Classical Age

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Classical Age

• 510 - 323 BCE

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LeocharesApollo Belevedere350-325 BCEGreece
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• Boethos of Chalkedon
• Boy with a Goose
• 250 BCE
• Greece (now in the Glyptothek, Munich, Germany

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Riace Warrior B460-430 BCEOff the coast of
Reggio Calabria, Italy

• Riace Warrior A
• 460-430 BCE
• Off the coast of Reggio Calabria, Italy

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Riace Warriors

• There is no clear idea in ancient literature to
  identify the athletes or heroes depicted by the
  bronzes.
• It is likely that the nudes originally formed
  part of a group in a large sanctuary.
• Tydeus and Amphiaraus, two warriors from the
  Seven Against Thebes monumental group in the
  polis of Argos
• Athenian warriors from Delphi
• part of the monument to the battle of Marathon
• Or from Olympia.
• All three were prominent Greek sites for
  dedicated sculpture of the highest quality, and
  all were vulnerable to official thefts after the
  Roman occupation.
• Perhaps the bronzes were being transported to
  Rome as treasure when a storm overtook their
  ship, though no evidence of a wreck could be
  found.

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The Acropolis of Athens

• Most Temples were built during the Greek Golden
  Age, between 460 and 430 BCE

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Ictinus and Phidias Parthenon447-432
BCEAcropolis, Athens, Greece
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Parthenon impressive not for sheer size, but for
proportion

• Designers were careful not to make it too tall or
  too wide
• Parthenon was more than 200 feet long, 100 feet
  wide
• Had doors, no windows
• Surrounded by tall, graceful columns
• Ruins appear white today, but parts originally
  painted in vivid hues
• Huge gold, ivory statue of Athena stood inside it

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PhidiasAthena Parthenos438-437 BCE(formerly in
the Parthenon, Athens, but was looted by Roman
Emperor in 400s CE)
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The Parthenon has assumed many roles

• Classical/Hellenistic Age (BCE)
• Temple to goddess, Athena
• 13th c. CE
• Converted to Christian Church
• 1456 CE
• Converted to a mosque after Athens falls to the
  Ottomans
• 1687 CE
• Athens sacked by Venetians and Parthenon
  partially blown up by gunpowder

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• Doric Style

What is the purpose of this style of column?
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Above columns, Pediments of marble were carved
with scenes from myths
West Pediment depicted contest between Athena
and Poseidon to see who would become the city's
patron. They appear at the center of the
composition, diverging from one another (Athena
holding the olive tree and the god of the sea
raising his trident to strike the earth), and are
framed by two active groups of horses pulling
chariots, while a crowd of legendary
personalities from mythology fills the space
out. East Pediment narrates the birth of Athena
from the head of her father, Zeus. To alleviate
the pain of a headache, Zeus ordered Hephaestus
to strike him with his forging hammer, and when
he did, Zeus's head split open and out popped the
goddess Athena in full armor.
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East Pediment Sculptures
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Metopes (446-440 BCE)

• 92 metopes in total
• East Side depict the mythical battles between
  the Olympian gods and the Giants
• West Side Depict the mythical battle of the
  Athenians against the Amazons
• South Side Depict the mythical battle of the
  Lapiths, aided by Theseus, against the half-man,
  half-horse Centaurs
• North Side Though poorly preserved, seem to
  depict the sack of Troy.

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West Metopes
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• Kalamis
• Lapiths Centaurs (446-440 BCE)
• Metopes, Parthenon, Athens

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Parthenon
Erechtheion
Temple of Nike
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MnesticlesErechtheion421-407 BCENorth side of
Acropolis, Athens

• Dedicated to Athena Polias and Poseidon
  Erechtheus. Within the foundations lived the
  sacred snake of the temple, which represented the
  spirit of Cecrops and whose well-being was
  thought essential for the safety of the city

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Porch of the Caryatids421-407 BCEErechtheion,
Acropolis, Athens

• Aka The Porch of the Maidens
• Six draped female figures (caryatids) are the
  supporting columns, each sculpted in a manner
  different from the rest and engineered in such a
  way that their slenderest part, the neck, is
  capable of supporting the weight of the porch
  roof while remaining graceful and feminine.

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• Here, the citizens worshipped Athena as the
  goddess of war and wisdom in hope of a prosperous
  outcome in the long war against the Spartans and
  their allies. The Temple of Athena Nike was an
  expression of Athens' ambition to be the leading
  Greek city state.

