Ancient MediterraneanGreece and Rome

ANCIENT GREECE

• Think of a sacred place in your community.

• How do the forms of the space relate to the beliefs and the

activities of the occupants?

• How do the forms of Greek architecture contribute to their

function?

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*Athenian agora

Archaic through Hellenistic Greek

600 B.C.E.-150 C.E.

Plan

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*Anavysos Kouros

Archaic Greek

c. 530 B.C.E.

Marble of remnants of paint

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*Peplos Kore from the Acropolis

Archaic Greek

c. 530 B.C.E.

Marble, painted details

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*Niobides Krater

Anonymous AKA Niobid Painter

c. 460-450 B.C.E.

Clay

Red-figure technique

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*Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

Polykleitos

450-440 B.C.E.

Roman copy (marble) of Greek original

(bronze)

• Many Greek works we look at today are Roman copies of Greek originals.

• Romans valued Greek culture—arts, leisure, and learning.

• Became popular when Romans began to invade Greece in 211 B.C.E.

• The Spear Bearer was one of the most popular, and widely copied sculptures.

• Greek originals in bronze were typically later melted down and used for weapons.

• Many Roman copies were buried and sustained damaged over centuries.

• This sculpture was found in Pompeii and abides by the canon of proportions established for the ideal human in Greek culture.

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• By around 500 B.C.E. democracy, had emerged in the city of Athens, and the golden age of Greek history emerged.

• Far reaching empire=great wealth

• The Acropolis in Athens was commissioned by Pericles.

• Parthenon, on top the Acropolis, is a temple dedicated to Athena.

• Inside a large statue of Athena, made of ivory and gold, stood constructed by Pheidias.

*Acropolis

Athens, Greece

Iktinos and Kallikrates

c. 447-410 B.C.E.

Marble

*Parthenon*Acropolis plan

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Iris, from the west pediment of the Parthenon,

c. 438-432 B.C.E., marble, 135 cm high,

Athens, Greece © Trustees of the British

Museum

Marble metope from the Parthenon, c. 447-

438 B.C.E., 172 cm tall, Acropolis, Athens ©

Trustees of the British Museum

The sculpted decoration of the Parthenon

included ninety-two metopes showing scenes

of mythical battle.

The pediment sculptures (carved in the round)

filled the triangular gables at each end.

Horsemen from the west frieze of the

Parthenon, c. 438-432 B.C.E., 100cm tall,

Acropolis, Athens © Trustees of the British

Museum

The horsemen have been moving at some

speed, but are now reining back so as not to

appear to ride off the edge of the frieze.

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*Plaque of the Ergastines

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Figures of three goddesses from the east

pediment of the Parthenon,

c. 438-432 B.C.E., 233 cm long, Acropolis,

Athens

© Trustees of the British Museum

The east pediment of the Parthenon showed

the birth of goddess Athena from the head of

her father Zeus.

*Helios, horses, and Dionysus (Heracles?)

*Victory adjusting her sandalVideo in notes

*Grave stele of Hegeso

Attributed to Kallimachos

c. 410 B.C.E.

Marble and paint

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*Winged Victory of Samothrace

Hellenistic Greece

c. 190 B.C.E.

Marble and paint

• Hellenistic art marked by period of war between Greeks and Romans.

• Forward momentum.

• 8’ high on the prow (most forward part) of a stone ship. Probably commemorated a naval victory.

• Originally stood above a sanctuary in Samothrace.

• The best examples of Hellenistic art come from the Kingdom of Pergamon(Turkey).

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*Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

Asia Minor (Present day Turkey)

Hellenistic Greek

c. 175 B.C.E.

Marble

• Frieze is sculpted in high relief.

• Hellenistic work seeks balance through the use of diagonals, whereas Classical Greek sculpture finds balance through the use of vertical and horizontal lines.

• Some of the figure here crawl out beyond the architectural space.

• Hellenistic art gives way to heightened forms of expression.

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* Seated Boxer

Hellenistic Greek

c. 100 B.C.E.

Bronze

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ETRUSCAN

• Before Rome was Rome, it was Etruria.

• Established famous cities such as Florence, Pisa, and Siena.

• No history or literature survives.

• Taught Romans the alphabet and spread literacy through the Italian Peninsula.

• Gave Romans their cultural and artistic traditions, engineering, gladiatorial combat, temple design, religious ritual.

*Sarcophagus of the Spouses

Etruscan

c. 520 B.C.E.

Terra Cotta

• Majority of our knowledge of Etruscan art comes from burial sites.

• Etruscans were cremated and put in a tomb with all earthly items needed for the afterlife.

