The Age of Beauty: Greek Art

The Age of Beauty: Greek Art

Myron (my-run)

Phidias (fid-ee-us)

Polyclitus (pol-ee-kly-tus)

Exekias (ex-ee-kee-us)

The Birthplace of Western Civilization

Beginning around 2000 BC

Earliest Greek tribes entered the land

In 500 years, formation of a strong culture known as the Mycenaean formed

Series of invasions; invasion of warlike Dorians in 1100 BC; towns grew into independent city-states

500 BC; fear of Persian invasion united the city-states; Delian League; treasury kept at Delos

Athens-made permanent head of the DL; put in charge of the fleet and authorized to collect money for the treasury

Pericles moved treasury from Delos to Athens

Used the money to build and beautify Athens

Resentment from other members of DL especially Sparta and Corinth

431 BC: Peloponnesian War

withstood by Pericles until a plague struck and killed a third of the Athenian population

Different city-states gaining the upper hand

338 BC: Greece conquered by Macedonia

The gods of Greece

Temples: dwelling places for their gods

gods looked and often acted like humans

gods controlled destiny of every person on earth

Importance of fortune tellers and omens in Greek religion

The Greek contribution to architecture

Earliest Greek temples were made of wood and brick

As economy prospered and with the growth of trade, stone was used

Basic design of the Greek temples did not change over the centuries

Small improvements were made on the basic design in order to achieve perfection

The Parthenon

Temple for Athena, goddess of wisdom and guardian of the city of Athens

Pericles ordered work to begin in 447 BC; 10 years in to finish, but work on carvings continued until 432 BC.

Like most temples, Parthenon is placed on a three-step platform

•The top of this platform is