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Ancient Greece Free Lesson Plans for Ancient Greek Art and Architecture

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Lesson Idea: The year is 432 BCE. As dawn breaks over Athens, Pheidias is late for work. He is the chief builder for the Parthenon, Athens’ newest and largest temple. When he arrives onsite, city officials accuse him of embezzling gold from the temple’s sacred central statue. He has until sundown to prove his innocence or face the courts. A Day in the Life of an Ancient Greek Architect (Ted-Ed, lesson plan, video)

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Ancient Greek Art

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 23, 2023 | Original: May 17, 2010

In around 450 B.C., the Athenian general Pericles tried to consolidate his power by using public money, the dues paid to Athens by its allies in the Delian League coalition, to support the city-state’s artists and thinkers. Most of all, Pericles paid artisans to build temples and other public buildings in the city of Athens. He reasoned that this way he could win the support of the Athenian people by doling out plenty of construction jobs while building public monuments so grand that people would come from far and wide to see them, increasing Athens’ prestige as well as his own.

The Architecture of Classical Greece

The most noteworthy result of Pericles’ public-works campaign was the magnificent Parthenon , a temple in honor of the city’s patron goddess Athena. The architects Iktinos and Kallikrates and the sculptor Phidias began work on the temple in the middle of the 5th century B.C. The Parthenon was built atop the Acropolis , a natural pedestal made of rock that was the site of the earliest settlements in Athens, and Pericles invited other people to build there as well: In 437 B.C., for example, the architect Mnesikles started to build a grand gateway known as the Propylaia at its western end, and at the end of the century, artisans added a smaller temple for the Greek goddess Athena—this one in honor of her role as the goddess of victory, Athena Nike—along with one for Athena and Erechtheus, an Athenian king. Still, the Parthenon remained the site’s main attraction.

Did you know? Many of the sculptures from the Parthenon are on display at the British Museum in London. They are known as the Elgin Marbles.

Greek Temple Architecture

With its rectangular stone platform, front and back porches (the pronaos and the opisthodomos) and rows of columns, the Parthenon was a commanding example of Greek temple architecture. Typically, the people of ancient Greece did not worship inside their temples as we do today. Instead, the interior room (the naos or the cella) was relatively small, housing just a statue of the deity the temple was built to honor. Worshippers gathered outside, entering only to bring offerings to the statue.

The temples of classical Greece all shared the same general form: Rows of columns supporting a horizontal entablature (a kind of decorative molding) and a triangular roof. At each end of the roof, above the entablature, was a triangular space known as the pediment, into which sculptors squeezed elaborate scenes. On the Parthenon, for example, the pediment sculptures show the birth of Athena on one end and a battle between Athena and Poseidon on the other.

So that people standing on the ground could see them, these pediment sculptures were usually painted bright colors and were arrayed on a solid blue or red background. This paint has faded with age; as a result, the pieces of classical temples that survive today appear to be made of white marble alone.

How the Ancient Greeks Designed the Parthenon to Impress—And Last

This icon of classical architecture perched atop the Acropolis has dominated the Athens skyline for 2,500 years.

Striking Photos of Classical Greek Architecture

Temples and monuments built in ancient Greece were so commanding, their ruins remain impressive thousands of years later.

Greek Mythology

Sources of Greek Mythology There is no single original text, like the Christian Bible or the Hindu Vedas, that introduces all Greek myths’ characters and stories. Instead, the earliest Greek myths were part of an oral tradition that began in the Bronze Age, and their plots and themes unfolded gradually in the written literature of […]

Proportion and Perspective

The architects of classical Greece came up with many sophisticated techniques to make their buildings look perfectly even. They crafted horizontal planes with a very slight upward U-shape and columns that were fatter in the middle than at the ends. Without these innovations, the buildings would appear to sag; with them, they looked flawless and majestic.

Ancient Greek Sculpture

Not many classical statues or sculptures survive today. Stone statues broke easily, and metal ones were often melted for re-use. However, we know that Greek sculptors such as Phidias and Polykleitos in the 5th century and Praxiteles, Skopas and Lysippos in the 4th century had figured out how to apply the rules of anatomy and perspective to the human form just as their counterparts applied them to buildings. Earlier statues of people had looked awkward and fake, but by the classical period they looked natural, almost at ease. They even had realistic-looking facial expressions.

One of the most celebrated Greek sculptures is the Venus de Milo , carved in 100 B.C. during the Hellenistic Age by the little-known Alexandros of Antioch. She was discovered in 1820 on the island of Melos.

Ancient Greek Pottery

Classical Greek pottery was perhaps the most utilitarian of the era’s art forms. People offered small terra cotta figurines as gifts to gods and goddesses, buried them with the dead and gave them to their children as toys. They also used clay pots, jars and vases for almost everything. These were painted with religious or mythological scenes that, like the era’s statues, grew more sophisticated and realistic over time.

