When Compared to the Classical Style Greek Hellenistic Art Could Be Characterized as

Architecture in the Greek Loftier Classical Period

High and Late Classical architecture is distinguished by its adherence to proportion, optical refinements, and its early exploration of monumentality.

Learning Objectives

Identify the departures from traditional Classical Greek architecture in the Temple of Apollo Epicurius, the Tholos of Athena Pronaia, and the Theatre at Epidauros

Cardinal Takeaways

Key Points

• Architecture during the Early on and Loftier Classical periods was refined and the optical illusions corrected to create the most aesthetically pleasing proportions. The Loftier and Late Classical periods begin to tweak these principles and experiment with monumentality and space .
• Temples during the Belatedly Classical period began to experiment with new architectural designs and decoration. The Tholos of Athena Pronaia at Delphi is a round shrine with 2 rings of columns , the outer Doric and the inner Corinthian.
• The Temple of Epicurious at Bassae is noted for its unique ground plan and the use of architectural elements from all iii Classical orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The temple's use of architectural decoration and a ground plan demonstrate changing aesthetics .
• The theater in the city of Epidauros is a prime number instance of advanced applied science skills during this period. The theater is congenital with refined acoustics that could dilate the sounds on the stage to every one of the theater'south xiv,000 spectators.

Key Terms

• skênê: The structure at the back of a theatre stage.
• aniconic: Of, or pertaining to, representations without homo or fauna form.
• tholos: A circular structure, often a temple.

Classical Greek Architecture Overview

During the Classical menstruation, Greek architecture underwent several significant changes. The columns became more slender, and the entablature lighter during this period.

In the mid-fifth century BCE, the Corinthian column is believed to accept made its debut. Gradually, the Corinthian lodge became more than common equally the Classical period came to a close, appearing in conjunction with older orders, such as the Doric.

Additionally, architects began to examine proportion and the chromatic effects of Pentelic marble more closely. In the construction of theaters, architects perfected the effects of acoustics through the blueprint and materials used in the seating area.

The architectural refinements perfected during the Tardily Classical period opened the doors of experimentation with how architecture could ascertain space, an aspect that became the forefront of Hellenistic architecture.

Temples

Throughout the Archaic period, the Greeks experimented with edifice in stone and slowly developed their concept of the platonic temple. It was decided that the ideal number of columns would exist determined by a formula in which twice the number of columns across the front of the temple plus one was the number of columns down each side (2x + ane = y).

Many temples during the Classical menses followed this formula for their peripteral colonnade , although not all. Furthermore, many temples in the Classical flow and beyond are noted for the curvature given to the stylobate of the temple that compensated for optical distortions.

Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae

The Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae is a hexastyle temple with fifteen columns down its length. The temple was built past Iktinos, known for his work on the Parthenon, in the second half of the 5th century BCE. The temple's plan is unusual in many respects.

• The temple is aligned n to south instead of east to west, which accommodates the landscape of the site.
• The temple has a door on the naos that provides admission and light to the inner bedchamber.
• It shares some attributes with the Parthenon, such as a colonnade in the naos. Notwithstanding, in this case the colonnade is a unmarried story, and simply the columns of the temple (not the stylobate) have entasis .
• The temple has elements of all three architectural orders and has the earliest known instance of a Corinthian capital .

Interestingly, the temple has only one Corinthian cavalcade, located in the center of the naos. Experts hypothesize that information technology was placed there to supersede the cult statue as an aniconic representation of Apollo.

Program of the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae: Marble. Late 5th century BCE. Bassae, Greece.

Tholos of Athena Pronaia

The Tholos of Athena Pronaia at Delphi (380–360 BCE) was built every bit a sanctuary by Theodoros of Phoenicia. Externally, 20 Doric columns supported a frieze with triglyphs and metopes . The circular wall of the cella was also crowned by a similar frieze, metopes, and triglyphs to a lesser extent.

Within, a stone bench supported ten Corinthian style pilasters , all of them attached to the concave surface of the wall. The Corinthian capital letter was developed in the middle of the 5th century and used minimally until the Hellenistic era; it was subsequently popular with the Romans.

The manifold combination and blending of diverse architectural styles in the same edifice was completed through a natural polychromatic consequence that resulted from the utilise of unlike materials. The materials used included thin slabs of Pentelic marble in the superstructure and limestone at the platform.

When exposed to the air, Pentelic marble acquires a tan colour that sets it apart from whiter forms of marble. The edifice's roof was also synthetic of marble and housed eight female statues carved in precipitous and lively move.

Tholos of Athena Pronaia: The Tholos of Athena Pronaia at Delphi, Greece (380–360 BCE) was built as a sanctuary by Theodoros of Phoenicia.

Theater at Epidauros

The big theater located at Epidauros provides an case of the advanced applied science at that fourth dimension. The theater was designed past Polykleitos the Younger, the son of the sculptor Polykleitos, in the mid-quaternary century BCE.

The theater seats up to 14,000 people. Like all Greek theaters, this theatre was built into the hillside, which supports the stadium seating, and the theater overlooks a lush valley and mountainous landscape. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows.

As is usual for Greek theatres, the view on a lush landscape backside the skênê is an integral part of the theatre itself and is not to be obscured. The theater is particularly well known for its acoustics. A 2007 study indicates that the astonishing audio-visual properties may exist the result of its advanced blueprint. The rows of limestone seats filter out low-frequency sounds, such as the murmur of the oversupply, and amplify high-frequency sounds from the stage.

Theater at Epidauros: The large theater located at Epidauros, Greece, provides an example of the advanced applied science at that time. The theater was designed by Polykleitos the Younger.

