Ancient Greek and Roman art was characterized by interrogation and development of the human form
before and after Alexander the great, respectively. It is of paramount importance to all other art
and reflects the development of democracy. This classical genre serves as a foundation for interpretation
of subsequent periods such as the renaissance and the period of abstract modern art.

These double-sided axes called ÒlabyrinthsÓ were used by Miniatures which had the head of a man and the
body of a horse. These pendants were common in Crete and Greece from the proteogeometric to the archaic periods.



The Ciclities were islands in the Agean sea that was rich in marble that was developed in art in the
Neolithic era. The following early Cycladic sculpture of the female figure, which dates to 2500 BC,
shows stylization of the human body that is elegant almost to the point of mannerism. The arms-folded
pose is typical of works of the time. This ancient art serve as a precursor to Greek and Roman art with
simplification of the human form (also see Henry Moor).



Pottery is the most preserved art form of the time since it was preserved in tombs and preserved. Also,
it was not melted like metals for scrap. The following Terracotta krater served as a funerary monument.
It dates to the geometric era where orientalizing (Persian, Sirian, etc.) influences impacted Mycenaean
(Greece 1550-1100 B.C.) art. A good example is the meandering lines (a) that are part of the horizontal
stripes (ÒregestersÓ) across the krater. The small openings in the bottom (b) served primarily to keep the
piece from exploding in the kiln but secondarily so that when mouners poured ritualistic offerings such as
wine in by the grave, the offerings could seep out and diffuse into the ground for the dead corpses to enjoy.



This next krater (725 B.C.) depicts a funeral and the prosthesis, which is the laying out of the deceased (a)
surrounded by mourners (b). This kind of art, instead of being about the deceasedÕs trip to the underworld
like ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, was more about the living mourners reflection on the dead. The Greeks
didnÕt think so much of the afterlife where there was no real glory but emptiness so the objectcts celebrated
the emotions of the living who behold their death. This art is heavily linguistic in that it tells a story
and the people depicted are all part of that story. The dead guy was probably a warrior because of the
Mycenaean-style shield (c).



A note on the material: terracotta was the orange clay that the pot consists of. The dark pigment is a
different kind of clay called ÒslipÓ which was fired over the terracotta to make images.

It was Homer who developed the myths about the Mycenaean culture such as the Iliad, the Oddesy and Troy.
These were the times of Agamemnon and Menelaus and the culture was depicted, using language in the art.
The use of language in art of course dates back to hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt.

Another trait of Hellenistic (Greek) art was the treatment of the idealized human form as sacred.
In contrast to the barbarians (name came from the fact that they said ÒBar, Bar, BarÉÓ) to the north
who didnÕt love their bodies, the Greeks were athletic and held the Olympics at Adelphi every four years.
The Olympics were founded in 776 B.C. just before the founding of Rome (753 B.C.). The games became a temporal
marker and Greeks would date events back a particular number of games ago. ÒgymnasiumÓ comes from ÒgymnosÓ
which means Ònaked.Ó Sports were all done in the nude. Also, ÒneekayÓ (spelled frenetically) meant Òvictory,Ó É hence Nike!

So onto sculpture!



The statue above is that of a koros (youth), 590-580 B.C. said to be from Attica. The rigid stance with the
left leg forward and the arms at the side was derived from Egyptian art. The Greeks were more fond of men than
women. It is not until the 4th century B.C. that women start appearing in art. As an interesting side note,
homosexuality was elevated through religion and encouraged in the military since you would fight harder if your
dying colleague was also your lover, quite different than today. Here, the ÒkorosÓ is sculpted with a big head.
It was one of the only abstractions of the time. The head observes the 1/6 proportion: the statue is six head
heights tall. The choker around his neck symbolizes athleticism.



The Archaic period was in part characterized by animated expressions, for example the goofy grin on the sphinx
above. ItÕs not natural but it sure helps to tell the story. The sphinx, with its human head and lions body
was a popular grave marker as a protector of the dead.

With the advent of bronze sculpture with the Òlost waxÓ technique, came poses that were in motion because with
marble, in an outstretched arm for instance there would be too much torque on the shoulder. This statue of
Herakles (6th century B.C.) is presented in mid stride. He is a hero of extraordinary strength.



One thing that really blew me away to learn about is that when we think of Greek sculpture, we think of this
white marble appearance of the characters with marble eyes when in fact, these statues were all actually painted
with ÒpolychromeÓ which was stripped by time. The ÒanacosticÓ technique used wax that suspended the pigments
which would melt away and leave the statues painted. So all the statues in Washington DC for instance that we
think look just like the ancient statues of Greece are actually nothing like them. The ancient statues had flesh-tone
paints, and there were jewels set in the eyes, a different look entirely!



The above statue of the Diadoumenos (youth tying a fillet around his head after an athletic victory) was a
breakthrough in naturalism. Not how the statue is at ease as opposed to the rigid kouros above. The hips are
said to be an ÒcontrapastoÓ or counter-pose which shows relaxation. The weight is on his right foot. This style
set the standard for all time. Imagine later works such as David. One other neat thing is the stump that supports
the weight of the statue. These stumps are in nearly all marble statues since marble is so heavy. There are also
struts on the arms. The 6th-4th century B.C. was pretty dominated by bronze but then marble was reborn.
The krater below shows Hypnose (a), the god of sleep transporting the body of Sarpedon to Lacia É wherever that is.
The neat thing about it is the writing. The writing reads left to right if it is on the right of the character who
is speaking it but right to left if it is on the left of the character. In other words the words start close to the
body and go out. I had to take 2 pics and paste together, sorry.



The terracotta kylix or drinking cup below was used in symposia, places men would go and talk over ideas. There
would be 2 men per couch and they would be fanned and fed grapes while they talked.



No doubt, the naked female figures were a pleasant surprise when the men finished their wine and got to the bottom.

Now I have to end with this statue of Eros (Cupid) who is depicted here not as powerful or cruel and capricious as
he often is but rather brought down to earth and disarmed. This statue probably decorated a garden and punctuated
the serene setting.

You can tell that he was mischevious though from this pose like he would wake up and start causing trouble.
This is because his mother Venus gave him a lot of free reign.