Much of our knowledge of classical Greek art comes from objects made of stone and clay that have survived for thousands of years. However, we can infer that the themes we see in these works–an emphasis on pattern and order, perspective and proportion and man himself–appeared as well in less-durable creations such as ancient Greek paintings and drawings.

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Ancient Greek Art: All Forms and Styles of Art in Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek art refers to the art produced in ancient Greece between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD and is known for its unique styles and influence on later Western art.

From geometric, archaic, and classical styles, some of the most famous examples of ancient Greek art include the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena in Athens, the sculpture of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, Venus de Milo, and many others!

Given that the post-Mycenaean era of Ancient Greece covers a span of almost a thousand years and includes Greece’s greatest cultural and political ascendancy, it’s no surprise that even the surviving ancient Greek artifacts represent a staggering array of styles and techniques. And with the various mediums the ancient Greeks had at their disposal, from vase painting to bronze statues, the breadth of ancient Greek art in this period is even more daunting.

Table of Contents

Styles of Greek Art

Ancient Greek art was an evolution of Mycenaean art, which predominated from about 1550 BCE to about 1200 BCE when Troy fell. After this period, Mycenaean culture faded, and its signature art style stagnated and began to dwindle.

This set Greece into a languid period known as the Greek Dark Ages, which would last some three hundred years. There would be little to no innovation or genuine creativity during most of this period – just the dutiful imitation of preexisting styles, if that – but that would begin to change about 1000 BCE as Greek art arose, moving through four periods, each with trademark styles and techniques.

During what is now called the Proto-Geometric Period, pottery decoration would be refined, as would the art of pottery itself. Potters began using a fast wheel , which allowed for much more rapid production of larger and higher quality ceramics.

READ MORE: 15 Examples of Fascinating and Advanced Ancient Technology You Need To Check Out

New shapes began to emerge in pottery while existing forms like the amphora (a narrow-necked jar, with twin handles) evolved into a taller, slenderer version. The ceramic painting also began to take on a new life in this period with new elements – chiefly simple geometric elements like wavy lines and black bands – and by 900 BCE, this increasing refinement officially pulled the region out of the Dark Ages and into the first recognized era of ancient Greek art – the Geometric Period.

The art of this period, as the name implies, is predominated by geometric shapes – including in the depictions of humans and animals. Sculptures of this era tended to be small and highly stylized, with figures often presented as collections of shapes with little attempt at naturalism.

Decorations on pottery tended to be organized in bands, with the key elements in the widest area of the vessel. And unlike the Mycenaeans, who by the end had frequently left large blank spaces in their decorations, the Greeks adopted a style known as horror vacui , in which the entire surface of a ceramic piece was densely decorated.

Funerary Scenes

During this period, we see the rise of traditionally functional ceramics used as grave markers and votive offerings – amphorae for women and a krater (also a double-handed jar, but one with a wide mouth) for men. These memorial ceramics could be quite large – as much as six feet tall – and would be heavily decorated to commemorate the deceased (they would also commonly have a hole in the bottom for drainage, unlike a functional vessel, to distinguish them from the functional versions).

A surviving krater from the Dipylon Cemetery in Athens is a particularly good example of this. Called the Dipylon Krater or, alternately, the Hirschfeld Krater, it dates from approximately 740 BCE and seems to mark the grave of a prominent member of the military, perhaps a general or some other leader.

The krater has geometric bands at the lip and base, as well as thinner ones separating two horizontal scenes known as registers. Virtually every area of space between figures is filled with some sort of geometric pattern or shape.

The upper register depicts the prothesis , in which the body is cleaned and prepared for burial. The body is shown lying on the bier, surrounded by mourners – their heads simple circles, their torsos inverted triangles. Below them, a second level shows the ekphora, or funeral procession with shield-bearing soldiers and horse-drawn chariots marching around the circumference.

As Greece moved into the 7 th Century BCE, Near Eastern influences flowed in from Greek colonies and trading posts across the Mediterranean in what is known today as the “Orientalizing period” (roughly 735 – 650 BCE). Elements like sphinxes and griffins began to appear in Greek art, and artistic depictions began to move beyond the simplistic geometric forms of previous centuries – marking the beginning of the second era of Greek art, the Archaic Period.

READ MORE: Ancient Greece Timeline: Pre-Mycenaean to the Roman Conquest

The Phoenician alphabet had migrated to Greece in the previous century, allowing works like the Homeric epics to be distributed in written form. Both lyric poetry and historical records began to appear during this era.

And it was also a period of steep population growth during which small communities coalesced into the urban centers that would become the city-state or polis. All of this gave rise not only to a cultural boom but a new Greek mentality as well – to see themselves as part of a civic community.

