NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Art of Ancient Greece

The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture. In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models. In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan. Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists. Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece dominated the art of the western world. User:Adam_Carr mentioned he took this photo himself and that he licenses it to be freely used in Wikipedia. ... User:Adam_Carr mentioned he took this photo himself and that he licenses it to be freely used in Wikipedia. ... Ancient Greeks depiction of ideal form of the body is expressed through sculpture such as this one. ... Architecture (in Greek Î±ÏÏ‡Î® = first and Ï„ÎÏ‡Î½Î· = craftsmanship) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). ... Alexander the Great fighting the Persian king Darius (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ... Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled GrÃ¦co-Buddhism, is the cultural syncretism between the culture of Classical Greece and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 800 years in Central Asia in the area corresponding to modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan, between the 4th century BCE and the 5th... By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance *French Renaissance *German Renaissance *English Renaissance The Renaissance was an influential cultural movement which brought about a period of scientific revolution and artistic transformation, at the dawn of modern European history. ... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 kmÂ² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... Humanism is an active ethical and philosophical approach to life focusing on human solutions to human issues through rational arguments without recourse to a god, gods, sacred texts or religious creeds. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Definitions

Art historians generally define Ancient Greek art as the art produced in the Greek-speaking world from about 1000 BC to about 100 BC. They generally exclude the art of the Mycenaean and Minoan civilisations, which flourished from about 1500 to about 1200 BC. Despite the fact that these were Greek-speaking cultures, there is little or no continuity between the art of these civilisations and later Greek art. (Redirected from 1000 BC) Centuries: 12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC Decades: 1050s BC 1040s BC 1030s BC 1020s BC 1010s BC - 1000s BC - 990s BC 980s BC 970s BC 960s BC 950s BC Events and Trends 1006 BC - David becomes king of the ancient Israelites (traditional... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC - 100s BC - 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC Years: 105 BC 104 BC 103 BC 102 BC 101 BC - 100 BC - 99 BC 98 BC 97 BC 96 BC 95... The Lion Gate at Mycenae The Lion Gate (detail) Mycenae (ancient Greek: , IPA , in modern Greek: ÎœÏ…ÎºÎ®Î½ÎµÏ‚ ), is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. ... Map of Minoan Crete The Minoans were a pre-Hellenic Bronze Age civilization in Crete in the Aegean Sea, prior to Helladic or Mycenaean culture (i. ... (Redirected from 1500 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been... (Redirected from 1200 BC) Centuries: 14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC Decades: 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC 1220s BC 1210s BC - 1200s BC - 1190s BC 1180s BC 1170s BC 1160s BC 1150s BC Events and Trends 1204 BC - Theseus, legendary King of Athens is deposed after...

At the other end of the time-scale, art historians generally hold that Ancient Greek art as a distinct culture ended with the establishment of Roman rule over the Greek-speaking world in about 100 BC. After this date they argue, Greco-Roman art, though often impressive in scale, was largely derivative of earlier Greek models, and declined steadily in quality until the advent of Christianity brought the classical tradition to an end in the 5th century AD. (For the later periods, see Roman art and Byzantine art). Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC - 100s BC - 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC Years: 105 BC 104 BC 103 BC 102 BC 101 BC - 100 BC - 99 BC 98 BC 97 BC 96 BC 95... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... is gay ... The most famous of the surviving Byzantine mosaics of the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sofia) in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) - the image of Christ on the walls of the upper southern gallery. ...

There is also a question relating to the word "art" in Ancient Greece. The Ancient Greek word τεχνη tekhnê, which is commonly translated as "art," more accurately means "skill" or "craftsmanship" (the English word "technique" derives from it). Greek painters and sculptors were craftsmen who learned their trade as apprentices, often being apprenticed to their fathers, and who were then hired by wealthy patrons. Although some became well-known and much admired, they were not in the same social position as poets or dramatists. It was not until the Hellenistic period (after about 320 BC) that "the artist" as a social category began to be recognised. Ancient Greek refers to the stage in the history of the Greek language corresponding to Classical Antiquity, which normally applies on two ancient periods of Greek history: Archaic and Classic Greece. ... The term Hellenistic (established by the German historian Johann Gustav Droysen) in the history of the ancient world is used to refer to the shift from a culture dominated by ethnic Greeks, however scattered geographically, to a culture dominated by Greek-speakers of whatever ethnicity, and from the political dominance... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC - 320s BC - 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 325 BC 324 BC 323 BC 322 BC 321 BC - 320 BC - 319 BC 318 BC 317...

Styles/periods

The art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into three periods: the Archaic, the Classical and the Hellenistic.

As noted above, the Archaic age is usually dated from about 1000 BC, although in reality little is known about art in Greece during the preceding 200 years (traditionally known as the Dark Ages). The onset of the Persian Wars (480 BC to 448 BC) is usually taken as the dividing line between the Archaic and the Classical periods, and the reign of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC) is taken as separating the Classical from the Hellenistic periods. (Redirected from 1000 BC) Centuries: 12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC Decades: 1050s BC 1040s BC 1030s BC 1020s BC 1010s BC - 1000s BC - 990s BC 980s BC 970s BC 960s BC 950s BC Events and Trends 1006 BC - David becomes king of the ancient Israelites (traditional... The Greco-Persian Wars or Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC. The term can also refer to the continual warfare of the Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire against the Parthians and... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC Years: 485 BC 484 BC 483 BC 482 BC 481 BC _ 480 BC _ 479 BC... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC - 440s BC - 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC Years: 453 BC 452 BC 451 BC 450 BC 449 BC - 448 BC - 447 BC 446 BC... Alexander the Great fighting the Persian king Darius (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 341 BC 340 BC 339 BC 338 BC 337 BC - 336 BC - 335 BC 334 BC 333... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC - 320s BC - 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 328 BC 327 BC 326 BC 325 BC 324 BC - 323 BC - 322 BC 321 BC 320...

