Gods, Heroes & Athlete:

Ancient Greek Art

ART ID 111 | Study of Ancient Arts
Slide concept by William V. Ganis, PhD
NYIT Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology

With modifications by Arch. Edeliza V. Macalandag, UAP

GREEK HUMANISM

The civilization of Ancient Greece emerged in the

ninth century BCE and passed through five periods
of intense artistic activity spanning more than 800
years. Through Greek colonization, it spread from
the Greek mainland to Asia Minor (Western Turkey)
and Magna Graecia (Southern Italy and Sicily).
During the Hellenistic period, Greek art and culture
were dominant throughout the Mediterranean.
Gods and humans:
Even the gods of the Greeks, in marked contrast to the
divinities of the Near East, assumed human forms whose
grandeur and nobility were not free from human frailty.

Greek origins:
The Greeks, or Hellenes, as they called themselves, appear
to have been the product of an intermingling of Aegean
peoples and Indo-European invaders. They never formed a
single nation but instead established independent city-
states or poleis.
Olympia and Hellas:
In 776 BCE, the separate Greek-speaking states held their
first ceremonial games in common at Olympia.
Athens and Greek culture:
The distinctiveness and originality of Greek contributions
to art, science, and politics should not, however, obscure
the enormous debt Greek civilization owed to the earlier
great cultures of Egypt and the Near East.
Reassessing Greek civilization:
Nor should a high estimation of Greek art and culture blind
historians to the realities of Hellenic life and society. Many
modern artists have rejected Greek standards.
Periods 
2.The Geometric & Orientalizing Periods
3.The Archaic Period 
4.The Early And High Classical Periods 
5.The Late Classical Period 
6.The Hellenistic Period 
7. Hellenistic Art Under Roman Patronage
5 main forms: 
2.Architecture
3.Sculpture
4.Painting
5.Pottery
6.Jewelry making
Geometric &
Orientalizing Art
Out of the Dark Age:

Following the collapse of the Mycenaean (Late

Helladic) civilization around 1200 BCE and the
ensuing period of cultural decline and minor artistic
activity known as the Dark Age, the first sign of a
newly emerging Greek (Hellenic) culture was
ceramic pottery decorated with geometric patterns
in the ninth century.

The destruction of the Mycenaean palaces was

accompanied by the disintegration of the Bronze
Age social order.
Geometric Art:

In the eighth century, representations of animals

begin to appear together with purely geometric
patterns on painted ceramic pots.
A little later, schematic human figures are seen
depicted on very large ceramic vessels designed to
serve as grave markers and to function in funerary
rites.
Small-scale sculptures of human figures, animals,
and mythological creatures show the same
geometric reduction of form.
Figure painting revived:

Also during the eighth century, the human figure

returned to Greek art-not, of course, in
monumental statuary, which was exceedingly
rare even in Bronze Age Greece, but painted on
the surfaces of ceramic pots, which continued to
be manufactured after the fall of Mycenae and
even throughout the Dark Age.
 Geometric Krater
from the Dipylon cemetery, Athens
ca. 740 B.C.E.
ceramic
40 1/2 in. high
 Similar schematic
figures also
appeared in the
round at this date,
but only on a very
small scale.

Hero and centaur

ca. 750-730 B.C.E.
bronze
approximately 4 1/2 in. high
Votive Statuette of a Horse
late 8th Century B.C.E.
bronze
approximately 3 in. high
 One of the masterworks of the early seventh
century BCE is the Mantiklos Apollo, a small,
bronze statuette dedicated to Apollo at
Thebes by an otherwise unknown man
named Mantiklos.

Mantiklos Apollo
ca. 700-680 B.C.E.
bronze
approximately 8 in. high
 The appeal of such vases was not due
solely to their Orientalizing animal friezes,
but also to a new ceramic technique the
Corinthians invented, which art historians
call black-figure painting.