Artists in this period became much more concerned with correct proportions and more realistic portrayals of human figures, and there is perhaps no better representation of this than the kouros – one of the predominant art forms of the period.

A kouros was a free-standing human figure, almost always a young man (the female version was called a kore ), generally nude and usually life-sized if not larger. The figure typically stood with the left leg forward as though walking (though the pose was in general too stiff to convey a sense of movement), and in many cases seem to bear a strong resemblance to Egyptian and Mesopotamian statuary which clearly provided inspiration for the kouros .

While some of the cataloged variations or “groups” of kouros still employed some amount of stylization, for the most part, they displayed substantially more anatomical accuracy, down to the definition of specific muscle groups. And statuary of all sorts in this era showed detailed and recognizable facial features – commonly wearing a happily content expression now referred to as an Archaic smile.

The Birth of Black-Figure Pottery

The distinctive black-figure technique in pottery decoration became prominent in the Archaic Era. First appearing in Corinth, it rapidly spread to other city-states, and while it was quite common in the Archaic Period, some examples of it can be found as late as the 2 nd Century BCE.

In this technique, figures and other details are painted onto the ceramic piece using a clay slurry which was similar to that of the pottery itself, but with formulaic changes that would cause it to turn black after firing. Additional details of red and white could be added with different pigmented slurries, after which the pottery would be subjected to a complex three-firing process to produce the image.

Another technique, red-figure pottery, would appear near the end of the Archaic Era. The Siren Vase, a red-figure stamnos (a wide-necked vessel for serving wine ), from about 480 BCE, is one of the better extant examples of this technique. The vase depicts the myth of Odysseus and crew’s encounter with the sirens , as related in Book 12 of Homer’s Odyssey , showing Odysseus lashed to the mast while sirens (depicted as woman-headed birds) fly overhead.

The Archaic Era continued into the Fifth Century BCE and is officially considered to have ended in 479 BCE with the conclusion of the Persian Wars. The Hellenic League, which had formed to unite the disparate city-states against Persian invasion, collapsed after the Persians’ defeat at Plataea.

READ MORE: The Battle of Marathon: The Greco-Persian Wars Advance on Athens

In its place, the Delian League – led by Athens – rose to unite much of Greece. And despite the strife of the Peloponnesian War against its Sparta-led rival, the Peloponnesian League, the Delian League would lead to the Classical and Hellenistic Periods which set off an artistic and cultural ascendancy that would impact the world ever after.

The famous Parthenon dates from this period, having been constructed in the latter half of the 5 th Century BCE to celebrate Greece’s victory over Persia. And during this golden age of Athenian culture, the third and most ornate of the Greek architectural orders, the Corinthian, was introduced, joining the Doric and Ionian orders that had originated in the Archaic Period.

The Definitive Period

Greek sculptors in the Classical Period began to value a more realistic – if still somewhat idealized – human form. The Archaic smile gave way to more serious expressions, as both improved sculptural technique and a more realistic head shape (as opposed to the more block-like Archaic form) allowed more variety.

The rigid pose of the kouros gave way to a range of more natural poses, with a contrapposto stance (in which the weight is mostly distributed on one leg) quickly gaining prominence. This is reflected in one of the most significant works of Greek art – the Kritios Boy, which dates from about 480 BCE and is the first known example of this pose.

And the Late Classical Period brought another innovation – female nudity. While Greek artists had commonly depicted male nudes, it wouldn’t be until the Fourth Century BCE that the first female nude – Praxiteles’ Aphrodite of Knidos – would appear.

The painting also made great strides in this period with the addition of linear perspective, shading, and other new techniques. While the best examples of Classical painting – the panel paintings noted by Pliny – are lost to history, many other samples of Classical painting survive in frescoes.

The black-figure technique in pottery had largely been supplanted by the red-figure technique by the Classical Period. An additional technique called the white-ground technique – in which pottery would be coated with a white clay called kaolinite – allowed painting with a greater range of colors. Unfortunately, this technique seemed to enjoy only limited popularity, and few good examples of it exist.

No other new techniques would be created in the Classical Period. Rather, the evolution of pottery was a stylistic one. Increasingly, the classic painted pottery gave way to pottery made in bas-relief or in figural shapes such as human or animal forms, such as the “Woman’s Head” vase made in Athens about 450 BCE.

This evolution in Greek art didn’t just shape the Classical Period. They echoed down through the centuries not just as the epitome of Greek artistic style but as the foundation of Western art as a whole.

Hellenistic

The Classical Period endured through the reign of Alexander the Great and officially ended with his death in 323 BCE. The following centuries marked Greece’s greatest ascent, with cultural and political expansion around the Mediterranean, into the Near East, and as far as modern-day India, and endured until about 31 BCE when Greece would be eclipsed by the ascension of the Roman Empire .