In reality, there was no sharp transition from one period to another. Forms of art developed at different speeds in different parts of the Greek world, and as in any age some artists worked in more innovative styles than others. Strong local traditions, conservative in character, and the requirements of local cults, enable historians to locate the origins even of displaced works of art. In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings (scriptures), its theology or myths, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety. ...

Surviving remnants and artifacts

Ancient Greek art has survived most successfully in the forms of sculpture and architecture, as well as in such minor arts as coin design, pottery and gem engraving. From the Archaic period a great deal of painted pottery survives, but these remnants give a misleading impression of the range of Greek artistic expression. The Greeks, like most European cultures, regarded painting as the highest form of art. The painter Polygnotus of Thasos, who worked in the mid 5th century BC, was regarded by later Greeks in much the same way that people today regard Leonardo or Michelangelo, and his works were still being admired 600 years after his death. Today none of his works survives, not even as copies. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 405 KB)I took this myself. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 405 KB)I took this myself. ... The site of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Turkey: Some stacked remnants recreate columns, but nothing remains of the original temple The Temple of Artemis (also Greek Artemision, and Latin Artemisium) was built around 550 BC at Ephesus (present day Turkey), and is listed in as one of... Ephesus (Greek: ÎˆÏ†ÎµÏƒÏƒÎ¿Ï‚) was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). ... 1Â¢ euro coin A coin is usually a piece of hard material, generally metal and usually in the shape of a disc, which is used as a form of money. ... A man shapes pottery as it turns on a wheel. ... A gemstone is a mineral, rock (as in lapis lazuli) or petrified material that when cut or faceted and polished is collectible or can be used in jewellery. ... Polygnotus was a Greek painter in the middle of the 5th century BC, son of Aglaophon. ... Thasos (Greek: ) or Thassos is the name of an island in the north of the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos (during the Ottoman times Kara-Su). ... (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) The 5th and 6th centuries BC are a period of philosophical brilliance among advanced civilizations. ... Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 â€“ May 2, 1519) was an Italian Renaissance architect, musician, anatomist, inventor, engineer, sculptor, geometer, and painter. ... Michelangelo (full name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) (March 6, 1475 - February 18, 1564) was a Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter, and poet. ...

Greek painters worked mainly on wooden panels, and these perished rapidly after the 4th century AD, when they were no longer actively protected. Today nothing survives of Greek painting, except some examples of painted terra cotta and a few paintings on the walls of tombs, mostly in Macedonia and Italy. Of the masterpieces of Greek painting we have only a few copies from Roman times, and most are of inferior quality. Painting on pottery, of which a great deal survives, gives some sense of the aesthetics of Greek painting. The techniques involved, however, were very different from those used in large-format painting. (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Terra cotta is a hard semifired waterproof ceramic clay used in pottery and building construction. ...

Even in the fields of sculpture and architecture, only a fragment of the total output of Greek artists survives. For the Christians of the 4th and 5th centuries, smashing a pagan idol was an act of piety. One of the sad facts of ancient history is that when marble is burned, lime is produced, and that was also the fate of the great bulk of Greek marble statuary during the Middle Ages. Likewise, the acute shortage of metal during the Middle Ages led to the majority of Greek bronze statues being melted down. Those statues which had survived did so primarily because they had been buried and forgotten, or as in the case of bronzes having been lost at sea. (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... // Events Romulus Augustus, Last Western Roman Emperor Rome sacked by Visigoths in 410. ... Within a Christian context, Paganism (from Latin paganus) and Heathenry are a catch-all terms which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual/religious beliefs and practices of a natural religion (as opposed to a revealed religion based on a revealed text). ... Piety is a desire and willingness to perform religious duties. ... Marble This page is about the metamorphic rock. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Bronze figurine, found at Ã–land Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ...

The great majority of Greek buildings have not survived to this day: either they had been pillaged in war, had been looted for building materials or had been destroyed in Greece’s many earthquakes. Only a handful of temples, such as the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, have been spared. Of the four Wonders of the World created by the Greeks — the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria) — nothing whatever survives. Kihryuzan Senjo-ji Temple, by Toyota Kokai (1780-1850) The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education. ... The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ... The Temple of Hephaestus, Athens: eastern face. ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... The Seven Wonders of the World, or more commonly known as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, include, by order of their construction, the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, and... Statue of Zeus The Greek sculptor Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall Statue of Zeus in about 435 bc. ... The site of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in Turkey: Some stacked remnants recreate columns, but nothing remains of the original temple The Temple of Artemis (also Greek Artemision, and Latin Artemisium) was built around 550 BC at Ephesus (present day Turkey), and is listed in as one of... Ephesus (Greek: ÎˆÏ†ÎµÏƒÏƒÎ¿Ï‚) was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). ... The Colossus of Rhodes was a huge statue of the god Helios, erected on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos in the 3rd century BC. It was roughly the same size as the Statue of Liberty in New York, although it stood on a lower platform. ... The Lighthouse of Alexandria (often called the Pharos of Alexandria after the island on which it resided), was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. ...