Corinthian black-figure amphora

ca. 625-600 B.C.E.
ceramic
approximately 1 ft. 2 in. high
Black-figure painting is
one of the most
modern styles for
adorning antique
Greek vases. It was
especially common
between the 7th and
5th BC, although there
are specimens dating
as late as the 2nd BC.
Greece's first stone temples:

The foundation of the Greek trading colony

of Naukratis in Egypt before 630 BCE
brought the Greeks into direct contact with
the monumental stone architecture of the
Egyptians.
Plan of Temple A
Prinias, Greece | ca. 625 B.C.E.
Lintel of Temple A
Prinias, Greece
ca. 625 B.C.E. | limestone | approximately 2 ft. 9 in. high
 Lady of Auxerre,
statue of a goddess or kore, ca. 650-625 B.C.

Limestone, approx. 2' 11/2" high.

Archaic Art
 Kourous
ca. 600 B.C.E.
marble
72 1/2 in. high
 Calf Bearer (Moschophoros)
from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece
ca. 560 B.C.E. | Marble | 65 in. high
 Kroisos
from Anavysos, Greece
ca. 530 B.C.E. | marble | 76 in. high
 Peplos Kore
from the Acropolis, Athens,
Greece
ca. 530 B.C.E.
marble
Temple of Hera I
Paestum, Italy
ca. 550 B.C.E.
Temple of Hera I
Paestum, Italy
ca. 550 B.C.E.
Doric order Ionic order Corinthian order
 Exekias
Achilles and Ajax
playing dice
from Vulci, Italy
ca. 540-530 B.C.E.
ceramic
approximately 2 ft.
high
 Andokides Painter
Achilles & Ajax
playing a dice game
from Orvietto, Italy
ca. 525-520 B.C.E.
ceramic
21 in. high
Euphronios
Herakles wrestling Antaios
from Cerveteri, Italy | ca. 510 B.C.E. | ceramic 19 in. high
 Euthymides
Three revelers
from Vulci, Italy
ca. 510 B.C.E.
ceramic
approximately 2 ft. high
Temple of Aphaia
Aegina, Greece
ca. 500-490 B.C.E.
Temple of Aphaia
Aegina, Greece
ca. 500-490 B.C.E.
West pediment of the Temple of Aphaia
Aegina, Greece
ca. 500-490 B.C.E.
marble
approximately 5 ft. 8 in. high at center
Dying warrior
from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece
ca. 500-490 B.C.E.
marble
approximately 5 ft. 2 1/2 in. long
Dying warrior
from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece
ca. 490-480 B.C.E.
marble
approximately 6 ft. 1 in. long
Early Classical Art
Kritios Boy
from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece
ca. 480 B.C.E.
marble
34 in. high
Warrior
from the sea off Riace, Italy
ca. 460-450 B.C.E.
bronze
78 in. high
Zeus (or Poseidon?)
from the sea off Cape
Artemision, Greece
ca. 460-450 B.C.E.
bronze
Myron
Diskobolus (Discus Thrower)
ca. 450 B.C.E.
Roman marble copy after a bronze original
61 in. high
Polykleitos
Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)
ca. 450-440 B.C.E.
Roman marble copy after a bronze original
83 in. high
Polykleitos
Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)
ca. 450-440 B.C.E.
83 in. high
G lo s s a r y
a b a c u s The uppermost portion of the
capital of a column.
a c r o p o l i s Greek, “high city.” In ancient
Greece, usually the site of the city’s most
important temple(s).
a g o r a An open square or space used for
public meetings or business in ancient Greek
G lo s s a r y
a is le The portion of a basilica flanking
the nave and separated from it by a row of
columns or piers.
A le x a n d r o s O f A n t io c h -O n -
T h e - M e a n d e r Sculptor of Aphrodite or
Venus de Milo, ca. 150-125 BCE. The base,
which was inscripted with the artist's name, is
now lost.
A m a z o n o m a c h y In Greek mythology,
G lo s s a r y
a m p h i p r o s t y l e The style of Greek
building in which the colonnade was placed
across both the front and back, but not along
the sides.
a n d r o n Dining room in a Greek house.
a n t a e The molded projecting ends of the
walls forming the pronaos or opisthodomos of
an ancient Greek temple.
G lo s s a r y
a p s i d a l Rounded; apse shaped.
a rc h A curved structural member that
spans an opening and is generally composed
of wedge-shaped blocks (voussoirs) that
transmit the downward pressure laterally
a r c h i t r a v e The lintel or lowest division
of the entablature; also called the epistyle.