The Acropolis

The Athenian Acropolis is an ancient citadel in Athens containing the remains of several ancient buildings, including the Parthenon.

Learning Objectives

Summarize the history and structure of the Acropolis of Athens

Key Takeaways

Primal Points

• The Acropolis, dedicated to the goddess Athena, has played a meaning role in the urban center from the time that the area was outset inhabited during the Neolithic era. In recent centuries, its architecture has influenced the design of many public buildings in the Western hemisphere.
• Immediately following the Persian state of war in the mid-fifth century BCE, the Athenian full general and statesman Pericles coordinated the construction of the site's most important buildings including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion, and the temple of Athena Nike.
• The structures on the Acropolis incorporated the Cyclopean foundations of older Mycenaean-era structures.
• In its heyday, the Parthenon featured a Doric facade and Ionic frieze interior, while the Doric Propylaea—the gateway to the Acropolis and an art gallery in the Classical era—lacked friezes and pedimental sculptures. The Ionic Erechtheion, believed to have been dedicated to the legendary King Erechtheus, features a porch supported by columnar caryatids . The Temple of Athena Nike, which celebrates Athenian war victories, was congenital in the Ionic lodge.
• The sculptures from each of these buildings draw scenes specific to their historical and mythological significance to Athens.

Primal Terms

• peripteral: Surrounded past a unmarried row of columns.
• prostyle: Free-standing columns across the forepart of a edifice.
• entablature: The surface area of a temple facade that lies horizontally atop the columns.
• elevation: A geometric project of a building, or other object, on a plane perpendicular to the horizon.
• Geometric menses: An era of abstruse and stylized motifs in ancient Greek vase painting and sculpture. The period was centered in Athens and flourished from 900 to 700 BCE.
• Pericles: A prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator, and the general of Athens during the city'south Gilded Historic period—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars.
• capital: The topmost part of a column.

The Athenian Acropolis

The study of Classical-era compages is dominated by the study of the construction of the Athenian Acropolis and the development of the Athenian agora . The Acropolis is an aboriginal citadel located on a high, rocky outcrop above and at the center of the city of Athens. It contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance.

The give-and-take acropolis comes from the Greek words ἄ (akron, meaning border or extremity) and π (polis, pregnant city). Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that information technology is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification.

The Acropolis at Athens: The Acropolis has played an of import role in the city of Athens from the time the surface area was first inhabited.

The Acropolis has played a significant function in the city from the time that the area was commencement inhabited during the Neolithic era. While in that location is bear witness that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BCE, in the High Classical Flow it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BCE) who coordinated the structure of the site'south virtually of import buildings, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion, and the temple of Athena Nike.

The buildings on the Acropolis were synthetic in the Doric and Ionic orders, with dramatic reliefs adorning many of their pediments , friezes, and metopes .
In contempo centuries, its compages has influenced the pattern of many public buildings in the Western hemisphere.

Early History

Archaeological prove shows that the acropolis was once home to a Mycenaean citadel. The citadel'southward Cyclopean walls defended the Acropolis for centuries, and still remains today. The Acropolis was continually inhabited, even through the Greek Dark Ages when Mycenaean civilization savage.

It is during the Geometric menstruum that the Acropolis shifted from being the dwelling house of a king to existence a sanctuary site defended to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron . The Archaic -era Acropolis saw the get-go rock temple dedicated to Athena, known every bit the Hekatompedon (Greek for hundred-footed).

This building was built from limestone around 570 to 550 BCE and was a hundred feet long. It has the original dwelling house of the olive-forest statue of Athena Polias, known as the Palladium, that was believed to have come from Troy.

In the early 5th century the Persians invaded Greece, and the urban center of Athens—forth with the Acropolis—was destroyed, looted, and burnt to the footing in 480 BCE. Afterward the Athenians, before the final battle at Plataea, swore an oath that if they won the battle—that if Athena once more protected her urban center—then the Athenian citizens would go out the Acropolis as it is, destroyed, every bit a monument to the war. The Athenians did indeed win the war, and the Acropolis was left in ruins for xxx years.

Periclean Revival

It was immediately post-obit the Persian war that the Athenian full general and statesman Pericles funded an all-encompassing building program on the Athenian Acropolis. Despite the vow to leave the Acropolis in a country of ruin, the site was rebuilt, incorporating all the remaining old materials into the spaces of the new site.

The edifice program began in 447 BCE and was completed by 415 BCE. It employed the most famous architects and artists of the age and its sculpture and buildings were designed to complement and exist in dialog with one some other.

Program of the Acropolis: Programme of the Acropolis and surrounding area. The buildings include: (1) Parthenon (2) Old Temple of Athena (3) Erechtheum (four) Statue of Athena Promachos (5) Propylaea (6) Temple of Athena Nike (7) Eleusinion (8) Sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia or Brauroneion (nine) Chalkotheke (10) Pandroseion (xi) Arrephorion (12) Chantry of Athena (thirteen) Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus (14) Sanctuary of Pandion (15) Odeon of Herodes Atticus (16) Stoa of Eumenes (17) Sanctuary of Asclepius or Asclepieion (18) Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus (xix) Odeon of Pericles (xx) Temenos of Dionysus Eleuthereus (21) Aglaureion.

The Parthenon

The Parthenon represents a culmination of style in Greek temple architecture. The optical refinements found in the Parthenon—the slight curve given to the whole building and the ideal placement of the metopes and triglyphs over the column capitals —represent the Greek desire to achieve a perfect and harmonious design known as symmetria.