This was the Hellenistic Period, when new kingdoms heavily influenced by Greek culture sprung up across the breadth of Alexander’s conquests, and the Greek dialect spoken in Athens – Koine Greek – became the common language across the known world. And while the art of the period didn’t gain the same reverence as that of the Classical Era, there were still distinct and important advances in style and technique.

After the painted and figurine ceramics of the Classical Era, pottery veered toward simplicity. The red-figure pottery of earlier eras had died out, replaced by black pottery with a shiny, almost lacquered finish. A tan-colored slip, along with white paint, might be applied to such ceramics to create wreaths or other basic elements.

Decorations in relief were also common, and pottery was increasingly mold-made. And pottery in general tended to be more uniform and aligned with the shapes of metalware, which had become increasingly available.

And while little of Greek painting survived this era, the examples we do have give an idea of style and technique. Hellenistic painters increasingly included landscapes when environmental details had often been omitted or barely suggested previously.

Trompe-l’œil realism, in which the illusion of three-dimensional space is created, became a feature of Greek painting, as did the use of light and shadow. The Fayum Mummy portraits, the oldest of which date back to the First Century BCE, are some of the best-surviving examples of this refined realism that arose in Hellenistic painting.

And these same techniques were applied extensively to mosaics as well. Artists like Sosos of Pergamon, whose mosaic of doves drinking from a bowl was said to be so convincing that real doves would fly into it attempting to join the ones depicted, were able to reach amazing levels of detail and realism in what had in prior eras been a much clumsier medium.

The Great Age of Statuary

But it was in sculpture that the Hellenistic Period shined. The contrapposto stance endured, but a much greater variety of more natural poses appeared. Musculature, which had still felt stagnant in the Classical Era, now successfully conveyed movement and tension. And facial details and expressions became much more detailed and varied as well.

The idealization of the Classical Era gave way to more realistic depictions of people of all ages – and, in a more cosmopolitan society created by Alexander’s conquests – ethnicities. The body was now being displayed as it was, not as the artist thought it should be – and it was shown in rich detail as statuary became increasingly, painstakingly detailed and ornate.

This is exemplified in one of the most celebrated statues of the period, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, as well as the Barberini Faun – both of which date from sometime in the 2 nd Century BCE. And perhaps the most famous of all Greek statues dates from this period – the Venus de Milo (though it uses the Roman name, it depicts her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite), created sometime between 150 and 125 BCE.

Where previous works had generally involved a single subject, artists now created complex compositions involving multiple subjects, such as Apollonius of Tralles’ Farnese Bull (sadly, surviving today only in the form of a Roman copy), or Laocoön and His Sons (usually attributed to Agesander of Rhodes), and – in contrast to the earlier eras’ focus on harmony – Hellenistic sculpture freely emphasized one subject or focal point in preference to others.

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War, democracy, and art in ancient Greece, c. 490–350 B.C.E.

Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, Athens, 447 – 432 B.C.E. (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The art and architecture of Classical Greece (c. 490–323 B.C.E.) has had an outsized impact in the history of art. It was revered and emulated in later periods and places such as Hellenistic Pergamon , Augustan Rome, and renaissance Italy . Writing in the eighteenth century, Johann Joachim Winckelmann deemed classical Greek art the pinnacle of all artistic achievement, a reputation that heavily influenced the development of the field of art history and has lingered into the twenty-first century. Classical art has been regularly praised for its stylistic elements, including notably its idealized depictions of the human form. These sculptures’ depictions of the human body appear naturalistic, depicting what humans actually look like, but it is a constructed naturalism without flaws or acknowledgment of reality. The artworks promote the idea that that which is most perfect is the most beautiful, and have been admired by generations of art historians and the general public alike.

Phidias (?), Sculpture from the east pediment of the Parthenon, marble, c. 448–432 B.C.E. (British Museum, London)

The term “classical” has become a synonym for an artistic form, visual, musical, or textual, that is both traditional and exemplary, such as classical ballet or classical music. The academic field that studies ancient Greek and Roman antiquity, primarily its texts, has long been known as the field of Classics. This chapter aims to go beyond the established stylistic reputation of classical art and examine it within its original historical context, providing a deeper understanding of the goals and meanings of the idealized art of the classical period. 

Ancient Greek world map (underlying map © Google)

This chapter examines classical art and architecture, incorporating the periods and styles now known as Early Classical/ Severe (c. 490–450 B.C.E.), High Classical (c. 450–400 B.C.E.), and Late Classical (c. 400–323 B.C.E.). To highlight how the historical events of the era affected the development of artistic style and subject, the chapter is organized primarily chronologically, and examines art within its original context as a lens through which to examine the time period and culture in which it was produced. 

Watch a video that introduces the classical

Classic, classical, and classicism explained: What do we mean when we use these terms?

