Greek Part 2

Question 1

What is the Acropolis?

Answer 1

• 2nd half of 5th century
• “city at the top”
• defensively oriented district; had municipal and religious buildings
• founding was a religious act
• local home for the gods
• religious (natural mysteries→ caves, springs, glens→ denoted presence of the gods) and military reasons for the high viewpt

Question 2

What was the primary function of the Parthenon? How did the architects achieve perfection? What are the architectural refinements in it?

Answer 2

• chief shrine of Athena and treasury of the Delian League
• Doric order (simplist of 3 classical greek architecture)
• white marble; fluted baseless columns with square capital; stands on 3 stepped base and supports roof structure
• architectural refinements⇒ upward curvature of the base along the ends and repeated in the entablature
• entasis in the columns
• thickening of the 4 corner columns to counteract the thinning effect of being seen at certain angles against the sky
• metopes carved in high relief; each side had different battles/scenes

Question 3

cornice, pediment, entablature, capital, and column

Answer 3

• post beam triangle construction→ generic Greek architecture; columns, horizontal members
• pediment= triangle top
• entablature= top of columns
• fluting= grooves in columns
• capital= ?
• cornice= overhang on the top part of the building

Question 4

What story is depicted in the sculpture on the east pediment of the Parthenon?

Answer 4

• Athena being born from her father’s head (zeus)–> middle

- god reacting to it on the sides

Question 5

How does the sculpture on the east pediment of the Parthenon conform stylistically to Classical period art?

Answer 5

• lifelike; movement; harmony; permanence
• expressive (relationship to each other;energy, responsiveness)
• humanism→ high point of human achievement
• heroism

Question 6

What event marks the beginning of the Hellenistic period?

Answer 6

• Alex the Great conquered much of the known world (empire→ Greece, Asia Minor, through Egypt and Persian Empire in the Near East to India)
• DEATH OF ALEXANDER

Question 7

What accounts for the broader range of subjects during the Hellenistic period?

Answer 7

• Alex’s generals (Diadochi “successors”) divided land into kingdoms→ new Hellenistic dynasties
• city-states asserted independence through alliances sometimes→ Aitolian League and Achaian League
• each kingdom was ruled by a local dynasty but was infused with new Greek elements→ expanded Greek world→ Hellenistic art and culture

Question 8

HELLENISTIC PERIOD CHARACTERISTICS

Answer 8

-diverse in subject matter and stylistic dev
-strong sense of history
-representations of Greek gods in new forms→ nude Aphrodite= increase secularization
Dionysos, Hermes, Eros

Question 9

In what way does this conform to the art of the Hellenistic period?

Answer 9

-shows the widening range of subject matter

not all statues of idea ppl (gods) → children, elderly ppl