As for the Archaic period of Greek art, painted pottery and sculpture are almost the only forms of art which have survived in any quantity. Painting was in its infancy during this period, and no examples of it have survived. Although coins were invented in the mid 7th century BC, they were not common in most of Greece until the 5th century. (8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC - other centuries) (700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC - 650s BC - 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC - 610s BC - 600s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Scythians arrived in Asia Collapse...

Pottery

The Ancient Greeks made pottery for everyday use, not for display; the trophies won at games, such as the Panathenaic amphorae (wine decanters), are the exception. Most surviving pottery consists of drinking vessels such as amphorae, kraters (bowls for mixing wine and water), hydria (water jars), libation bowls, jugs and cups. Painted funeral urns have also been found. Miniatures were also produced in large numbers, mainly for use as offerings at temples. In the Hellenistic period a wider range of pottery was produced, but most of it is of little artistic importance. Download high resolution version (1280x960, 153 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 153 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Amphoræ on display in Bodrum Castle, Turkey Pottery An amphora is a type of ceramic vase with two handles, used for the transportation and storage of perishable goods and more rarely as containers for the ashes of the dead or as prize awards. ... Amphoræ on display in Bodrum Castle, Turkey Pottery An amphora is a type of ceramic vase with two handles, used for the transportation and storage of perishable goods and more rarely as containers for the ashes of the dead or as prize awards. ... A krater (Greek κρητηρ, from the Greek verb κεραννυμι, to mix. ...

In earlier periods even quite small Greek cities produced pottery for their own locale. These varied widely in style and standards. Distinctive pottery that ranks as art was produced on some of the Aegean islands, in Crete, and in the wealthy Greek colonies of southern Italy and Sicily. By the later Archaic and early Classical period, however, the two great commercial powers, Corinth and Athens, came to dominate. Their pottery was exported all over the Greek world, driving out the local varieties. Pots from Corinth and Athens are found as far afield as Spain and Ukraine, and are so common in Italy that they were first collected in the 18th century as "Etruscan vases". Many of these pots are mass-produced products of low quality. In fact, by the 5th century BC, pottery had become an industry and pottery painting ceased to be an important art form. Greece and the Aegean Sea The Aegean sea in Greece as seen from the island of Greek: Αιγαίον Πέλαγος, Aigaion Pelagos; Turkish: Ege denizi) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek peninsula and Anatolia (Asia Minor, now part of Turkey). ... Greece and Crete Crete, sometimes spelled Krete (Greek ÎšÏÎ®Ï„Î· / Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... Magna Graecia (Latin for Greater Greece, Megalê Hellas/Μεγάλη Ελλάς in Greek) is the name of the area in ancient southern Italy that was colonised by ancient Greek settlers in the 8th century BCE. Sources differ on whether it included Sicily, as well as Apulia and Calabria. ... Temple of Apollo at Corinth Corinth, or Korinth (ÎšÏŒÏÎ¹Î½Î¸Î¿Ï‚) is a Greek city, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the original isthmus, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) The 5th and 6th centuries BC are a period of philosophical brilliance among advanced civilizations. ...

The range of colours which could be used on pots was restricted by the technology of firing: black, white, red, and yellow were the most common. In the three earlier periods, the pots were left their natural light colour, and were decorated with slip that turned black in the kiln. (Redirected from 1050 BC) Centuries: 12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC Decades: 1100s BC 1090s BC 1080s BC 1070s BC 1060s BC - 1050s BC - 1040s BC 1030s BC 1020s BC 1010s BC 1000s BC Events and Trends 1053 BC - Death of Zhou kang wang, King of the... Centuries: 11th century BC - 10th century BC - 9th century BC Decades: 950s BC 940s BC 930s BC 920s BC 910s BC - 900s BC - 890s BC 880s BC 870s BC 860s BC 850s BC Events and Trends 909 BC - Zhou xiao wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. ... Centuries: 9th century BC - 8th century BC - 7th century BC Decades: 800s BC 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC - 750s BC - 740s BC 730s BC 720s BC 710s BC 700s BC Events and Trends 756 BC - Founding of Cyzicus. ... (8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC - other centuries) (700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC - 650s BC - 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC - 610s BC - 600s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Scythians arrived in Asia Collapse... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC Events and Trends 538 BC - Babylon occupied by Jews transported to Babylon are allowed to return to...