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Greco-Persian Wars

Growth of the Achaemenid Empire under different kings (underlying map © Google)

In 490 B.C.E., the Achaemenid Persian Empire , under the leadership of king Darius, invaded mainland Greece. The Persian Empire, stretching from the Mediterranean to central Asia, was the dominant political and military force in the region. Greece, by comparison, consisted primarily of independent city-states ( poleis) and had little political or military power. Many Greeks, in the face of this unprecedented threat, temporarily put aside their own differences to form a unified military force. Against the odds, the Greeks won, with a decisive victory at the Battle of Marathon. Under a new king, Xerxes, the Persians invaded again in 480, and the Greeks, who had spent ten years building up their military forces and defenses, joined together and again won a series of battles. While for the Persians these were simply setbacks in their quest for territorial expansion and received little attention in their histories or art, for the Greeks, the Greco-Persian Wars were defining events, causing changes in Greek art, culture, and society. The Greeks now saw themselves as powerful players on the international stage, and this affected both their internal perceptions and their interactions with other societies. Their victories over the Persians were commemorated in various forms for the rest of the century, and especially in Athens, were regularly cast as triumphs of Greek civilization over the non-Greek barbarian other. 

Read an essay about the Achaemenid Persian Empire

Ancient Persia: an introduction

The Severe Style: a period of change

The Greco-Persian Wars led to changes in art that ushered in the classical style. Following the first Persian invasion in 490, the severe (or early classical) style emerged, which departed from the earlier archaic style . 

Striding God (Artemision Zeus) (detail), c. 460 B.C.E., bronze, 2.09 m high, Early Classical (Severe Style), recovered from a shipwreck off Cape Artemision, Greece in 1928 (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

The Severe period derives its name from the so-called severe facial expressions on sculptures like the Striding God (Artemision Zeus) that contrast with earlier statues like the Anavysos Kouros and Peplos Kore with their archaic smiles. 

Kritios Boy , after 480, marble, 86 cm high (Acropolis Museum)

On statues like the Kritios Boy and the Riace Warriors we notice a new pose, frequently referred to by the Italian term, contrapposto , which depicts the body in an S-curve position. Contrasting to standing kouroi of the sixth century, the new pose is seen by art historians to be more naturalistic as it mimics how people commonly stand with their weight resting on one leg.

Paris (?), from the west pediment from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Archaic/Early Classical Periods, c. 490–480 B.C.E. (Glyptothek, Munich; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The emergence of the Severe style, while it seems to be linked with changes in Greek perceptions that followed the Greco-Persian Wars, was not an immediate revolution. This can be seen at the Temple of Aphaia on the island of Aegina. Like many Greek temples, it featured sculpture in its pediments that was mythological in subject. The pediments at Aegina are unusual, however, because they display multiple artistic styles: the sixth-century archaic style in the west pediment and the fifth-century severe style in the east. The date of the temple has been frequently debated due to these differences in style. 

Trojan and Greek, from the east pediment from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Archaic/Early Classical Periods, c. 490–480 B.C.E. (Glyptothek, Munich; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Some scholars have argued that the temple was begun before the Persian Wars when the archaic style was dominant and finished later once the Severe style came into vogue. More recently, other writers have posited that both pediments were done after 490 B.C.E., and that they are evidence that the archaic style continued to co-exist with the severe style for some time, with different artists employing different styles. This argument that the two styles co-existed pushes back against the theory that the Greco-Persian Wars and the associated changes in Greek self-perception led to immediate and comprehensive changes in artistic style. If this is correct, the classical style is less a revolution, as it is sometimes been called in art historical scholarship, and more an evolution. The Aegina pediments speak to how the development of style in the Greek world is still a debated topic, and that it was both gradual and messy.

Watch videos and read essays about the Severe Style

Contrapposto explained: A pose that depicts the body in an S-curve position.

Kritios Boy: Following war with the Persians, this highly naturalistic sculpture was buried out of respect.

Striding God (Artemision Zeus): This bronze god sank to the bottom of the sea where he sat for millennia, but who is he and what can he tell us?

Riace Warriors: Archaeologists pulled these bronze warriors from the sea in 1972, but their origin and date remain a mystery.

East and West Pediments from the Temple of Aphaia, Aegina: Two different styles in two groups from the same temple—what does it mean?

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Athens and the Athenian Democracy

The Acropolis of Athens viewed from the Hill of the Muses (photo: Carole Raddato, CC BY-SA 2.0)

The city of Athens saw dramatic political as well as artistic changes following the Greco-Persian Wars and played an important role in the development of the High Classical style that emerged in the mid-fifth century. Many art historical surveys of classical Greek art focus on Athens almost exclusively. Yet, Athens was only one among a number of Greek cities creating art and architecture in the period. This narrow focus in modern texts can be partly explained by Athens’ position as one of the wealthiest and most powerful cities in the Greek world in this period, and the comparatively large investments they made in the arts. To paraphrase the ancient historian Thucydides, Athens, through its investment in art and architecture, looked like a more powerful city than it actually was, while the modest appearance of its rival, Sparta, belied its own power (1.10).

