Ancient Greece

I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think. - Socrates (470-399 BCE)

Free Response Question

Just over 100 years separate these two statues. Identify these statues and their dates and compare and contrast the ways in which the human body is shown in these two sculptures.

Free Response Question

The Images below show the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamon
and a detail of Athena Battling Alkyoneos.
Describe the scene taking place on the frieze.
Why has this scene been placed on this monument?
What contemporary events are paralleled in the scenes depicted in this work?
What is the message this scene was meant to convey to the ancient Greek viewer?

Key Ideas

Greeks are interested in the human figure the idea of perfection.
Greek Temples provide a foundation for European architecture and reflects the idea of obtaining perfection with mathematical ratios.
The Greek time period starts at around 900 BCE, about 200 years after the collapse of the Mycenaeans.
In the 5th century, the Greeks defeated the Persians, though it left Athens in ruins (rebuilt by Pericles) = Start of the Classical time period
Polykleitos's canon of proportions: The head should be 1/7 of the body. The chiastic stance that expresses the alternating relaxed and stressed muscles.
The Peloponnesian War in 432 BCE (lasted about 27 years) devastated and crushed Athens by the victorious Spartans = Start of the Hellenistic
Alexander the Great took over and united the Macedonians with the Greeks in the 4th century and after his death, his empire gave into Roman rule.

The Human Figure for the Greeks: Obtaining Perfection

Archaic

550 BCE- 6th c.

Artists: ???

Artworks: kouroi and korai

Descriptions: Idealization, stylized, FRONTAL, rigid

Severe

480 BCE- 5th c.

Artists: Kritios

Artworks: Pedimental sculpture of the Temple of Aphaia and the Temple of Artemis, Kritios boy

Descriptions:
Contrapposto, movement

Classical

450 BCE- 5th c.

Artists: Phidias, Polyklitos, Myron

Artworks: Riace warrior,Zeus/Poseidon, Doryphoros,Diskobolos, Nike Adjusting her Sandal

Descriptions: Idealization, unemotional,
PERFECTION, self-contained

Late Classical

350 BCE- 4th c.

Artists:
Praxitiles, Scopas,
Lysippus

Artworks: Aphrodite of Knidos,Hermes and the Infant Dionysus,Apoxyomenos, Farnes Herakles

Descriptions:
NATURAL, humanized, relaxed, elongation

Hellenistic

250 BCE- 3rd c.

Artists: Pythokritos, Polydorus, Agesander, Athenodorus

Artworks: Dying Gaul, Nike of Samothrace, Barberini Faun,Seated Boxer, Old Market Woman, Laocoon and his Sons

Descriptions:
EMOTIONAL, dramatic, exaggeration, movement, individualistic
(adapted from Dr. Coad)

Additional Resources

* YouTube Video: Crash Course
* YouTube Video: The Development of Ancient Greek Art
* YouTube Video: Secrets of the Parthenon
* YouTube Video: Classical Orders
* YouTube Video: SmartHistory's Nike of Samothrace
Race Warriors
PBS Video: The Parthenon's Optical Illusions
FRQ Practice
Obtaining Perfection Chart
Nike of Samothrace from Emory University
Seated Boxer by the Met in NY
The Alexander Mosaic - article

Visit Khan Academy's Smarthistory videos for LOTS of information on individual artworks from Ancient Greece

Vocabulary

Acropolis
Architrave
Athena
Canon
Caryatid
Cella
Contrapposto
Doric
Entablature
Frieze
Gigantomachy
Ionic
Kouros
Kore
Metope
Nike
Opisthodomos
Panathenaic Procession
Pediment
Peplos
Peripteral
Peristyle
Propylaea
Shaft
Stele
Triglyph
Volute
Zeus

Artworks List

Sculpture
1. Kritios Boy
2. Anavayos Kouros
3. Peplos Kore
4. Doryphoros
5. Riace Warrior
6. Diskobolos
7. Helios, Horses and Dionysus
8. Plaque of the Ergastines
9. Victory Adjusting Her Sandal
10 Grave Stele
11. Nike of Samothrace
12. Athena from the Pergamon Altar
13. Seated Boxer
14. Old Market Woman

Architecture
15. Parthenon
16. Altar of Zeus at Pergamon

Pottery
17. Niobides Krater

Greek Painting
18. Alexander Mosaic from the House of Faun

Notecard Images

Acknowledgements: Information contributed by Silvia Wiedman
Links and information provided by Valerie M. Park © 2013 www.mchsapah.com
Special thanks to the AP Summer Institute in Rome collaboration with Margaret Sharkoffmadrid