a r r i s e s In Doric columns, the raised
G lo s s a r y
a t t ic The uppermost story of a building.
b a l u s t r a d e A railing held up by small
posts, as on a staircase.
b a s ilic a In Roman architecture, a civic
building for legal and other civic proceedings,
rectangular in plan with an entrance usually
on a long side. In Christian architecture, a
church somewhat resembling the Roman
basilica, usually entered from one end and
G lo s s a r y
b i l i n g u a l v a s e s Experimental Greek
vases produced for a short time in the late sixth
century BCE; one side featured black-figure
decoration, the other red-figure.
b l a c k - f i g u r e p a i n t i n g In early Greek
pottery, the silhouetting of dark figures against a
light background of natural, reddish clay, with
linear details incised through the silhouettes.
c a d u c e u s In ancient Greek mythology, a
magical rod entwined with serpents carried by
G lo s s a r y
c a n o n A rule, for example, of proportion.
The ancient Greeks considered beauty to be
a matter of “correct” proportion and sought a
canon of proportion, for the human figure and
for buildings.
c a p i t a l The uppermost member of a
column, serving as a transition from the shaft
to the lintel.
c a r y a t id A female figure that functions
G lo s s a r y
c a v e a Latin, “hollow place or cavity.” The
seating area in ancient Greek and Roman
theaters and amphitheaters.
c e lla The chamber at the center of an
ancient temple; in a classical temple, the
room (Greek, naos) in which the cult statue
usu. stood.
c e nta ur In ancient Greek mythology,
a fantastical creature, with the front or top half
G lo s s a r y
c h i t o n A Greek tunic, the essential (and
often only) garment of both men and women,
the other being the himation, or mantle.
C h r y s e l e p h a n t i n e Fashioned of
gold and ivory.
c o l u m n A vertical, weight-carrying
architectural member, circular in cross-
section and consisting of a base (sometimes
omitted), a shaft, and a capital.
G lo s s a r y
c o ntra p p o s to The disposition of
the human figure in which one part is turned
in opposition to another part (usually hips and
legs one way, shoulders and chest another),
creating a counterpositioning of the body about
its central axis. Sometimes called “weight
shift” because the weight of the body tends to
be thrown to one foot, creating tension on
one side and relaxation on the other.
G lo s s a r y
c o ntra p p o s to The disposition of
the human figure in which one part is turned
in opposition to another part (usually hips and
legs one way, shoulders and chest another),
creating a counterpositioning of the body about
its central axis. Sometimes called “weight
shift” because the weight of the body tends to
be thrown to one foot, creating tension on
one side and relaxation on the other.
G lo s s a r y
C o r i n t h i a n c a p i t a l A more ornate form
than Doric or Ionic; it consists of a double row of
acanthus leaves from which tendrils and flowers
grow, wrapped around a bell-shaped echinus.
Although this capital form is often cited as the
distinguishing feature of the Corinthian order, there
is, strictly speaking, no Corinthian order, but only
this style of capital used in the Ionic order.
c o r n i c e The projecting, crowning member of
the entablature framing the pediment; also, any
crowning projection.
G lo s s a r y
d e m o s The Greek word meaning “the people“,
from which the word democracy is derived.
D o r ic One of the two systems (or orders)
evolved for articulating the three units of the
elevation of an ancient Greek temple the platform,
the colonnade, and the superstructure
(entablature). The Doric order is characterized by,
among other features, capitals with funnel-shaped
echinuses, columns without bases, and a frieze of
triglyphs & metopes.
drum One of the stacked cylindrical stones
that form the shaft of a column; the cylindrical wall
G lo s s a r y
e c h i n u s In architecture, the convex element of a
capital directly below the abacus.