Thucydides on Athens

For I suppose if Lacedaemon were to become desolate, and the temples and the foundations of the public buildings were left, that as time went on there would be a strong disposition with posterity to refuse to accept her fame as a true exponent of her power. And yet they occupy two-fifths of Peloponnese and lead the whole, not to speak of their numerous allies without. Still, as the city is neither built in a compact form nor adorned with magnificent temples and public edifices, but composed of villages after the old fashion of Hellas, there would be an impression of inadequacy. Whereas, if Athens were to suffer the same misfortune, I suppose that any inference from the appearance presented to the eye would make her power to have been twice as great as it is. We have therefore no right to be sceptical, nor to content ourselves with an inspection of a town to the exclusion of a consideration of its power.

Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War , 1.10, translated by Richard Crawley, written 431 B.C.E.

In addition, significantly more textual documentation has survived from Athens than other cities, allowing us to gain a better understanding of the artistic process and the creation of monuments such as the Acropolis.

Athens, beginning in the late sixth century B.C.E., was a democracy, in contrast to other Greek poleis which were primarily oligarchies or tyrannies . As with many democratic systems, Athens required the justification of expenditures to its citizens, meaning that the costs of its state-sponsored artistic projects, including notably the Acropolis building program, were recorded and displayed in public locations.

Soon after the defeat of the Persians in 490 B.C.E., Athenians began to practice ostracism as a way to prevent any one person from gaining too much power. Each year, people would meet in the Agora to vote as to whether any one person was too powerful or too close to becoming a tyrant. If the majority said yes, then another meeting was held during which citizens would write onto an ostrakon (piece of a potsherd used for a writing surface) the name of an individual they feared was too powerful; the individual who had the majority of votes was exiled for 10 years.

These ostraka from 482 B.C.E. were recovered from a well near the Acropolis and have the name of Themistocles written on them. He was a famous Athenian general, but would eventually be exiled (Ancient Agora Museum in Athens; photo: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Every male citizen was eligible (and obligated) to take part in Athens’ democratic system, serving in the assembly, juries, the army, and other governmental service. Yet, male citizens were only one part of a much larger population. In addition to citizens, metics (free non-citizens) and enslaved people lived in the city. Women, both citizens and non-citizens, were not eligible to take part in the government. Current scholarly estimates hypothesize a group of 30,000 to 60,000 male citizens ruling over a population of between 150,000 and 400,000 people.

A view of the Athenian Agora from the Acropolis

The Athenian Agora served as the physical center of Athens’ democracy, with many of its buildings hosting institutions central to the daily functioning of the government. Many cities had agoras, which were public open spaces used for gatherings or markets. In Athens, the Agora was in the center of the city, next to the Acropolis. It housed law courts, buildings where the boule (the city council) met, magistrates’ offices, mints, archives, temples, stores, and statues. It was the heart of public, civic life in Athens.

Watch a video about the agora

The Athenian Agora: The experiment in democracy in Athens

Delian League, Athenian Empire, and the Acropolis Building Program

The Acropolis of Athens (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Athens acted as one of the military leaders in the Greco-Persian Wars, and emerged from the conflict as one of the most powerful poleis (city-states) in Greece. After the wars, they formed the Delian League, a federation of Greek cities located primarily on the coasts of the Aegean Sea in both mainland Greece and Asia Minor as well as on the Aegean islands, many of which had been under the control of Persia before the wars, and acted as its leader. Ostensibly, the Delian League was a federation of equals who joined together for defense, to prepare for another possible Persian invasion. Each city contributed ships and/or money, and the treasury was housed on the island of Delos. In reality, the league became an Athenian empire, as demonstrated most clearly by the movement of the treasury from Delos to Athens, where the Athenian democracy decided to use the money not for defense, but for the construction of the Acropolis Building Program.

Aerial view of the Acropolis (© Google)

The Acropolis, a flat topped hill in the center of the city, served as the heart of Athens’ religious life. The highly decorated, marble buildings functioned not only as a place to worship Athens’ most important deity, Athena, in monumental and lavish form, but to glorify the city of Athens and its people. They also served as victory monuments, commemorating the defeat of the Persians.

Remains of materials from the temples destroyed during the Persian sack of the Acropolis, such as column-drums (here) and a triglyph-metope frieze, were incorporated into the Acropolis North Wall.

In 480 and again in 479, the Persians sacked the city of Athens. While the city was mostly evacuated before the Persians entered, large portions of the city were destroyed, including the sacred structures on the Acropolis. The buildings that were constructed as part of the Acropolis Building Program (including the Temple of Athena Nike, the Parthenon, and the Erechtheion) were their replacements, and there were references to the Persian destruction and subsequent defeat across the Acropolis.