While the creative person Phidias was in accuse of the overall plan of the Acropolis, the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates designed and oversaw the structure of the Parthenon (447–438 BCE), the temple dedicated to Athena. The Parthenon is built completely from Pentalic marble, although parts of its foundations are limestone from a pre-480 BCE temple that was never completed.

The design of the Parthenon varies slightly from the basic temple ground program . The temple is peripteral , and so is surrounded by a row of columns. In front of both the pronaos (porch) and opisthodomos is a single row of prostyle columns.

The opisthodomos is large, accounting for the size of the treasury of the Delian League, which Pericles moved from Delos to the Parthenon. The pronaos  is so pocket-sized information technology is almost non-existent. Inside the naos is a two-story row of columns around the interior, and set in forepart of the columns is the cult statue of Athena. Information technology is the well-nigh important surviving building of Classical Greece.

The Parthenon: The Parthenon, designed by Iktinos and Kallikrates, is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the maiden goddess Athena, the patron of Athens. Its construction began in 447 BCE when the Athenian Empire was at the elevation of its power.

The Parthenon's peak has been streamlined and shows a mix of Doric and Ionic elements. The exterior Doric columns are more than slender and their capitals are rigid and cone-like. The entablature too appears smaller and less weighty then earlier Doric temples. The exterior of the temple has a Doric frieze consisting of metopes and triglyphs.

Inside the temple are Ionic columns and an Ionic frieze that wraps effectually the outside of the interior building. Finally, instead of the columns, the whole building has an entasis , a slight curve to compensate for the human middle. If the building was built perfectly at right angles and with direct optics, the human eye would see the lines equally curved. In order for the Parthenon to appear straight to the centre, Iktinos and Kallikrates added curvature to the building that the eye would interpret as directly.

The sculpted reliefs on the Parthenon'due south metopes are both decorative and symbolic, and relate stories of the Greeks confronting the others. Each side depicts a different prepare of battles.

1. Over the entrance on the east side is a Gigantomachy , depicting the battle between the giants and the Olympian gods.
2. The due west side depicts an Amazonomachy, showing a boxing between the Athenians and the Amazons.
3. The north side depicts scenes of the Greek sack of Troy at the end of the Trojan State of war.
4. The south side depicts a Centauromachy, or a battle with centaurs. The Centauromachy depicts the mythical battle between the Greek Lapiths and the Centaurs that occurred during a Lapith wedding.

These scenes are the most preserved of the metopes and demonstrate how Phidias mastered fitting episodic narrative into square spaces.

Centauromachy: A metope from the south side of the Parthenon, of a Lapith and a centaur. Acropolis, Athens, Greece. c. 447–438 BCE.

The interior Ionic processional frieze wraps around the exterior walls of the naos. While the frieze may draw a mythical or historical procession, many scholars believe that it depicts a Panatheniac procession.

The Panathenaic procession occurred yearly through the city, leading from the Dipylon Gate to the Acropolis and culminating in a ritual changing of the peplos worn by the ancient olive-wood statue of Athena. The processional scene begins in the southwest corner and wraps around the building in both directions before culminating in the eye of the of the w wall.

It begins with images of horsemen preparing their mounts, followed by riders and chariots, Athenian youth with sacrificial animals, elders and maidens, and then the gods earlier culminating at the cardinal outcome. The primal epitome depicts Athenian maidens with textiles, replacing the old peplos with a new one.

Horsemen in the Processional Scene: An Ionic frieze from the interior of the Parthenon. Acropolis, Athens, Greece. c. 447–438 BCE.

The due east and west pediments depict scenes from the life of Athena and the east pediment is better preserved than the w; fortunately, both were described by ancient writers. The west pediment depicted the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the patronage of Athens. At the center of the pediment stood Athena and Poseidon, pulling away from each to create a strongly charged, dynamic composition .

The east pediment depicted the birth of Athena. While the primal paradigm of Zeus, Athena, and Haphaestus has been lost, the surrounding gods, in various states of reaction, take survived.

Sculpture group from the east pediment of the Parthenon: While the central image of Zeus, Athena, and Haphaestus has been lost, the surrounding gods, in various states of reaction, have survived (c. 447–439 BCE).

The Propylaea

Mnesicles designed the Propylaea (437–432 BCE), the monumental gateway to the Acropolis. It funneled all traffic to the Acropolis onto ane gently sloped ramp. The Propylaea created a massive screen wall that was impressive and protective as well as welcoming.

It was designed to appear symmetrical but, in reality, was not. This illusion was created by a colonnade of paired columns that wrapped around the gateway. The southern wing incorporated the original Cyclopean walls from the Mycenaean citadel. This space was truncated just served equally dining area for feasting after a sacrifice .

The northern wing was much larger. It was a pinacoteca , where large console paintings were hung for public viewing. The lodge of the Propylaea and its columns are Doric, and its decoration is simple—there are no reliefs in the metopes and pediment.

The Propylaea: The Propylaea equally information technology stands today. Acropolis, Athens, Greece. c. 437–432 BCE.

Upon entering the Acropolis from the Propylaea, visitors were greeted by a jumbo bronze statue of Athena Promachos (c. 456 BCE), designed by Phidias. Accounts and a few coins minted with images of the statue allow us to conclude that the bronze statue portrayed a fearsome prototype of a helmeted Athena striding frontwards, with her shield at her side and her spear raised loftier, prepare to strike.

The Erechtheion

The Erechtheion (421–406 BCE), designed past Mnesicles, is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis. Scholars believe the temple was built in accolade of the legendary male monarch Erechtheus.

It was built on the site of the Hekatompedon and over the megaron of the Mycenaean citadel. The odd design of the temple results from the site'south topography and the temple's incorporation of numerous aboriginal sites.

