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Greek1500 – 146 BCE

Chronology of

Greek History

Minoan Civilization- 2000-1500 BCE The earliest known prehistoric civilizations occupy the Aegean world. This culture is apparently more female-oriented

and peaceful than others at the time.

Mycenaean Civilization- 1500-1200 BCE Bronze weapons, war-scenes on art, Cyclopean defense walls, and the fact that male warriors were buried with their

weapons provide evidence for the claim that the Mycenaeans were militaristic. The horse-drawn chariot emerges around this time.

Dorian Civilization – 1250 – 800 BCE “Dark Ages” (1100): characterized by the disappearance of writing and a decline in architecture and other aspects of

material culture. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were suggested to be written at this time.

Archaic Period – 800 (600)-480 BCE The pre-classical: growth of the city-states, building of the Temple of Hera.

High Classical Period - 480-400 BCESocrates teaching in Athens, victory of the alliance of Athens and Sparta over the Persian Empire, building of the

Agora and the Parthenon. This period is considered the High Classical, or the Golden Age.

Fourth Century - 400-323 BCEDefeat of Athens by Sparta, Plato establishes the Academy, the sanctuary at Delphi and the building of the Tomb of

Mausolus in Asia Minor.

Hellenistic Period - 323 to the end of the 1st century BCEDeath of Alexander and the breakup of his empire, Roman domination, the theatre at Epidauros, and the monumental

sculpture of Pergamon.

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Minoan Culture: 1700-1300 BCE – Palace of Knossos, Crete (Artist Interpretation)

Post-and-Lintel

Mud-Brick

Dressed Stone: Finished or cut stone

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Mycenaean Culture: 1500-1200 BCE – Lioness GateOn the mainland immortalized by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey

Warlike strength and primitive power unlike the plays about them 700 years laterPrimitive Ritual in Polished Greek Drama

Megaliths: giant stones… “Cyclopean” Construction

Stone Lintels

Corbel Arch

Mycenaean Culture: 1500-1200 BCE – Megaron – “Audience” Hall

Cella

Cella: Chamber (housing of God Statuary)Pronaos: VestibulePortico: Porch

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The Treasury of Athens, Mycenae - Tomb (c. 1300-1200 BCE)

Domed Vault - Single Keystone CompletionCorbeled Arch Dimensions: 18’ Door, Dome: 47’ d., 43’ h.

Largest Interior space until the Pantheon…

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The Early Greeks – “The Dark Ages” Dorian (c. 1100-900 BCE)

A period of cultural darkness descended over the region, with the disappearance of written language and an absence of artistic output in any form.

Helladic Language – (c. 900 BCE)

The Greek peoples developed a distinctive form of government called the polis, or city-state… citizens shared in decision-making and possessed individual rights

The big shift from “Ancient”… HUMAN SCALE. Ancients strove for magnitude and permanence (eternity). Greeks celebrated the exploration of human possibilities and experimented in order to continually improve.

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GreekArchitecture

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Doric Order: Oldest and plainest…. Squat and heavy (5.5 to 1 ratio)

Preferred style of Greek Mainland and Western Colonies.

•Simple, rigid and controlled (geometric)•Art is a tool of religion and state

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All types of columns have a shaft and a capital; some have a base.

Columns are formed of cylindrical sections of stones (drums) joined together inside with metal pegs.

The shaft is most often articulated with shallow flutes (concave vertical indentations).

The capital consists of a flared and rounded section and a rectangular pad, upon which rests the entablature.

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Ionic Order: more elegant proportions: height of the column shaft is about nine times its diameter.

Ionic capital is carved in a distinctive scrolled volute.

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Ionic Order: Separation between columns is often wider than Doric. The fluting is deeper and closer together, with a flat space separating each flute called the fillet.

Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens (c. 425 BCE)

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Corinthian Order: Late Classical. Often found in interior Greek architecture.

Imitation of the slenderness of a maiden.

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Corinthian Order : The capital is the most elaborate of the three, adorned with stylized acanthus leaves carved in high relief.

Temple of Zeus, Acropolis, Athens (c. 170 BCE)

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Pediment: A triangular gable across a portico.Metope: Space between two triglyphs.Triglyph: The grooved projecting blocks between the metopes.Frieze: The middle section of the Classic entablature; Decorative Band.

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Peristlye: Perimeter Columns

The Archaic Period, 800 (600)-480 BCE : Plan of a Typical Greek TempleThe time of growth of the city-states.

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The High Classical Period - 480-400 BCEThe time of extraordinary flowering of artistic and intellectual activity .

Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens (c. 447-438 BCE)

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Golden Age (High Classical)

•Balancing:•Formal and Natural•Mind and matter•Man and state•Social and Political Development

Philosophers

•Socrates, Plato and Aristotle pondered the nature of the universe

Playwrights

•Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides wrote plays dealing with the nature of humankind•Greek culture was spread by Alexander the Great of Macedonia (356-323 BC)

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The Theatre of Dionysus, Athens (c. 350 BCE)

Amphitheatre – Orchestra – Skene – Paraskenia – Proskenium – Eccyclema

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The Theatre of Dionysus, Athens – Proscenium Decoration

Porch of Maidens, Acropolis, Athens

Caryatids: Female Sculptures

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GreekFurniture

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FUNCTIONAL POTTERY DESIGN

1.The krater had a wide mouth to facilitate mixing wine and water, the staple Greek beverage.