Temple of Athena Nike, 421–405 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis, Athens

Remnants of an archaic temple were left visible as a monument to the destruction, while the Temple of Athena Nike was decorated with friezes that depicted battles of Greeks and Persians, and the metopes of the Parthenon showed mythological battles that served as an allegory of the Persian defeat, presented as the triumph of civilization over barbarism.  

Watch videos and read essays about the Acropolis building program

The Parthenon, Athens: an overview

The Erechtheion: This complex temple is very different from its neighbor, the Parthenon.

Temple of Athena Nike: It probably had a connection to the victory of the Greeks against the Persians around half a century earlier.

Destruction, Memory, and Monuments: The Parthenon has had many lives.

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Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer) or Canon , Roman marble copy of a Greek bronze, c. 450–440 BCE (Museo Archaeologico Nazionale, Naples; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Outside of Athens, numerous statues and buildings also embraced the idealizing forms seen on the Acropolis. One statue that became one of the best known in the ancient world and representative of fifth-century artistic style was the Doryphoros by Polykleitos. The original bronze statue has not survived, but it was copied frequently in marble by the Romans, and discussed by a number of ancient writers.

It was also known as the canon, as Polykleitos attempted, in the statue, to achieve the perfect set of proportions for the male, human form. This was, for the artist, the pursuit of the ultimate beauty, which could be mathematically determined through symmetry and ideal proportions.

The goal of much of fifth-century art, like the Doryphoros and the buildings and sculptures on the Athenian Acropolis, was to pursue idealism with a detached appreciation of beauty on a philosophical level.

While the location of the original Doryphoros is debated, it was likely erected in a public place, perhaps in Polykleitos’ hometown of Argos. Greek statues were commissioned for various purposes, including as votive dedications in sanctuaries, grave markers, or monuments commemorating military victories or other civic or religious accomplishments. They were commissioned by both governments and individuals and displayed in both private and public contexts. Statues were made of various media, including terracotta, marble, and bronze.

Antikythera Youth , 340–330 B.C.E., bronze, 1.96 m high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens, photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Many small-scale statues displayed in homes were made of terracotta, while metal or stone were used for more public dedications. Few bronze statues have survived, as the material could be melted down and used for other purposes in later periods, including notably for weapons or tools. Those bronze statues that have survived have done so primarily because they were lost in antiquity due to shipwreck, like the Antikythera Youth , or in other natural disasters, before their recovery in the modern period. Many of the bronze statues that were famous in the ancient period, like the Doryphoros , are known today only in marble Roman copies or through descriptions.

Painted mockup of Paris (?), west pediment sculptures, Temple of Aphaia, Island of Aegina, c. 490–480 B.C.E.

Most stone statues were made of white marble taken from quarries on the Greek islands, notably Paros, or the mainland at Mount Pentelikon near Athens. All of these statues, as well as marble architectural sculptures, were originally painted in bright colors, both their skin and clothing, and painted designs were frequently included on the sculpted fabric.

Antikythera Youth (detail), 340–330 B.C.E., bronze, 1.96 m high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens, photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Even the bronze statues were colorful, with different types of alloys or metal treatments used to distinguish between the color of hair, skin, eyes, and clothing. The plain white marble that is found in most museums today would have been viewed as half-finished by a Greek viewer.

Traces of paint are still visible on many sculptures, including these from the Parthenon. Phidias (?), Sculpture from the east pediment of the Parthenon, marble, c. 448–432 B.C.E. (British Museum, London)

Watch videos about two sculptures

Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer) : The original bronze statue has not survived, but it was copied frequently and discussed by a number of ancient writers.

The Antikythera Youth: A magnificent original 4th-century Greek bronze lost at sea.

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The Peloponnesian War, its aftermath and images of women

Athens continued work on the Acropolis buildings throughout the second half of the fifth century, even after they became embroiled in the Peloponnesian War (431 to 404 B.C.E.). The war, fought between Athens and its allies against Sparta and its allies, was long and brutal. Athens eventually lost the war, along with much of its economic and military power, but the costs were high on both sides. Construction on the Acropolis continued intermittently during the fighting. This served, in part, as a public works project, providing jobs for Athenians whose livelihoods had been disrupted by the war, but primarily as a statement of Athens’ self-perceived power and glory.