The temple housed the Palladium, the ancient olive-wood statue of Athena. Information technology was as well believed to exist the site of the contest between Athena and Poseidon, then displayed an olive tree, a salt-h2o well, and the marks from Poseidon'south trident to the faithful.

Shrines to the mythical kings of Athens, Cecrops and Erechteus—who gives the temple its name—were also constitute within the Erechtheion. Because of its mythic significance and its religious relics , the Erechtheion was the ending site of the Panathenaic festival, when the peplos on the olive-wood statue of Athena was annually replaced with new article of clothing with due pomp and ritual.

The Erechtheion: A view from the southwest. Acropolis, Athens, Greece. c. 421–405 BCE.

A porch on the south side of the Erechtheion is known as the Porch of the Caryatids, or the Porch of the Maidens. Six, towering, sculpted women (caryatids) support the entablature. The women replace the columns, yet look columnar themselves. Their curtain, particularly over their weight-begetting leg, is long and linear, creating a parallel to the fluting on an Ionic column.

While they stand in similar poses, each statue has its own stance, facial features, hair, and drapery. They comport egg-and-dart capitals on their heads, much as women throughout history have carried baskets. Between their heads and this capital is a sculpted cushion, which gives the appearance of softening the load of the weight of the building.

The sculpted columnar grade of the caryatids is named after the women of the town of Kayrai, a pocket-size town near and allied to Sparta. At ane bespeak during the Persian Wars the boondocks betrayed Athens to the Persians. In retaliation, the Athenians sacked their city, killing the men and enslaving the women and children. Thus, the caryatids depicted on the Acropolis are symbolic representations of the full ability of Athenian say-so over Greece and the punishment of traitors.

The porch of the Erechtheion: The porch of the Erechtheion is held up by the caryatids. Acropolis, Athens, Greece. c. 421–405 BCE.

The Temple of Athena Nike

The Temple of Athena Nike (427–425 BCE), designed by Kallikrates in laurels of the goddess of victory, stands on the parapet of the Acropolis, to the southwest and to the correct of the Propylaea. The temple is a small Ionic temple that consists of a single naos, where a cult statue stood fronted past four piers . The iv piers aligned to the 4 Ionic prostyle columns of the pronaos. Both the pronaos and opisthodomos are very pocket-sized, nigh non-real, and are defined by their four prostyle columns.

The programme for the Temple of Athena Nike: This temple is a small Ionic temple that consists of a single naos, where a cult statue stood fronted by four piers, c. 427–425 BCE.

Temple of Athena Nike: The Temple of Athena Nike, c. 427–425 BCE. Acropolis, Athens, Greece.

The continuous frieze around the temple depicts battle scenes from Greek history. These representations include battles from the Farsi and Peloponnesian Wars, including a cavalry scene from the Battle at Marathon and the Greek victory over the Persians at the Boxing of Plataea.

The scenes on the Temple of Athena Nike are like to the battle scenes on the Parthenon, which represented Greek dominance over not-Greeks and foreigners in mythical apologue . The scenes depicted on the frieze of the Temple of Athena Nike frieze brandish Greek and Athenian dominance and war machine power throughout historical events.

A parapet was added on the balustrade to protect visitors from falling down the steep hillside. Images of Nike, such as Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, are carved in relief.

In this scene Nike is portrayed standing on one leg as she bends over a raised human foot and genu to adapt her sandal. Her body is depicted in the new Loftier Classical style. Different Archaic sculpture, this scene actually depicts Nike's body. Her trunk and muscles are clearly distinguished underneath her transparent yet heavy clothing.

This style, known as wet drapery , allows sculptors to describe the body of a woman while still preserving the modesty of the female person figure. Although Nike's body is visible, she remains fully clothed. This style is found elsewhere on the Acropolis, such as on the caryatids and on the women in the Parthenon's pediment.

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal: This statue is in the Temple of Athena Nike, c. 425–420 BCE. Information technology is located in the Acropolis in Athens, Hellenic republic.

Urban Planning in the Greek High Classical Menstruation

Hippodamus of Miletus is considered the male parent of rational city planning, and the city of Priene is a prime example of his grid-planned cities.

Learning Objectives

Describe the role of Hipposamus of Miletus in the evolution of grid-planned cities in Classical Hellenic republic

Primal Takeaways

Cardinal Points

• As an builder and city planner, Hippodamus of Miletus (fifth century BCE) developed an urban plan based on streets that intersect at right angles, known as the Hippodamian Plan.
• The Hippodamian Plan is based on a grid of correct angles and the allocation of public and private space . The center of the city is the habitation of the urban center'due south almost important borough public spaces, including the agora , the bouleuterion , theaters, and temples. Private rooms environs the city's public areas.
• Since the Hippodamian Plan is based on angles and measurements, information technology can be laid out uniformly over any kind of terrain. In the city of Priene, the programme is laid out over a sloping hillside, and the terrain is terraced to fit into the rational network of houses, streets, and public buildings.

Key Terms

• Ionia: An ancient Greek settlement on the west declension of Asia Modest inhabited by one of the four, main Hellenic tribes.
• bouleuterion: A building that housed the quango of citizens in Ancient Greece; an assembly hall.
• grid plan: A type of urban center programme in which streets run at right angles to each other.

Hippodamus of Miletus

Although the idea of the grid was present in early Greek metropolis planning, information technology was non pervasive prior to the fifth century BCE. Following the Farsi and Peloponnesian Wars, many cities were left decimated and in demand of rebuilding. Earlier rational city planning, cities grew organically and often radiated out from a key betoken, such as the Acropolis and Agora at the center of Athens.