Temple of Athena Nike 410 BCE
Acropolis, Athens, Greece
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Hellenistic Art

• 323 - 146 BCE

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Hellenistic Greece

• Corresponds to the period between the death of
  Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and the annexation
  of Greece by Rome in 146 BCE.
• Although the establishment of Roman rule did not
  break the continuity of Hellenistic society and
  culture, it did mark the end of Greek political
  independence
• During the Hellenistic period, the importance of
  Greece proper within the Greek-speaking world
  declined sharply
• In literature, Hellenistic art is often described
  as being decadent

Hellenistic kingdoms of Europe, Northern Africa,
the Middle East, Asia Minor, and Asia
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Boy with Thorn250 BCEGreece (now in the Palazzo
dei Conservatorio, Rome)
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Boxer of Quirinal1st c. BCEQuirinal Hill, Rome,
Italy
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Odysseus2nd c. BCEVilla of Tiberius, Sperlonga,
Italy
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Agesander, Athenodoros, PolydorusLaocoön and his
SonsApprox. 40 BCEGreece (now in the Vatican
Museum, Rome)

• Unearthed in 1506 near the Golden House of the
  Emperor Nero (who reigned from 54-68 CE), and it
  is possible that it belonged to Nero himself.
• The discovery of the Laocoön made a great
  impression on Italian sculptors and significantly
  influenced Renaissance art.
• Michelangelo was particularly impressed by the
  large scale of the work and its Hellenistic
  style, particularly its depiction of the figures.
• Pliny's description of Laocoön as "a work to be
  preferred to all that the arts of painting and
  sculpture have produced" has led to a tradition
  which debates this claim that the sculpture is
  the greatest of all artworks.
• Paradox (contrast) of admiring beauty while
  seeing a scene of death, failure, and agony.

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In August 480 BC, Leonidas set out to meet
Xerxes' army at Thermopylae, where he was joined
by forces from other Greek city-states, to form
an army between 4,000 and 7,000 strong. This
force was assembled in an attempt to hold the
pass of Thermopylae against a massive Persian
army of between 80,000 and 290,000 men under the
rulership of Xerxes I. Xerxes waited 4 days to
attack, hoping the Greeks would disperse.
Finally, on the 5th day they attacked. Leonidas
and his men resisted the attack for the fifth and
sixth days, killing roughly 20,000 of the enemy
troops and losing about 2,500 of their own.

• Thermopylae Gorge

The Persian elite unit, "the Immortals," was held
back, and two of Xerxes' brothers (Abrocomes and
Hyperanthes) died in battle. On the seventh day
(August 11), a Malian Greek traitor named
Ephialtes led the Persians by a mountain track to
the rear of the Greeks. At that point, Leonidas
sent away all Greek troops and remained in the
pass with his 300 Spartans, 900 Helots, and 700
Thespians who refused to leave. Another 400
Thebans were kept with Leonidas as hostages. The
Thespians stayed entirely of their own will,
declaring that they would not abandon Leonidas
and his followers.
Thermopylae Pass
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King Leonidas ISparta,Greece

• Ruled Sparta from 489-480 BCE
• Believed to be a descendant of Hercules
• Led Spartan army in the Battle of Thermopylae,
  along with Helots, Thespians, and Thebans

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PhidiasNike of Samothrace203 BCESamothrace,
Greece (now at the Louvre Museum, Paris)

• Was created to not only to honor the goddess,
  Nike, but to honor a sea battle won by city-state
  of Rhodes.
• Conveys a sense of action and triumph as well as
  portraying ideal beauty.
• The work is notable for its naturalistic pose and
  for the rendering of the figure's draped
  garments, depicted as if rippling in a strong sea
  breeze, which is especially compelling.
• Represents the goddess as she descends from the
  skies to the triumphant fleet.
• Before she lost her arms, Nike's right arm was
  raised,cupped round her mouth to deliver the
  shout of Victory.
• Despite its significant damage and
  incompleteness, the Victory is held to be one of
  the great surviving masterpieces of sculpture
  from the Hellenistic period.
• The loss of the head and arms, while regrettable
  in a sense, is felt by many to enhance the
  statue's depiction of the supernatural.

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Daru staircaseLouvre Museum, Paris
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Alexandros of AntiochVenus de Milo130-100
BCEMilos, Greece
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• The right arm of the
  goddess was thought
  to have been lowered
  across
  the torso with
  the right hand on the
  raised left knee so
  
  the sliding drapery
  wrapped around the
  hips and legs could
  be
  held in place.
• The left arm was held at just below the eye level
  of the statue above a herm while holding an
  apple.
• The twisting stance and strong projection of the
  knee, as well as the rich, three-dimensional
  quality of the drapery, are typical of
  Hellenistic art of the third century BCE and
  later. Moreover, the sensual combination of flesh
  with the texture of drapery, which seems about to
  slip off, adds significant erotic tension that is
  certainly Hellenistic in concept and intent.

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Myron of ThebesDrunken Woman2nd c. BCEGreece
(now in the Glyptothek, Munich, Germany
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Epigonus Dying Gaul
230-220 BCE
Capitoline Museum, Rome
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Ionic Style
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Corinthian Style
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Athenian Treasury 5th c. BCE Delphi,
Greece
Doric Style
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Racetrack at Delphi
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Temple of Athena6th c. BCEDelphi, Greece
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Trophonios and AgamedesTemple of Apollo7th c.
BCEDelphi, Greece

• Housed the famous oracle of Delphi
• Located above a methane fissure. Potential ffects
  from fumes?

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• Polykleitos the Younger
• Sanctuary of Asklepios at Epidaurus
• 4th c. BCE
• Epidaurus, Greece

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• One of the worlds first amphitheaters
• It is marveled for its exceptional acoustics,
  which permit almost perfect understanding of
  unamplified spoken words from the proscenium or
  skene (stage) to all 15,000 spectators

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DONE!