-states. The city-states were appalled that they would use their money for the Parthenon. It reflected the greater glory of Greece.
Example of Works: Thucydides (c.460/455-c.399 BCE): Pericles’ Funeral Oration from the Peloponnesian War. In this great Eulogy, Pericles asserts the position of Athen’s greatness by covering their democracy, honor, glory, strength, and bravery for the war that was fought. He speaks highly of the patriotism of their country and how individual they are as Athens. He uses strong rhetoric and especially identifies his audience of those who mourn for their beloved soldiers who fell during the war. He especially highlights in the “panegyric,” how the beloved soldiers died well put honor to their names.
Aspasia
Pericles’ mistress and partner, a hetaira (a class of greek courtesans known for their beauty). She was extremely influential in politics. Although at that time women did not hold citizenship or a vote, Aspasia was able to influence political decisions made by Pericles.
Hippocrates
The “father of medicine” he strongly believed in the mind’s ability to influence the physical body, the relationship between cause and effect in physical illness, and the effect of diet and environment on physical well being.
Darius
- The king of Persia, who led his army to attack the Greeks there at Marathon
- Persian emperors who tried to conquer Greece; Darius came before Xerxes
Xerxes
- Darius’ son who led an army of at least 150,000 men and invaded Athens
- Persian emperors who tried to conquer Greece; Darius came before Xerxes
Pythagoras
mathematician and philosopher who focused on “harmony of the spheres”
Heraclitus
philosopher who searched for metaphysical foundations, believed in opposition in all things, logos, interchange of elements symbolized by fire
Protagoras
sophist, “man is the measure of all things”– man holds the true value. Each individual human, not god or divine forces, defines reality.
Aristophanes
Old Comedy writer, big into satire
Aeschylus
wrote tragedies, Oresteia trilogy, 2 main actors
Sophocles
wrote tragedies, “Oedipus Rex”, most admired by Aristotle, 3 main actors
Alexander the Great
The leader of Greece during the beginningof the Hellenistic period of Greece. He conquered region after region, until Mediterranean, North Africa, Middle East and parts of Indian subcontinent were all under Greek influence and power.
Ptolemy I
Successor of Alexander the Great, found Ptolemaic dynasty
Attalus I
Ruler of Pergamon; statue of him in the Hellenistic era
Early Greek (c.480-431 B.C.)
- Theater of Dionysus, Athens
- “Temple to Hera,” Paestum (Italy)- entasis in the columns (swells)
- “Temple of Zeus,” Olympia- egalitarian (neutral, equal area), sacrifice was a communal event, statue of zeus in naos (middle of temple)
- “Kritios Boy,” Athens– a statue that depicts the growing naturalism of Greek sculpture, and served as a votive function
- “Artemesion Bronze,” Athens, Contrapposto stance
Classical Greek (431-323 B.C.)
- Plato, “Apology,” and “Allegory of the Cave” from the “Republic”, Athens
- Aristotle, “Poetics,” Athens
- Euripides, “Herakles” (performance) and “Medea,” (text), Athens
- Thucydides, “History of the Peloponnesian Wars,” (excerpts) Athens
- Kallikrates & Iktinos “Parthenon,” Acropolis (Athens)
- Phidias, “Cult Statue of Athena,” Parthenon, Athens
- Mnesicles, “Erechtheion,” Acropolis (Athens)
- Myron, “Discus Thrower,” Athens
- Polykleitos, “Spear Bearer,” Athens
- “Grave Stele of Crito and Timarista,” Rhodes
- “Grave Stele of Thraceas and Euandria,” Athens
Hellenistic (323- 146 B.C.- though tendencies continue into Roman era)
- Lysippus (copy of), “Head of Alexander the Great,”
- Pergamon–”the Scraper”
- “Pergamon Altar,” Pergamon
- “Head of Attalos I,” Pergamon
- Praxiteles, “Hermes with Infant Dionysus,” Delphi
- Praxiteles, “Aphrodite,” Greek
- “Nike of Samothrace”
- Epigonos, “Dying Gaul,” Rome
- “Laocoön Group,” Rome
Theater of Dionysus, Athens
Dionysus was the god of emotional release (connected with him being the god of wine), so he was also associated with theater
“Temple to Hera,” Paestum (Italy)
Entasis of columns (swells)
“Temple of Zeus,” Olympia
- Olympia’s most prominent temple; depicted the labors of Heracles and centauromachy in ensemble sculptures
- egalitarian (neutral, equal area), sacrifice was a communal event, statue of zeus in naos (middle of temple) (centauromachy sculptures in West Pediment)
“Kritios Boy,” Athens
- Watershed piece from 480 BC; marks the transition from Archaic Greek art to Classical Greek art; distinguishing features from this era are lack of smile and contrapposto stance
- a statue that depicts the growing naturalism of Greek sculpture, and served as a votive function
“Artemesion Bronze,” Athens
Another transition piece; stood in contrapposto stance
Myron, “Discus Thrower,” Athens
Showed ideal form
Polykleitos, “Spear Bearer,” Athens
Showed “perfect form” according to the Greeks; extremely muscular, body proportions followed golden ratio of 1:1.162, stands in contrapposto stance
Lysippus (copy of), “Head of Alexander the Great,” Pergamum
Original was made of bronze, this one is from marble; watershed piece for the Hellenistic era; new Hellenistic style tends to favor individual accuracy instead of perfect form
Epigonos, “Dying Gaul,” Rome
Depicts a barbarian (non Greek) who has been stabbed and is now bleeding to death (stab wound can be seen on his side). He can be identified as a barbarian because of 1) his necklace, which isn’t Greek, 2) his mustache, as Greeks would only wear a mustache if paired with a beard, and 3) his disheveled hair which sticks up, not in the Greek style. Though he is an enemy foreigner, there is sympathy for him and appreciation of his strength; by depicting his impressive form and power, the Greeks showed that even the strongest and most worthy enemies will fall to the Greeks.
“Laocoön Group,” Rome
- From Pergamon; depicts man and sons being strangled by pythons. It was believed that the gods cursed them and caused their death after the father tried to refuse the Trojan horse. Consequently, the people of Troy accepted the horse, which led to their downfall. Sculpture shows extreme emotions and perfect form
- Greek Sculptors: Agesander, Athenodorus, and Polydorus of Rhodes
Kallikrates & Iktinos, “Parthenon,” Acropolis (Athens)
Central part of the acropolis. Temple dedicated to Athena. Used doric order, sort of–different numbers of columns than normal, had a frieze, etc. Was destroyed when being used as a Mosque in 1687, when gunpowder stores exploded. Golden rectangle ratio design