Hippodamus of Miletus on the Ionian coast (the western coast of modern Turkey) was an builder and urban planner who lived between 498 and 408 BCE. He is considered the begetter of urban planning, and his name is given to the grid layout of urban center planning, known as the Hippodamian programme.

His plans of Greek cities were characterized past order and regularity in dissimilarity to the intricacy and defoliation common to cities of that period. He is seen equally the originator of the idea that a town plan might formally embody and clarify a rational social guild.

The Hippodamian plan is now known as a filigree plan formed by streets intersecting at correct angles. Hippodamus helped rebuild many Greek cities using this programme, and the construction was exported to newly settled Greek colonies. It was after adopted by Alexander the Cracking for the cities he founded and was eventually used extensively by the Romans for their colonies.

The program not only encompassed the grid pattern for the streets simply besides designated a standard size for urban center blocks and allocated public and individual infinite. Typically the public spaces of the Greeks' agorae and theaters were located at the center of the city. Boosted space would be cleared for gymnasiums and stadiums. The acropolis, the highest role of the city, was always reserved for the city'southward most of import temples.

Priene and Miletus

The city of Priene, located near Miletus on the Ionian coast, is a prime example of the Hippodamian plan. The city is located on a hillside, and the urban program forces structure onto the natural landscape. The city's grid-planned streets divide the sloping hillside into blocks, which are further divided into lots for private housing.

In the middle of the urban center were many public buildings. The agora was the central component of the urban center. Its colonnaded stoa divisional the public space to the north. The agora stretched the length of six city blocks and was flanked on its southern side by the Temple of Zeus.

North of the stoa was the bouleuterion, the assembly hall, and a small theatre. A Temple of Athena was located but northwest of the agora. Blocks of housing surrounded the agora. Down the slope from them on level footing were the gymnasium and stadium. Above the urban center, high on a hillside, was the urban center's acropolis.

Bouleuterion: A bouleuterion in Priene, Turkey.

The plan of Priene follows the rational filigree plan established by Hippodamus and demonstrates its function, even when laid over the rocky and hilly terrain. The urban center's location on a hillside did not constrict its uniformity or the allocation of public and individual space. Instead, the rational plan of Priene allowed for access to multiple sites of the metropolis and easy navigation through the city.

In Hippodamus' dwelling house urban center of Miletus, the filigree plan would get the model of urban planning followed by the Romans. What is virtually impressive is its wide central area, which is kept unsettled according to his macro-scale urban estimation and in fourth dimension evolved to the Agora, the center of both the metropolis and society.

Grid plan of Miletus, c. 400 BCE: In Hippodamus' home urban center of Miletus, the filigree programme would become the model of urban planning followed past the Romans.

Stelae in the Greek High Classical Flow

Large, relief-carved stelae became the new funerary markers in Greece during the High Classical period.

Learning Objectives

Describe the function of stelae in High Classical Greek sculpture

Fundamental Takeaways

Cardinal Points

• Funerary stelae were large and rectangular. They were often topped by pediments that were oftentimes, although not always, supported past columns . Stelae were originally painted and in some cases adorned with metal props such as spears.
• The funerary stelae of Classical Greece are idealized portraits that endeavour to relate the character and social position of the dead through attributes depicted on the grave mark. Examples include a warrior depicted in boxing or a woman adorning herself in jewelry.
• The reliefs on funerary stelae followed the stylistic characteristics of the Classical period. The bodies of the men are well modeled and, if standing, they often stand with contrapposto . Drape is often portrayed in the wet-drapery manner , which allows for the form of the body to be shown.
• The funerary stelae of children often depict companion animals, such as doves and other birds, which might have had symbolic connections with the afterlife.

Key Terms

• naiskos: A minor temple fabricated in the Classical club with columns or pillars and pediment.
• Kerameikos: An area of Ancient Athens located northwest of the Acropolis on either side of the Dipylon Gate. The location is known every bit the potter's quarter.
• stele: A tall, slender stone monument, oftentimes with writing carved into its surface

Funerary Stelae

A stele (plural: stelae) is a large slab of rock or wood erected for commemorative and funerary purposes. The stelae of ancient Greece replaced the funerary markers of the Geometric kraters and amphorae, and the Archaic kouroi and korai of the Classical period.

The stelae were wide and tall and were Classical-style portraits. While the figures were still idealized, they were meant to represent specific individuals. Stelae were inscribed with the name of the expressionless and frequently the names of the relatives. Most stelae are rectangular and ofttimes topped with a pediment. Columns often, but not e'er appear on each side, seemingly to support the pediment. Stelae in this faux-architectural style assume the grade of a funerary temple called a naiskos . An inscription would exist located on the pediment or below the image, in which example the pediment was painted, obviously, or decorated simply with geometric designs.

The figures depicted on Classical-era stelae are in the aforementioned way and style seen in Classical sculpture and on sculptural decoration of architecture, such every bit a temple'due south pediments and frieze . Stelae every bit grave markers became pop around 430 BCE, coinciding with the outset of the Peloponnesian War. Each stele is unique for its attempts to individualize and characterize the attributes and personality of the dead.

Grave Stele of Hegeso

The Grave Stele of Hegeso from the Kerameikos Cemetery exterior of Athens depicts a seated adult female. The stele dates to 400 BCE, and the woman fits the stylistic representation of women at this fourth dimension.

Hegeso sits on a chair with her feet resting on a footstool. She is elegantly dressed in long, flowing drapery. A female attendant in simple wearing apparel stands before her holding a small box, from which Hegeso chooses jewelry. The jewelry is now absent because it was only a painted detail, as opposed to carved in relief.