The fully mature black-figure technique, with added red and white details and incising for outlines and details, originated in Corinth during the early 7th century BC and was introduced into Attica about a generation later; it flourished until the end of the 6th century BC. The red-figure technique, invented in about 530 BC, reversed this tradition, with the pots being painted black and the figures painted in red. Red-figure vases slowly replaced the black-figure style. Sometimes larger vessels were engraved as well as painted. Kylix by Euerdiges (circa 500 BC) in the British Museum, London Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Kylix by Euerdiges (circa 500 BC) in the British Museum, London Image by ChrisO File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Red-figure pottery is a style of Greek pottery in which the figure outlines, details and the background are painted black, while the figure itself is not painted. ... Kylix may mean: Kylix (drinking cup), a type of drinking cup used in ancient Greece Kylix programming tool This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum in London is the United Kingdoms - and one of the worlds - largest and most important museums of human history and culture. ... St. ... A black-figure krater (mixing bowl), 6th century BC, National Archaeological Museum, Athens The black-figure pottery technique is a style of ancient Greek pottery painting in which the decoration appears as black silhouettes on a red background. ... Temple of Apollo at Corinth Corinth, or Korinth (ÎšÏŒÏÎ¹Î½Î¸Î¿Ï‚) is a Greek city, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the original isthmus, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... (7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC - other centuries) (600s BC - 590s BC - 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 5th and 6th centuries BC were... Red-figure pottery is a style of Greek pottery in which the figure outlines, details and the background are painted black, while the figure itself is not painted. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC Events and Trends 538 BC - Babylon occupied by Jews transported to Babylon are allowed to return to...

During the Protogeometric and Geometric periods, Greek pottery was decorated with abstract designs. In later periods, as the aesthetic shifted and the technical proficiency of potters improved, decorations took the form of human figures, usually representing the gods or the heroes of Greek history and mythology. Battle and hunting scenes were also popular, since they allowed the depiction of the horse, which the Greeks held in high esteem. In later periods erotic themes, both heterosexual and male homosexual, became common. Heterosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love or sexual desire exclusively for members of the opposite sex or gender, contrasted with homosexuality and distinguished from bisexuality and asexuality. ... Homosexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by esthetic attraction, romantic love, or sexual desire exclusively for another of the same sex. ...

Greek pottery is frequently signed, sometimes by the potter or the master of the pottery, but only occasionally by the painter. Hundreds of painters are, however, identifiable by their artistic personalities: where their signatures haven't survived they are named for their subject choices, as "the Achilles Painter", by the potter they worked for, such as the Late Archaic "Kleophrades Painter", or even by their modern locations, such as the Late Archaic "Berlin Painter".

Sculpture

Sculpture is by far the most important surviving form of Ancient Greek art, although only a small fragment of Greek sculptural output has survived. Greek sculpture, often in the form of Roman copies, was immensely influential during the Italian Renaissance, and remained the “classic” model for European sculpture until the advent of modernism in the late 19th century. Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 236 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 236 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... By Region: Italian Renaissance Northern Renaissance *French Renaissance *German Renaissance *English Renaissance The Italian Renaissance was the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. ... Le Corbusiers Villa Savoye, 1929-30: The modern style is noted for its rigorous geometrical forms. ...

The Greeks decided at a very early period that the human form was the most important subject for artistic endeavour. Since they saw their gods as having human form, there was no distinction between the sacred and the secular in art — the human body was both secular and sacred. A male nude could just as easily be Apollo or Herakles or that year's current Olympic boxing champion. In the Archaic Period the most important sculptural form was the kouros (plural kouroi), the standing male nude (See for example Biton and Kleobis). The kore (plural korai), or standing female figure, was also common, but since Greek society did not permit the public display of female nudity until the 4th century BC, the kore is considered to be of less importance in the development of sculpture. Apollo (Greek: Î‘Ï€ÏŒÎ»Î»Ï‰Î½, ApÃ³llÅn) is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt). ... For the son of Alexander the Great, see Heracles (Macedon). ... The great kouros of Samos, the largest surviving kouros in Greece (Samos Archaeological Museum) A kouros (plural kouroi) is a statue of a male youth, dating from the archaic period of Greek sculpture (about 650 BC to about 500 BC). ... Kleobis and Biton Kleobis and Biton is the name conventionally given to a pair of lifesize Archaic Greek statues, or kouroi, which are now in the Archaeological Museum at Greece. ... Bust of Persephone In Greek mythology, Persephone (per-SE-fo-neh) was the queen of the Underworld, the Kore or maiden, daughter of Demeter. ...

As with pottery, the Greeks did not produce sculpture merely for artistic display. Statues were commissioned either by aristocratic individuals or by the state, and used for public memorials, as offerings to temples, oracles and sanctuaries (as is frequently shown by inscriptions on the statues), or as markers for graves. In the Archaic period, statues were never intended to be representations of actual individuals. They were depictions of an ideal — beauty, piety, honour or sacrifice. They were always depictions of young men, ranging in age from adolescence to early maturity, even when placed on the graves of (presumably) elderly citizens. Kouroi were all stylistically similar. Gradations in the social importance of the person commissioning the statue were indicated by size rather than artistic innovation. An Oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ...

In the Classical period there was a revolution in Greek statuary, usually associated with the introduction of democracy and the end of the aristocratic culture associated with the kouroi. The Classical period saw changes in both the style and function of sculpture. Poses became more naturalistic (see the Charioteer of Delphi for an example of the transition to more naturalistic sculpture), and the technical skill of Greek sculptors in depicting the human form in a variety of poses greatly increased. From about 500 BC statues began to depict real people. The statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton set up in Athens to mark the overthrow of the tyranny were said to be the first public monuments to actual people. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 199 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 199 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Charioteer of Delphi, (Delphi Museum) The Charioteer of Delphi, also known as Heniokhos (the rein-holder), is one of the best-known statues surviving from Ancient Greece, and is considered one of the finest examples of ancient bronze statues. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created... Statue of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, Naples. ... A tyrant (from Greek Ï„Ï…ÏÎ±Î½Î½Î¿Ï‚ tyrannos) is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power and ruling by tyranny. ...