e le v a t io n In architecture, a head-on view of
an external or internal wall, showing its features and
often other elements that would be visible beyond or
before the wall.
e n c a u s t ic A painting technique in which
pigment is mixed with wax & applied to the surface
while hot.
e n t a b l a t u r e The part of a building above the
columns and below the roof. The entablature of a
G lo s s a r y
e n t a s i s The convex profile (an apparent
swelling) in the shaft of a column.
f a s c i a e In the Ionic order, the three horizontal
bands that make up the architrave.
f i l l e t s In Ionic columns, the flat ridges of the
fluting.
f l u t e o r f l u t i n g Vertical channeling, roughly
semicircular in cross-section and used principally on
columns and pilasters.
f r i e z e The part of the entablature between the
architrave and the cornice; also, any sculptured or
G lo s s a r y
g l a z e A vitreous coating applied to pottery to seal
and decorate the surface; it may be colored,
transparent, or opaque, and glossy or matte. In oil
painting, a thin, transparent, or semitransparent
layer put over a color to alter it slightly.
g o r g o n In ancient Greek mythology, a hideous
female demon with snake hair. Medusa, the most
famous gorgon, was capable of turning anyone who
gazed at her into stone.
H e l l e n e s ( a d j . H e l l e n i c ) The name the
G lo s s a r y
H e l l e n i s t i c The term given to the culture that
developed after the death of Alexander the Great in
323 BCE and lasted almost three centuries, until the
Roman conquest of Egypt in 31 BCE.
h e r m A bust on a quadrangular pillar.
himation An ancient Greek mantle worn by men and
women over the chiton and draped in various ways.
H i p p o d a m i a n p l a n A city plan devised by
Hippodamos of Miletos ca. 466 BCE, in which a strict
grid was imposed on a site, regardless of the terrain,
G lo s s a r y
h y d r i a An ancient Greek threehandled water
pitcher.
h y p a e t h r a l A building having no pediment or
roof, open to the sky.
I o n i c One of the two systems (or orders) evolved
for articulating the three units of the elevation of a
Greek temple: the platform, the colonnade, and the
superstructure (entablature). The Ionic order is
characterized by, among other features, volutes,
capitals, columns with bases, and an uninterrupted
G lo s s a r y
K a l l i k r a t e s One of the two architects of the
Parthenon, active mid-5th century BC; responsible
for the Temple of Athena Nike, also on the Acropolis.
k o r e ( p l . k o r a i ) Greek, “young woman.” An
Archaic Greek statuary type depicting a young
woman.
k o u r o s ( p l . k o u r o i ) Greek, “young man.”
An Archaic Greek statuary type depicting a young
man.
k r a t e r An ancient Greek wide-mouthed bowl for
G lo s s a r y
l e k y t h o s ( p l . l e k y t h o i ) A flask
containing perfumed oil; lekythoi were often placed
in Greek graves as offerings to the deceased.
lo s t -w a x p r o c e s s ( c ir e p e r d u e ) A
bronze casting method in which a figure is modeled
in wax and covered with clay; the whole is fired,
melting away the wax and hardening the clay, which
then becomes a mold for molten metal.
m a u s o l e u m A monumental tomb; derives from
the 4th cent BCE tomb of Mausolos at Halikarnassos,
G lo s s a r y
m e t o p e The panel between the triglyphs in a
Doric frieze, often sculpted in relief.
M n e s i k l e s Greek architect, 5th cent. b.c. He
designed the Propylaea, and the Erechtheum is also
sometimes ascribed to him. Both are on the
Acropolis at Athens.
m o d e lin g The shaping or fashioning of 3D
forms in a soft material, such as clay; also, the
gradations of light and shade reflected from the
surfaces of matter in space, or the illusion of such
G lo s s a r y
m o s a i c Patterns or pictures made by embedding
small pieces (tesserae) of stone or glass in cement
on surfaces such as walls and floors.
o r c h e s t r a Greek, “dancing place.” In ancient