Both women clothing transparent clothing that clings to their body to relieve their feminine class, although the habiliment is more revealing on Hegeso than her retainer. This style, known as wet mantle , also appears on the Temple of Athena Nike in Athens. Both figures are expressionless and emotionless.

Grave Stele of Hegeso: This stele is from the Kerameikos Cemetery outside of Athens and depicts a seated woman with her retainer before her. The stele dates to 400 BCE, and the woman fits the stylistic representation of women at this time.

Grave Stele of an Athlete

The Grave Stele of an Athlete (early fourth century BCE), from the isle of Delos, depicts a male athlete receiving lekythos of oil from a male youth. The athlete's torso is reminiscent of Polykleitos's Doryphoros. It is athletic, and the muscles are defined through modeling instead of lines .

He stands in a contrapposto pose with a cocked caput, reaching for the flask held by the young attendant. The youth's age is divers not by his well-built trunk (which is very like to that of the athlete) simply by his diminutive size.

Grave Stele of an Athlete: This stele bear witness an athlete standing in a contrapposto pose with his head cocked, reaching for the flask held past the young attendant. Circa 375 BCE, from Delos, Greece.

Grave Stele of Dexileos

The Grave Stele of Dexileos (390 BCE) in the Kerameikos Cemetery of Athens is some other demonstration of how stele reliefs reflect the sculpture style and motifs of the menstruum. This stele recalls the carved relief of Athenian horsemen from the Ionic frieze of the Parthenon.

Dexileos rides astride a rearing horse, charging down an enemy. The inscription refers to his early death in a boxing against the Corinthians. He probably originally held a metal spear in his raised mitt. The two figures, Dexileos and the Corinthian, are dressed differently. The Corinthian's nudity signifies his deviation from the civilized Athenian who is properly clothed. Dexileos's flight cape and rearing horse add drama to scene, which despite its content, is oddly expressionless due to emotionless faces of the characters.

Grave Stele of Dexileos: This marble stele recalls the carved relief of Athenian horsemen from the Ionic frieze of the Parthenon. Circa 390 BCE, from the Dipylon Cemetery in Athens, Greece.

Grave Stele of a Footling Girl

While the above stelae commemorate adults, grave stelae also commemorate children. The Grave Stele of a Little Girl (450–440 BCE), which lacks a pediment and allows the deceased to assume nearly of the space , depicts a young child holding 2 doves, presumably her pets.

1 bird perches in her hands, while the other seems to caress adjacent to her and affectionately peck at her oral cavity. She bows her caput toward both doves, wearing a solemn facial expression, as if behest the animals bye. Such images of children and companion animals are common field of study matter on grave stelae of the Classical era.

The doves' ability to fly connected them to death and the afterlife. Some experts theorize that doves were believed to be able to communicate with those in the afterlife. Similar the women on the Grave Stele of Hegeso, the child's wearable assumes the moisture-drapery style to accentuate the contours of her body while assuasive her to maintain feminine modesty.

Grave Stele of a Lilliputian Girl: This stele lacks a pediment and allows the deceased to assume near of the space. It depicts a immature child holding two doves, presumably her pets. From the Island of Paros, c. 450–440 BCE.

Painting in the Greek High Classical Period

Panel and tomb paintings from the High Classical Period depict natural figures with high plasticity and dynamic compositions.

Learning Objectives

Depict the styles of painting that developed through the High Classical period as seen in panel and tomb paintings

Key Takeaways

Primal Points

• Few examples of panel, fresco , and wall painting survive due to their organic materials. All the same, the examples that exercise survive from the Archaic , Classical , and Tardily Classical periods demonstrate the same development of the figure—from stiff, rigid images to dynamic scenes of natural figures.
• The painter Apollodorus was considered 1 of the virtually talented painters in the Classical period. He developed a technique to depict shadows and depth known to the Greeks as skiagraphia, which is similar to the Renaissance use of chiaroscuro .
• The Roman Alexander Mosaic is believed to be a copy of a large-scale Greek fresco or console painting from the late 4th century BCE. Its remarkable item and identifiable characteristics of Alexander the Corking amidst a dynamic battle point to the skill of Greek painters at the stop of the Classical era.

Key Terms

• symposium: A drinking party, especially one with intellectual word, in ancient Greece.
• chiaroscuro: An artistic technique popularized during the Renaissance, referring to the use of exaggerated light contrasts in society to create the illusion of book.

Classical Greece was a 200-twelvemonth period in Greek culture that lasted from the fifth through fourth centuries BCE. This Classical menstruum, following the Archaic catamenia and succeeded past the Hellenistic period, had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire and profoundly influenced the foundations of the Western Civilisation . Much of modern Western politics and artistic thought, such as compages, scientific idea, literature, and philosophy, derives from this period of Greek history.

Panel Painting

Panel painting is the painting on flat panels of woods, either a large single piece or several joined together. Because of their organic nature many panel paintings no longer exist. Panel paintings were ordinarily washed in encaustic or tempera and were displayed in the interior of public buildings, such as in the pinacoteca of the Propylaea of the Athenian Acropolis.

The earliest known panel paintings are the Pitsa Panels that engagement to the Primitive period between 540 and 530 BCE; however, console painting continued throughout the Classical Period.

The painter Apollodorus was considered past the Greeks and Romans to exist ane of the best painters of the Early Classical catamenia, although none of his work survived. He is credited for the use of creating shadows past a technique known as skiagraphia. The technique layers crosshatching and contour liners to add perspective to the scene and is like to the Renaissance technique of chiaroscuro.