In this period statuary was put to wider uses. The great public buildings of the Classical era, such as the Parthenon in Athens, created the need for decorative statuary, particularly to fill the triangular fields of the pediments: a difficult aesthetic and technical challenge that did much to stimulate sculptural innovation. Unfortunately such sculptures survive only in fragments, the most famous of which are the Parthenon Marbles, now mostly in the British Museum. The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ... A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of a triangular section or gable found above the horizontal superstructure (entablature) which lies immediately upon the columns. ... Metope from the Parthenon marbles depicting a Centaur and a Lapith fighting The Elgin Marbles is the popular term for the Parthenon Marbles, a large collection of marble sculptures brought to Britain between 1801 and 1805 by Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the official British resident in Ottoman Athens... The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum in London is the United Kingdoms - and one of the worlds - largest and most important museums of human history and culture. ...

Funeral statuary evolved during this period from the rigid and impersonal kouros of the Archaic period to the highly personal family groups of the Classical period. These monuments are commonly found in the suburbs of Athens, which in ancient times were cemeteries on the outskirts of the city. Although some of them depict "ideal" types — the mourning mother, the dutiful son — they increasingly depicted real people, typically showing the departed talking his dignified leave from his family. They are among the most intimate and affecting remains of the Ancient Greeks. Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 256 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 256 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

In the Classical period for the first time we know the names of individual sculptors. Phidias oversaw the design and building of the Parthenon. Praxiteles made the female nude respectable for the first time in the Late Classical period (mid 4th century): his Aphrodite of Cnidus, which survives in copies, was said by Pliny to be the greatest statue in the world. Phidias (or Pheidias) son of Charmides, (circa 490 BC - circa 430 BC) was an ancient Greek sculptor, universally regarded as the greatest of Greek sculptors. ... The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ... Praxiteles of Athens, the son of Cephisodotus, was the greatest of the Attic sculptors of the 4th century BC, who has left an imperishable mark on the history of art. ... Gaius Plinius Secundus, (23â€“79) better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient author and Natural philosopher of some importance who wrote Naturalis Historia. ...

The greatest works of the Classical period, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Statue of Athena Parthenos (both executed by Phidias or under his direction), are lost, although smaller copies and good descriptions of both still exist. Their size and magnificence prompted emperors to seize them in the Byzantine period, and both were removed to Constantinople, where they were later destroyed in fires. Statue of Zeus The Greek sculptor Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall Statue of Zeus in about 435 bc. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ... Map of Constantinople. ...

The transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period occurred during the 4th century. Following the conquests of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC), Greek culture spread across the known world as far as India. Thus it became more diverse and more influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn into the Greek orbit. In the view of most art historians, it also declined in quality and originality; this, however, is a subjective judgement which artists and art-lovers of the time would not have shared. New centres of Greek culture, particularly in sculpture, developed in Alexandria, Antioch, Pergamum, and other cities. By the 2nd century the rising power of Rome had also absorbed much of the Greek tradition — and an increasing proportion of its products as well. I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (960x1280, 153 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (960x1280, 153 KB)I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... I took this myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Alexander the Great fighting the Persian king Darius (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 341 BC 340 BC 339 BC 338 BC 337 BC - 336 BC - 335 BC 334 BC 333... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC - 320s BC - 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 328 BC 327 BC 326 BC 325 BC 324 BC - 323 BC - 322 BC 321 BC 320... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport (This template has been listed for deletion) Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, Ø§Ù„Ø¥Ø³ÙƒÙ†Ø¯Ø±ÙŠØ©, transliterated al-Ê¼Iskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the... The city of Antioch-on-the-Orontes (modern Antakya; Greek Î‘Î½Ï„Î¹ÏŒÏ‡ÎµÎ¹Î±) is located in what is now Turkey. ... Pergamon or Pergamum (modern day Bergama in Turkey) was a Greek city, in northwestern Anatolia, 16 miles from the Aegean Sea, located on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakir), that became an important kingdom during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 282... Ancient Rome was a civilization that existed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. ...

During this period sculpture became more and more naturalistic. Common people, women, children, animals and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens. Realistic portraits of men and women of all ages were produced, and sculptors no longer felt obliged to depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection. At the same time, the new Hellenistic cities springing up all over Egypt, Syria, and Anatolia required statues depicting the gods and heroes of Greece for their temples and public places. This made sculpture, like pottery, an industry, with the consequent standardisation and some lowering of quality. For these reasons many more Hellenistic statues have survived than is the case with the Classical period. Anatolia (Greek: Î±Î½Î±Ï„Î¿Î»Î® anatolÄ“ or anatolÃ, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish associated with Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to the Asian portion...

Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are the Winged Victory of Samothrace (2nd or 1st century BC), the statue of Aphrodite from the island of Melos known as the Venus de Milo (mid 2nd century BC), the Dying Gaul (about 230 BC), and the monumental group Laocoön and his Sons (late 1st century BC). All these statues depict Classical themes, but their treatment is far more sensuous and emotional than the austere taste of the Classical period would have allowed or its technical skills permitted. The Winged Victory of Samothrace The Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called Nike of Samothrace, is a marble sculpture of the Greek goddess Nike (Victory), discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace (Greek: Î£Î±Î¼Î¿Î¸ÏÎ±ÎºÎ·, Samothraki) by the French consul and amateur archaeologist Charles Champoiseau. ... Aphrodite (Î‘Ï†ÏÎ¿Î´Î¯Ï„Î·, risen from sea-foam) is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. ... Milos (formerly Melos, and before the Athenian genocide Malos) is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea. ... The Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek statue and one of the most famous pieces of ancient Greek sculpture. ... Dying Gaul - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC - 230s BC - 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC Years: 235 BC 234 BC 233 BC 232 BC 231 BC - 230 BC - 229 BC 228 BC... Statue of LaocoÃ¶n and his Sons, Vatican Museum, Rome The statue of LaocoÃ¶n and his Sons, also called the LaocoÃ¶n Group, is a monumental marble sculpture, now in the Vatican Museums, Rome. ...

Hellenistic sculpture was also marked by an increase in scale, which culminated in the Colossus of Rhodes (late 3rd century), which was the same size as the Statue of Liberty. The combined effect of earthquakes and looting have destroyed this as well as other very large works of this period. The Colossus of Rhodes was a huge statue of the god Helios, erected on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos in the 3rd century BC. It was roughly the same size as the Statue of Liberty in New York, although it stood on a lower platform. ... statue of liberty Liberty Enlightening the World, commonly known as the Statue of Liberty, is a statue, given to the U.S. by France in the late 19th century, that stands at the mouth of the Hudson River in New York Harbor as a welcome to all: returning Americans, visitors...

Architecture

Architecture (building executed to an aesthetically considered design) was extinct in Greece from the end of the Mycenaean period (about 1200 BC) until the 7th century, when urban life and prosperity recovered to a point where public building could be undertaken. But since most Greek buildings in the Archaic and Early Classical periods were made of wood or mud-brick, nothing remains of them except a few ground-plans, and there are almost no written sources on early architecture or descriptions of buildings. Most of our knowledge of Greek architecture comes from the few surviving buildings of the Classical, Hellenistic and Roman periods (since Roman architecture heavily copied Greek), and from late written sources such as Vitruvius (1st century AD). This means that there is a strong bias towards temples, the only buildings which survive in any number. Download high resolution version (1280x960, 212 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 212 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Mycenaean can have the following meanings: coming from or belonging to the ancient town of Mycenae in Pelloponese in Greece; belonging to the culture of the Mycenaean period of the eastern Mediterranean in the late Bronze Age; the Mycenaean language, an ancient form of Greek, known from inscriptions in Linear... (Redirected from 1200 BC) Centuries: 14th century BC - 13th century BC - 12th century BC Decades: 1250s BC 1240s BC 1230s BC 1220s BC 1210s BC - 1200s BC - 1190s BC 1180s BC 1170s BC 1160s BC 1150s BC Events and Trends 1204 BC - Theseus, legendary King of Athens is deposed after... Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He was the author of De Architectura, known today as The Ten Books of Architecture, a treatise in Latin on architecture, and perhaps the first work about this discipline. ...

Architecture, like painting and sculpture, was not seen as an “art” in the modern sense for most the Ancient Greek period. The architect was a craftsman, employed by the state or a wealthy private client. There was no distinction between the architect and the building contractor. The architect designed the building, hired the labourers and craftsmen who built it, and was responsible for both its budget and its timely completion. He did not enjoy any of the lofty status accorded to modern architects of public buildings. Even the names of architects are not known before the 5th century. An architect like Iktinos, who designed the Parthenon, who would today be seen as a genius, was treated in his lifetime as no more than a very valuable master tradesman. Iktinos (also Iktious or Ictinus) was an architect active in the mid 5th century BC, who, together with Kallikrates designed the Parthenon (447â€“432 BC) in Athens, Greece. ... The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ...

The standard format of Greek public buildings is well known from surviving examples such as the Parthenon, and even more so from Roman buildings built partly on the Greek model, such as the Pantheon in Rome. The building was usually either a cube or a rectangle made from limestone, of which Greece has an abundance, and which was cut into large blocks and dressed. Marble was an expensive building material in Greece: high quality marble came only from Mt Pentelus in Attica and from a few islands such as Paros, and its transportation in large blocks was difficult. It was used mainly for sculptural decoration, not structurally, except in the very grandest buildings of the Classical period such as the Parthenon. The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ... The Pantheon, Rome The Pantheon is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of the Roman state religion, but has been a Christian church since the 7th century AD. It is the only building from the Greco-Roman world which is completely... Limey shale overlaid by limestone. ... Attica (in Greek: Î‘Ï„Ï„Î¹ÎºÎ®, AttikÃ) is a periphery (subdivision) in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece. ... Paros, or Paro, is an island of Greece in the Aegean Sea, one of the largest of the group of the Cyclades. ... The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ...