Greek theaters, the circular piece of earth with a
hard and level surface on which the performance
took place.
o r d e r In classical architecture, a style
represented by a characteristic design of the
O r i e n t a l i z i n g The early phase of Archaic
G lo s s a r y
o r t h o g o n a l A line imagined to be behind and
perpendicular to the picture plane; the orthogonals in
a painting appear to recede toward a vanishing point
on the horizon.
o r t h o g o n a l p la n The imposition of a
strict grid plan on a site, regardless of the terrain, so
that all streets meet at right angles. See also
Hippodamian plan.
p a l a e s t r a An ancient Greek and Roman
exercise area, usually framed by a colonnade.
G lo s s a r y
p e d i m e n t In classical architecture, the
triangular space (gable) at the end of a building,
formed by the ends of the sloping roof above the
colonnade; also, an ornamental feature having this
shape.
p e p l o s A simple long woolen belted garment
worn by ancient Greek women.
p e r i s t y l e In ancient Greek architecture, a
colonnade all around the cella and its porch(es). A
peripteral colonnade consists of a single row of
G lo s s a r y
p l a n The horizontal arrangement of the parts of a
building or of the buildings and streets of a city or
town, or a drawing or diagram showing such an
arrangement. In an axial plan, the parts of a building
are organized longitudinally, or along a given axis; in
a central plan, the parts of the structure are of equal
or almost equal dimensions around the center.
p o l i s ( p l . p o l e i s ) An independent city-state
in ancient Greece.
p r o n a o s The space, or porch, in front of the
G lo s s a r y
p r o s t y l e A style of ancient Greek temple in
which the columns are only in front of the cella and
not on the sides or back.
r e d - f i g u r e p a i n t i n g In later Greek pottery,
the silhouetting of red figures against a black
background, with painted linear details; the reverse
of black-figure painting.
s h a f t The tall, cylindrical part of a column
between the capital and the base.
s i r e n In ancient Greek mythology, a creature that
G lo s s a r y
s k e n o g r a p h i a Greek, “scene painting”; the
Greek term for perspective painting.
s k i a g r a p h i a “shadow painting”; Greek term for
shading, said to have been invented by Apollodoros,
an Athenian painter of the 5th century BCE.
s l i p A mixture of fine clay and water used in
ceramic decoration.
s to a In ancient Greek architecture, an open
building with a roof supported by a row of columns
parallel to the back wall. A covered colonnade or
G lo s s a r y
s t y l o b a t e The uppermost course of the platform
of a Greek temple, which supports the columns.
s y m m e t r i a Greek, “commensurability of
parts.” Polykleitos’s treatise on his canon of
proportions incorporated the principle of symmetria.
tesserae Greek, “cubes.” Tiny stones or pieces of
glass cut to the desired shape and size to form a
mosaic.
t h e a t r o n Greek, “place for seeing.” In ancient
Greek theaters, the slope overlooking the orchestra
G lo s s a r y
T h r u s t The outward force exerted by an arch or
a vault that must be counterbalanced by a buttress.
t r e a s u r y In ancient Greece, a small building set
up for the safe storage of votive offerings.
v o l u t e A spiral, scroll-like form characteristic of
the ancient Greek Ionic & Roman Composite capital.
w h i t e - g r o u n d p a i n t i n g An ancient Greek
vase painting technique in which the pot was first
covered with a slip of very fine white clay, over which
black glaze was used to outline figures, and diluted
S ourc e s

• http://www.wadsworth.com/art_d/templates/student_resources/0155050
907_kleiner/studyguide/ch05/ch05_1.html
• http://websites.swlearning.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?
fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=0155050907&discipline_number=436
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_art
• Art Through the Ages, 12th/11th ed., Gardner