Pitsa Panels: These are the earliest known panel paintings, and engagement to the Primitive period between 540 and 530 BCE.

Tomb Painting

Tomb painting was another popular method of painting, which due to its delicate nature has often not survived. Still, a few examples do remain, including the 480 BCE Tomb of the Diver and the wall paintings from the royal Macedonian tombs in Vergina that engagement to the mid-fourth century BCE. A comparison between the paintings demonstrate how painting followed sculptural development in regards to the rendering of the homo body.

The Tomb of the Diver is from a small necropolis in Paestum, Italian republic, which was then the Greek colony of Poseidonia, and dates from the beginning of the Classical period. The tomb depicts a symposium scene on its walls and an prototype of diver on the inside of the covering slab.

The images are painted in true fresco with a limestone mortar. The scene of the diver is uncomplicated image with a small mural of trees, water, and the diver's platform. The diver is nude and his body is only defined through the employ of line and color. The bodies of the men at the symposium more than accurately demonstrate an Archaic reliance on line to model the course of the body and the draping of their clothing.

Tomb of the Diver: This is the symposium-scene fresco painted on the Tomb of the Diver.

Compared to the wall paintings from the tombs at Vergina, the Early Classical tomb painting is static and rather Archaic. The frescos from Vergina depict figures in a total-painted version of the High Classical manner .

For example, there is an image believed to depict King Philip II on a chariot pulled by ii horses. The fresco is poorly preserved but 1 is able to come across on Philip's horse the modeling of the animals produced by the color shading and a suggestion of perspective when looking at the chariot. The artist relies on the shades and hues of his paints to create depth and a life-like feeling in the painting.

Homo on a Chariot: The frescos from Vergina depict figures in a full-painted version of the High Classical way.

I of the quintessential wall paintings at Vergina is Hades Abducting Persephone. The painted scene appears similar to the Tardily Classical sculptural way and the dynamic, emotion-filled composition seems to predict the mode of Hellenistic sculpture.

The scene depicts Hades on his chariot, grasping on to Persephone's nude torso equally the pair ride abroad. The colors are faded and faint, but the bright ruby-red drapery worn past Persephone is still easily identifiable. Lines and shading emphasize its folds.

The style appears about impressionistic, especially when examining Persephone's face and hair. Persephone and Hades create a tension filled chiastic limerick, as Hades races to the left, confronting the pull of Persephone'due south outward, desperate reach to the right.

Hades Abducting Persephone.: One of the quintessential wall paintings at Vergina is a scene of Hades abducting Persephone.

Alexander the Great

Alexander III of Macedonia (356–323 BCE), better known as Alexander the Bang-up, very carefully controlled and crafted his portraiture. In order to maintain command and stability in his empire, he had to ensure that his people recognized him and his authority.

Because of this, Alexander's portrait was set when he was very young, near probable in his teens, and information technology never varied throughout his life. To further command his portrait types, Alexander hired artists in different media such as painting, sculpture, and gem cutting to design and promote the portrait style of the medium. In this way, Alexander used art and artisans for their propagandistic value to back up and provide a face and legitimacy to his rule.

Alexander Mosaic

The Alexander Mosaic is a Roman flooring mosaic from approximately 100 BCE that was excavated from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. The mosaic depicts the Battle of Issus that occurred between the troops of Alexander the Great and King Darius III of Persia. The mosaic is believed to exist a re-create of a big-scale console painting past Aristides of Thebes, or a fresco by the Philoxenos of Eretria from the belatedly fourth century BCE.

Alexander Mosaic (Battle of Issus): This is believed to be a re-create of a fresco by Philoxenos of Eretria or a panel painting past Aristides of Thebes (late fourth century BCE). Alexander is depicted in profile at the far left. This is a Roman piece, from the House of the Faun in Pompeii during the late second or third century BCE.

The mosaic is remarkable. Information technology depicts a corking sense of particular, dramatically unfolds the drama of the boxing, and demonstrates the use of perspective and foreshortening . The ii main characters of the battle are easily distinguishable and this portrait of Alexander may exist one of his most recognizable. He wears a breastplate and an custodianship , and his hair is characteristically tousled. He rides into battle on his equus caballus, Bucephalo, leading his troops. Alexander's gaze remains focused on Darius and he appears calm and in command, despite the hectic battle happening around him.

Darius 3, on the other hand, commands the battle in desperation from his chariot, equally his charioteer removes them from battle. His horses flee under the whip of the charioteer and Darius leans outward, stretching out a hand having simply thrown a spear. His torso position contradicts the motion of his chariot, creating tension between himself and his flying.

Other details in the mosaic include the expressions of the soldiers and the horses, such every bit a collapsed horse and his rider in the eye of the battle, to a terrified fallen Persian, whose expression is reflected on his shield.

The shading and play of light in the mosaic, reflects the use of light and shadow in the original painting to create a realistic, 3-dimensional infinite . Horses and soldiers are shown in multiple perspectives from contour, to iii quarter, to frontal, and one equus caballus even faces the audience with his rump. The careful shading within the mosaic tesserae models the characters to requite the figures mass and book .

Sculpture in the Greek Loftier Classical Period

High Classical sculpture demonstrates the shifting way in Greek sculptural work as figures became more dynamic and less static.

