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(900 - 31 BCE)

ANCIENT GREECE

Archaic Period: ca. 625-480 B.C.E.

Early Classical Period: ca. 480-450 B.C.E.

High Classical Period: ca. 450-400 B.C.E.

Late Classical Period: ca. 400-330 B.C.E.

Hellenistic Period: ca. 330-31 B.C.E

CONTENT: What do you see?

FORM: The details (what you see more exactly). How the artist delivers the content.

CONTEXT: Everything NOT observable.

FUNCTION: The intended purpose of the work.

Assignments:

READINGS: 

 

UNIT SHEET: below 

 

SNAPSHOT Sheet:

Greek Unit Sheet 

Archaic:

27. Anavayos Kouros
28. Peplos Kore

Dying Warrior East Pediment Aphaia

Dying Warrior East Pediment Aphaia (archaic)

Severe:

Kritios Boy

​Delphi Charioteer

Classical:

26. Athenian Agora

33. Niobides Krater

34. Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)

36. Grave Stele of Hegeso

35. Acropolis and Parthenon

      - Helios, Horses and Dionysus

      - Temple of Athena Nike

      - Victory adjusting her sandal

      - Plaque of the Ergastines
 

Late Classical:

Aphprodite of Knidos

Hermes and Infant Dionysos

 

Hellenistic:

37. Nike of Samothrace

38. Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

      - Athena (from the Great altar)

      - plan of the Great Altar of Zeus and        

        Athena
41. Seated Boxer

Laocoon and His Sons

Additional Images:

Greek Orders


 

APAH 250 Images:

Key Ideas

  • Greeks are interested in the human figure and 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) - this is the beginning 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 Spartan - this is the beginning of the Hellenistic period.

  • 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.

Greek Unit Sheet:

Screenshot 2024-10-27 at 1.13.55 PM.png

Archaic

550 BCE- 6th c.
Artists: unknown
Artworks:

kouroi and korai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Descriptions:

Idealization, stylized, 

FRONTAL, rigid

 

The Path of the Greek Human Figure and Obtaining Perfection

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

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

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

Classical VS Hellenistic Sculpture
Annotate both images of Discobolus and the seated boxer.
In what ways do these depictions of athletes reveal the artistic and cultural concerns of their respective periods?

(Adapted from Dr. Robert Coad)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

A very special thank you to Dr. Robert Coad for his infinite wisdom, amazing workshops, gift of materials and time, and years of support.

Another special thank you to Ms. Marsha Russell for her devotion to teaching and generosity in sharing her materials and knowledge with all of us.

Thank you to Valerie Park for her inspirational AP Art History web site that guided the creation of this site.

And finally, if you choose to use any of the images or information from this site, I ask that you kindly give me credit.  Thank you for visiting!

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