• Kline-reclining couch.

• Couple reclining, eating.

• Social, not divine subject matter.

• Archaic, stylized, elongated figures.

• Men and women reclining and eating together. Offensive? Women’s status?

Terracotta was standard in sculpture and temple decoration. Marble had not yet been discovered as an available material.

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*Temple of Minerva (Veii, near Rome, Italy) and sculpture of Apollo

Vulca

c. 510-500 B.C.E.

Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufe (volcanic rock); terra cotta sculpture

• Early Etruscans worshiped in open spaces.

• This later changes as a result of influence from the Greeks.

• Materials for temples were stone foundations with wood and terra cotta upper structure.

• Ancient historian, Vitruvius wrote extensively about Etruscan architecture which heavily inspired the Italian Renaissance.

• Temple of Minerva would have had Tuscan columns with a deep porch, and a triple cella (3 rooms) reflecting the divine triad, Minerva, Tinia (Jupiter/Zeus), and Uni (Juno/Hera).

• Etruscan temples also had a high podium and frontal entrance.

• Sculptures, like Apollo, would have been placed on the roof.

ApolloVideo in notes (2)

*Tomb of the Triclinium

Tarquinia, Italy

Etruscan

c. 480-470 B.C.E.

Tufa and fresco

• Known for its painted tombs.

• Chamber tomb.

• Takes its name from the three-couch dining room of the ancient Greco-Roman Mediterranean, known as the triclinium.

• Banquet scene-festive funerary art.

• Funeral games.

• Skin of females is lighter.

ROMAN

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*House of the Vettii

Pompeii, Italy

Imperial Rome

c. 2nd century B.C.E.; rebuilt c. 62-79 C.E.

Cut stone and fresco

• A Roman townhouse (domus)

• Pompeii destroyed in 79 C.E., rediscovered in 18th century.

• The domus reinforced social status, as patrons would receive clients in the atrium of the home during the business day.

• The patron-client relationship in the Roman Republic (5th-1st centuries B.C.E.) was important. Patrons provided support, protection, and benefaction and in turn clients would trust and be dutiful to the patron.

• It was important for the patron to keep an aesthetically pleasing and fashionable house. Vitruvius even wrote about this, which becomes a canon for domestic dwellings.

*Frescos

• Owned by former slaves, one

brother held a top civic position.

• Showed signs of wealth in the

home, like a strongbox.

• Wall paintings are designed for

the viewer to have a gallery-like

experience.

• Fourth style wall painting.

• Offers insight to domestic

architecture and interior

decoration into the last days of

Pompeii.

*Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun

Pompeii

Republican Roman

c.100 B.C.E.

Mosaic

• From largest and most elaborately decorated mansion in Pompeii.

• Moment when Alexander the Great is defeating Darius and the Persian army.

• Movement and frenzy.

• Based on Ancient Greek painting?

• 1.5 million pieces of glass

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*Head of a Roman patrician

Republican Roman

c. 75-50 B.C.E.

Marble

• Veristic portrait/republican era

• Differs from Greek idealism/imperial era

• Conveys seriousness and truth of the responsibility of holding public office.

• Characterized by furrowed brow, deep wrinkles, sagging skin.

• Imagines-death masks

• Wealth/Importance

*Augustus of Prima Porta

Imperial Roman

Early first century C.E.

Marble

• 1st emperor of rome

• Political propaganda

• Portrays himself as political leader, military leader, and supporter of Roman religion all at the same time.

• Foreshadowing Pax Romana.

• Recalls Greek ideals of Doryphorussculpture, following canon-connecting himself to Golden Age of Greece

• Cupid riding a dolphin-victory and divinity

• Breastplate-gods on his side

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*Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater)

Rome, Italy

Imperial Rome

70-80 C.E.

Stone and concrete

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• Roman Forum-place where civic, sacred, and monumental buildings stood.

• 1st century-emperors began to build their own, 5 total.

• Over time buried under antiquity.

• Massive excavation under Mussolini.

*Forum of Trajan

Rome, Italy

Apollodorus of Damascus. Forum and markets: 106-112 C.E.

Column completed 113 C.E.

Brick and concrete (architecture)

marble (column)

Forum of Trajan (reconstruction) Basilica Ulpia (reconstruction)

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Trajan markets

Column of Trajan

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Pontoon bridge with Roman soldiers (detail), Column of Trajan,

Carrara marble, completed 113 C.E., Rome

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*Pantheon

Imperial Roman

118-125 C.E.

Concrete with stone facing

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*Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus

Late Imperial Roman

c. 250 C.E.

Marble