Learning Objectives

Compare and contrast the styles of Polykleitos, Phidias, and Myron during the High Classical period

Key Takeaways

Cardinal Points

• After mastering the portrayal of naturalistic bodies from stone, Greek sculptors began to experiment with new poses that expanded the repertoire of Greek fine art. The sculptures of this later on period are moving abroad from the Classical characteristics they all the same maintain: idealism and the Severe fashion .
• Polykleitos is most well known for his Canon, depicted in the Doryphoros, only is also known for his Diadumenos and Discophoros. These ii, sculpted athletes are also done in accord to his catechism and are depicted in contrapposto with chiastic poses.
• Phidias was one of the most renowned sculptors his time. He oversaw the sculptural programme for the Athenian Acropolis and is also known for his behemothic chryselephantine cult statues of Zeus and Athena Parthenos.
• Myron is a statuary sculptor of the High Classical period. His statues are known for being imbued with potential energy. His Discobolos is poised to spring, preparing to throw a discus. While all the same idealized, the figure appears to be frozen in an activeness of intense movement.

Key Terms

• chryselephantine: Made of gold and ivory.
• aegis: An attribute of Zeus or Athena, commonly represented as a goatskin shield.

Polykleitos

Polykleitos was a famous Greek sculptor who worked in bronze. He was also an art theorist who adult a canon of proportion (called the Canon) that is demonstrated in his statue of Doryphoros (Spear Bearer) Many of Polykleitos's bronze statues from the Classical period, including the Doryphoros, survive merely every bit Roman copies executed in marble. Polykleitos, forth with Phidias, is thought to have created the style recognized equally Classical Greek sculpture.

Another example of the Canon at work is seen in Polykleitos'due south statue of Diadumenos, a youth trying on a headband,  and his statue Discophoros, a discus bearer. Both Roman marble copies depict athletic, nude, male figures.

The bodies of the ii figures are idealized. The nudity allows the harmony of parts, or symmetria, to easily exist seen and illustrates the principles discussed in the Canon. The Canon focused on the proportion of parts of the body in relationship to each other to create the ideal male course . Both statues demonstrate fine proportion, platonic balance, and the definable parts of the body.

Discophoros: This is a Roman marble copy of the Greek bronze original by Polykleitos,  c. 440 BCE.

Diadoumenos: This is a Roman marble copy of Greek bronze original by Polykleitos, circa 430 BCE.

The athletes are shown in contrapposto stances. The Discophoros shifts his weight to his left leg. His hips and the slightly forward lean toward his right leg exaggerate the weight shift. The figure is balanced on his left leg, which is drawn back, and the residuum of his body accordingly responds to this stance.

The Diadumenos besides stands in contrapposto, although his movement seems more forrad and stable than that of the Discophoros. He ties on a band that identifies him as a winner in an able-bodied contest. His raised arms add a new dynamic component to the composition .

The Discophoros and Diadumenos, along with the Doryphoros, demonstrate the flexibility of composition based on the Canon and the innate liveliness produced by contrapposto postures. Despite the lively aspects and unique poses of the figures, all three still retain the Astringent style and expressionless confront of early on Greek sculpture.

Polykleitos not only worked in bronze but is also known for his chryselephantine cult statue of Hera at Argos, which in aboriginal times was compared to Phidias' colossal chryselephantine cult statues.

Phidias

Phidias was the sculptor and creative managing director of the Athenian Acropolis and oversaw the sculptural program of all the Acropolis' buildings. He was considered ane of the greatest sculptors of his time and he created awe-inspiring cult statues of gold and ivory for city-states across Greece.

Phidias is well known for the Athena Parthenos, the jumbo cult statue in the naos of the Parthenon. While the statue has been lost, written accounts and reproductions (miniatures and representations on coins and gems) provide us with an idea of how the sculpture appeared.

It was made out of ivory, silver, and gilded and had a wooden core support. Athena stood crowned, wearing her helmet and aegis . Her shield stood upright at her left side and her left mitt rested on it while in her right hand she held a statue of Nike. An artist's reconstruction is housed in the Parthenon in Nashville.

Reconstruction of Phidias's Athena Parthenos: This is housed in the Parthenon in Centennial Park, Nashville, TN.

Before he created the statue of Athena Parthenos for Athens, Phidias was best known for his chryselephantine statue of Zeus at Olympia, which was considered one of the wonders of the world. The statue of Zeus at Olympia is said to have been 39 feet tall chryselephantine statue.

As with Athena Parthenos, not much is known for sure about how the statue looked, although written accounts and marble and coinage copies provide possible ideas. Besides being congenital on a colossal scale, reports indicate that the figure of Zeus was seated and held a scepter and a statue of Nike. An eagle was perched either at his side or on his scepter.

Besides beingness busy with gold and ivory, the sculpture was further embellished with ebony and previous stones. An artist'south conception of the colossal sculpture resides in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Reconstruction of Phidias's Zeus at Olympia: An creative person's conception of the colossal sculpture resides in the Hermitage Museum in Saint petersburg, Russia.ia.

Myron

The Athenian creative person Myron also produced bronze sculptures during the mid-5th century BCE. His most famous work is of the Diskobolos, or discus thrower (not to exist confused with Polykletios' discus bearer, Discophoros). The Diskobolos shows a immature, athletic male person nude with a Severe-style confront. His body holds a contrapposto pose; one leg bears his weight, while the other is relaxed. A relaxed arm balances his body and the other arm tenses, preparing to let become of the disc. The Diskobols demonstrates a dynamic, chiastic composition that relies on diagonal lines to move the eye nearly the sculpture.

Diskobols: This is a Roman marble copy of a Greek statuary original by Myron, c. 450 BCE.

This figure represents another new element in Classical sculpture—the illustration of the potential for energy. His energy appears wound up, waiting for the figure to release information technology. The statue depicts a swift and transitory moment and that is frozen at a precise moment to exhibit the harmony, balance, and rhythm perfected by both the athlete and the creative person.

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Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/the-high-classical-period/

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