The basic cube or rectangle was usually flanked by colonnades (rows of columns) on either two or on all four sides. This is the format of the Parthenon. Alternatively, a cube-shaped building would have a columned portico (or pronaos in Greek) forming its entrance, as seen at the Pantheon. The Greeks understood the principles of the masonry arch but made little use of it, and did not put domes on their buildings— these refinements were left to the Romans. The Greeks roofed their buildings with timber beams covered with overlapping terra cotta (or occasionally marble) tiles. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 397 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1200, 397 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, as in the famous elliptically curving colonnades that Bernini added to the facade of Saint Peters Basilica in Rome, which embrace and define the Piazza. ... In architecture and structural engineering, a column is that part of a structure whose purpose is to transmit through compression the weight of the structure. ... The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ... Categories: Architectural elements | Stub ... The Pantheon, Rome The Pantheon is a building in Rome which was originally built as a temple to all the gods of the Roman state religion, but has been a Christian church since the 7th century AD. It is the only building from the Greco-Roman world which is completely... The term masonry can also refer to Freemasonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar. ... A typical arch An arch is a curved structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight (e. ... St Peters Basilica, Rome A dome is a common structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. ...

The low pitch of Greek rooves produced a flat triangular shape at each end of the building, the pediment, which was usually filled with sculptural decoration. Along the sides of the building, between the tops of the columns and the roof, was a row of blocks now known as the entablature, whose outward-facing surfaces also provided a space for sculptures, known as friezes, which consisted of alternating metopes and triglyphs. No surviving Greek building preserves these sculptures intact, but they can be seen on some modern imitations of Greek buildings, such as the Greek National Academy building in Athens. A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of a triangular section or gable found above the horizontal superstructure (entablature) which lies immediately upon the columns. ... An entablature is a classical architectural element, the superstructure which lies horizontally above the columns, resting on their capitals. ... Frieze of the Tower of the Winds. ...

The temple was the most common and best-known form of Greek public architecture. The temple did not serve the same function as a modern church. Some temples housed the altar of the god or goddess to whom it was dedicated, but many did not. Temples served as storage places for the treasury associated with the cult of the god in question, as the location of a statue of the god (though this was not an idol in a religious sense), and a place for devotees of the god to leave their offerings, such as dedicated statues. The inner building of the temple, the cella, thus served mainly as a strongroom and storeroom. It was usually lined by another row of columns. Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 457 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 457 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 322 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (1280x960, 322 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The term idol (derived from Greek eid-, videre, to see. ... A cella, in Ancient Greek and Roman temples was the central room that housed cult statues. ...

Other common architectural forms used by the Greeks were the tholos, a circular structure of which the best example is at Delphi and which served religious purposes; the propylon or porch, which flanked the entrances to temple grounds and sanctuaries (the best known example is on the Acropolis of Athens); and the stoa, a long narrow hall with an open colonnade on one side, which was use to house rows of shops in the agoras (commercial centres) of Greek towns. A completely restored stoa, the Stoa of Attalus, can be seen in Athens. The Treasure of Atreus tholos in 2004 Beehive tombs, also known as Tholos tombs (plural tholoi), are a style of Mycenaean chamber tomb from the Bronze Age. ... The amphitheater, seen from above Delphi (Chech Î”ÎµÎ»Ï†Î¿Î¯ - Delphoi) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece. ... The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the north, with the restored Stoa of Attalus in the foreground The south wall of the Acropolis of Athens, seen from the Theatre of Dionysus The Acropolis of Athens, seen... The Painted Porch (Stoa poikile), during the 3rd century BC, was where Zeno of Citium taught Stoicism. ... Map of the Agora of Athens in Socrates and Platos time An agora (Î±Î³Î¿ÏÎ¬), translatable as marketplace, was an essential part of an ancient Greek polis or city-state. ...

Every Greek town of any size also had a palaestra or a gymnasium. These were essentially enclosed spaces, open to the sky and lined with shaded colonnades, used for athletic contests and exercise: they were the social centres for male citizens. Greek towns also needed at least one bouleuterion or council chamber, a large square building which served as both a meeting place for the town council (boule) and as a court house. Because the Greeks did not use arches or domes, they could not build large rooms with unsupported rooves: the bouleuterion thus had rows of internal columns to hold the roof up. No examples of these buildings survive. The palaestra was the ancient Greek wrestling school. ... The gymnasium of the Greeks originally functioned as the school where competitors in the public games received their training, and was so named from the circumstance that these competitors exercised naked (gymnos). ... The term boule can be used to describe a large block of synthetically produced crystal material. ...

Finally every Greek town had a theatre. These were used for both public meetings as well as dramatic performances. These performances originated as religious ceremonies; they went on to assume their Classical status as the highest form of Greek culture by the 6th century BC (see Greek theatre). The theatre was usually set in a hillside outside the town, and had rows of tiered seating set in a semi-circle around the central performance area, the orchestra. Behind the orchestra was a low building called the skene, which served as a store-room, a dressing-room, and also as a backdrop to the action taking place in the orchestra. A number of Greek theatres survive almost intact, the best known being at Epidaurus. Theatre is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle â€” indeed any one or more elements of the other performing arts. ... Greek theatre or Greek Drama came into its own between 600 and 200 BC in the ancient city of Athens. ... Panoramic view of the theater at Epidaurus Epidaurus (Epidauros) was a small city (polis) in ancient Greece at the Saronic Gulf. ...