2.The kylix was a two-handled drinking cup.

3.The hydria, for carrying water, had two horizontal handles for lifting; a third handle, not visible here, made pouring easy.

4.The pitcher-shaped oinochoe was the standard wine jug.

5.The amphora was a large urn for storing supplies. Such vases established the Mediterranean supremacy of Athenian potters.

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Athens

•Simple and Disciplined•Zestful, exciting, fun-loving, and even frivolous•Children led a carefree life of play, amusement and sport•Girls at home•Boys to school•Marketplace is center of activity•Banquets for the ordinary TO reclining on couches•Post-banquet performance and drinking

Fabric and Cloth

•Most of fabric was wool or linen, some imported silk (Far East) and cotton (Egypt)•The wool could be a thin gauze or thick felt•Fabric was most likely woven to the correct size and not cut•In reality fabric was died with plants, minerals, and even shellfish•Fabric was embellished with embroidery

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GreekCostume

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Minoans and Myceneans

Women: tightly fitted bodices, sometimes with breasts exposed, and tiered skirts.

Men: skirt-like garment wrapped tightly around the body, with torso exposed.

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The Archaic Period, 800 (600)-480 BCE :

•Humanistic glories of classical naturalism•Aristocratic control (limited democracy)•Relaxed, free-standing and balls of the feet•Relationship of religion and art declines•Storytelling becomes dramatic reality of human beings

Women:

•Were not equal to men•Were not allowed in public unveiled•Marriages were arranged•Married women remained covered until 400 B.C.•Courtesans were often more educated and could move about freely

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Greeks Don’t Wear Togas!

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Vocabulary

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Doric Chiton: Women wore the chiton fairly closely wrapped on the body, with a pin at each shoulder.

Kolpos: Bloused Section

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Doric Chiton: This is pictured as a patterned garment, probably of wool, and is called the Doric Peplos (skirt).

Variations in the placement of pins and belting developed into different styles of chiton that are closely related to the changing aesthetic in the development of Greek art and architecture.

Ionic Chiton (390-380 BCE): Both men and women wore this version. It was fuller, of a lighter weight wool or pleated linen, with a sleeve created by pinning the opening closed from shoulder to elbow. Women wore it long, and men both short and long.

Figure of sea nymph from the Nereid Monument, Xanthos

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Ionic Chiton:

This drawing shows the amount of fullness being controlled by the girdle and forming the sleeves. In this instance there is no Kolpos formed from excess length.

*More sophisticated garment and often appears both more sheer and fuller than the Doric Peplos.

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Chiton worn Exomis:(1 shoulder chiton)

Worn by: athletes, children, slaves and workers

Himation: body enveloping blanket for men and women.

Cloaks and shawls, both decorative and utilitarian, could be layered over the chiton.

Plato, not one to shrink from making definitive arguments, stated that it was absolutely necessary that a man should know how to throw his Himation from left to right as a gentleman should, and that a gentleman should never extend his arm outside his Himation.

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Himation: A favored garment of politicians and intellectuals/scholars.

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Statue of Dionysus wearing an ivy wreath. (350-325 BCE)

“While most classical images of Dionysus showed him as youthful and slightly effeminate, this bearded version looks back to Archaic representations of God.”

Chlamys: Cape

Petasos: Straw Hat

Greeks had mastered the art of dying, using plant material such as saffron and to obtain yellows, and extracting a purple pigment from a certain form of seashell.

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Hairstyles for men changed from the long locks and beards favored by the Archaic Greeks, to short cuts for beardless youths in the Classical period. Older men and philosophers favored beards and a short cut held in place by a filet, or metal band.

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Women dressed their hair in elaborate styles involving tight curls around the face in the Archaic period. In the Classical period, the hair was swept up in the "Grecian knot" or chignon, worn low on the back of the head and supported with filets or a crown-shaped headband called a stephane.

Phrygian Bonnet

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Greaves: shin guards protected the lower leg

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Fibula: Brooches (probably iron)

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Diadem: Headband

Armbands

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Corinthian helmets were not made in Greece much after 500 BC. When not in use, Greek soldiers pushed helmets back over their heads. The Italian peoples began wearing them like this in battle and developed the Apulo-Corinthian helmet, which was used until well after 400 BC. The eyeholes became so small and close as to be non-functional and they finally disappeared from the design altogether.

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This Corinthian-type helmet has several holes and dents in the crown that may be from battle use. Corinthian helmets were popular with Greeks in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Right: Pericles wearing a helmet. He was famous for his public speaking, which enabled him to rule Athens at the height of its empire.

^ Vase depicting Aristophanes' The Birds

> Temple of Abydos, Egypt, Dynasty XIX

Discuss these 2 images in regard to the ELEMENTS OF DESIGN