There were two main styles (or "orders") of Greek architecture, the Doric and the Ionic. These names were used by the Greeks themselves, and reflected their belief that the styles descended from the Dorian and Ionian Greeks of the Dark Ages, but this is unlikely to be true. The Doric style was used in mainland Greece and spread from there to the Greek colonies in Italy. The Ionic style was used in the cities of Ionia (now the west coast of Turkey) and some of the Aegean islands. The Doric style was more formal and austere, the Ionic more relaxed and decorative. The more ornate Corinthian style was a later development of the Ionic. These styles are best known through the three orders of column capitals, but there are differences in most points of design and decoration between the orders. See the separate article on Classical orders. The uncompleted Doric temple at Segesta, Sicily, has been waiting for finishing of its surfaces since 430 - 420 BC The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of Ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. ... Architects first real look at the Greek Ionic order: Julien David LeRoy, Les ruines plus beaux des monuments de la Grèce Paris, 1758 (Plate XX) The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and... Greece and the Aegean Sea The Aegean sea in Greece as seen from the island of Greek: Αιγαίον Πέλαγος, Aigaion Pelagos; Turkish: Ege denizi) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek peninsula and Anatolia (Asia Minor, now part of Turkey). ... The Corinthian order as used for the portico of the Pantheon, Rome provided a prominent model for Renaissance and later architects, through the medium of engravings. ... A refined canonic version of the Orders engraved for the Encyclopédie, vol. ...

Most of the best known surviving Greek buildings, such as the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, are Doric. The Erechtheum, next to the Parthenon, however, is Ionic. The Ionic order became dominant in the Hellenistic period, since its more decorative style suited the aesthetic of the period better than the more restrained Doric. Some of the best surviving Hellenistic buildings, such as the Library of Celsus, can be seen in Turkey, at cities such as Ephesus and Pergamum. But in the greatest of Hellenistic cities, Alexandria in Egypt, almost nothing survives. Temple of Hephaestus I took this picture and I license it under the GFDL. Adam 15:17, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Temple of Hephaestus I took this picture and I license it under the GFDL. Adam 15:17, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (960x1280, 273 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (960x1280, 273 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (960x1280, 260 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (960x1280, 260 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Parthenon is the most famous surviving building of Ancient Greece and one of the most famous buildings in the world. ... The Temple of Hephaestus, Athens: eastern face. ... Erechtheum, from SW The Erechtheum, or Erecththeion, is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece, notable for a design that is both elegant and unusual. ... Ephesus (Greek: ÎˆÏ†ÎµÏƒÏƒÎ¿Ï‚) was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Asia Minor, located in Lydia where the Cayster river flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). ... Pergamon or Pergamum (modern day Bergama in Turkey) was a Greek city, in northwestern Anatolia, 16 miles from the Aegean Sea, located on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern day Bakir), that became an important kingdom during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 282... Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport (This template has been listed for deletion) Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, Ø§Ù„Ø¥Ø³ÙƒÙ†Ø¯Ø±ÙŠØ©, transliterated al-Ê¼Iskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the...

Coin design

Coins were invented in Lydia in the 7th century, but they were first extensively used by the Greeks, and the Greeks set the canon of coin design which has been followed ever since. Coin design today still recognisably follows patterns descended from Ancient Greece. The Greeks did not see coin design as a major art form, but the durability and abundance of coins have made them one of the most important sources of knowledge about Greek aesthetics. Greek coins are, incidentally, the only art form from the ancient Greek world which can still be bought and owned by private collectors of modest means. The ancient coins of Greece represent the highest form of the coiners art. ... Lydia was an ancient kingdom of Asia Minor, known to Homer as Mæonia. ... The ancient coins of Greece represent the highest form of the coiners art. ...

Greek designers began the practice of putting a profile portrait on the obverse of coins. This was initially a symbolic portrait of the patron god or goddess of the city issuing the coin: Athena for Athens, Apollo at Corinth, Demeter at Thebes and so on. Later, heads of heroes of Greek mythology were used. Greek cities in Italy such as Syracuse began to put the heads of real people on coins in the 4th century BC, and the Hellenistic kings of Egypt and Syria were soon putting their own heads on their coins. On the reverse of their coins the Greek cities often put a symbol of the city: an owl for Athens, a dolphin for Syracuse and so on. The placing of inscriptions on coins also began in Greek times. All these customs were later refined and developed by the Romans. Athena from the east pediment of the Afea temple in Aegina After a sculpture of Athena at the Louvre. ... The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... Apollo (Greek: Î‘Ï€ÏŒÎ»Î»Ï‰Î½, ApÃ³llÅn) is a god in Greek and Roman mythology, the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin of Artemis (goddess of the hunt). ... Temple of Apollo at Corinth Corinth, or Korinth (ÎšÏŒÏÎ¹Î½Î¸Î¿Ï‚) is a Greek city, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the original isthmus, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... DÃªmÃªtÃªr (or Demetra) (DEH-MEH-ter) (mother-goddess or perhaps distribution-mother) is the Greek goddess of agriculture, the pure nourisher of youth and the green earth, the health-giving cycle of life and death, and preserver of marriage and the sacred law. ... For the ancient capital of Upper Egypt, see Thebes, Egypt. ... Map of central Mediterranean Sea, showing location of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. ...

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