Grave stele of Hegeso , c. 410 B.C.E., marble and paint, from the Dipylon Cemetary, Athens, 5′ 2″ (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

Following the end of the Peloponnesian Wars, little art and architecture was commissioned at the state level in Athens, yet private commissions of artworks erected in public spaces, such as grave markers, were regularly made. These grave markers commemorate individuals and/or families, and depict idealized depictions of their honorees. They frequently highlight what were seen as the accomplishments of their honorees—service to the state and army for men, and families and oversight of the domestic sphere for women as seen in the Grave Stele of Hegeso . In classical Athens, women were not only disenfranchised from political life, but also limited in their own bodily and economic autonomy. Athenian women had a male guardian, usually a father or a husband, that made decisions for them regarding issues such as money, property, and divorce, their entire lives. Overseeing a prosperous household, bearing children, and taking part in religion were the expected accomplishments for women. Artworks like the Grave Stele of Hegeso therefore provide a valuable lens through which to examine gender roles in classical Greece.

Capitoline Venus , 2nd century C.E., marble, 193 cm (Capitoline Museums, Rome) (Roman copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos, a 4th century B.C.E. Greek original by Praxiteles)

While the male nude had long been a subject of Greek art, the first monumental statue of a female nude did not appear until the fourth century, when Praxiteles sculpted The Aphrodite of Knidos . Like the Doryphoros , the original artwork has not survived, but it is known through multiple copies and emulations, like the Capitoline Venus , as well as written descriptions.

Before this, partial and total female nudity was reserved for sex workers and victims of sexual assault in Greek art. Goddesses and heroines were not depicted nude, and female nudity did not have the same identifying characteristics of the heroic Greek as male nudity did. The Aphrodite of Knidos made the female nude an acceptable subject, and influenced generations of her descendants. Yet, female nudity was still limited, reserved only for certain figures. For instance, while Aphrodite, the goddess of erotic love, was regularly depicted nude, Athena, the goddess of strategic warfare, was not.

In addition, how Aphrodite was depicted differed from her male counterparts. Aphrodite of Knidos is shown bathing with a water jug and a large piece of drapery. She holds her hand across her body in front of her pubic triangle and turns her head to the side. This gesture has been interpreted by some scholars as drawing attention to her power as a goddess of sexuality, while others have viewed it as a gesture of vulnerability, as the goddess attempts to hide herself from unwanted male eyes. She is intended to be a portrait of female beauty, but whether that beauty is powerful or vulnerable still remains a question.   

Watch videos about images of women made after the Peloponnesian War

Grave stele of Hegeso: This stele helps to  examine gender roles in classical Greece.

Capitoline Venus (copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos): What did her nudity possibly mean to the Greeks?

In modern society, the term classical has become associated with a universally appealing artistic style of idealized depictions of perfect beauty, but the art of classical Greek art is better understood as a product of a specific period in Greek history. The fifth and fourth centuries saw multiple wars, as well as social and cultural upheaval. The Greeks were part of a larger Mediterranean and West Asian world that was connected by trade, diplomatic, and military ties, and these connections influenced their art. In the Classical period, this is seen most notably in their interactions with the Persians and the subsequent affect on their art and architecture. All this is reflected in classical idealism.

Key questions to guide your reading

What were the greco-persian wars who fought in these wars and why what was the impact of these wars on greek art, politics, and society, what buildings were constructed on the athenian acropolis in the fifth century b.c.e. how do these buildings reflect the concerns of the athenian democracy and its people, how can greek ideas of gender be seen in art produced in the fifth and fourth centuries b.c.e. was male and female nudity treated differently in greek art, terms to know and use.

Contrapposto

Pelopponnesian War

Poleis (singular polis)

Severe Style

Read “Empire and Art in the Hellenistic world (c. 350–31 B.C.E.).”

Collaborators

Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker

Dr. Senta German

Dr. Beth Harris

Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

Dr. Rachel Kousser

Katarzyna Minollari

Dr. Steven Zucker

The British Museum

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Chapter 5: Ancient Greece

Introduction to ancient greek art, a shared language, religion, and culture.

Ancient Greece can feel strangely familiar. From the exploits of Achilles and Odysseus to the treatises of Aristotle, from the exacting measurements of the Parthenon to the rhythmic chaos of the Laocoön, ancient Greek culture has shaped our world. Thanks largely to notable archaeological sites, well-known literary sources, and the impact of Hollywood ( Clash of the Titans , for example), this civilization is embedded in our collective consciousness—prompting visions of epic battles, erudite philosophers, gleaming white temples, and limbless nudes (we now know the sculptures—even the ones that decorated temples like the Parthenon—were brightly painted, and, of course, the fact that the figures are often missing limbs is the result of the ravages of time).

Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes, Laocoön and his Sons, early first century C.E., marble, 7’10 1/2″ high (Vatican Museums; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Dispersed around the Mediterranean and divided into self-governing units called  poleis  or  city-states , the ancient Greeks were united by a shared language, religion, and culture. Strengthening these bonds further were the so-called  “Panhellenic” sanctuaries  and festivals that embraced “all Greeks” and encouraged interaction, competition, and exchange (for example the Olympics, which were held at the Panhellenic sanctuary at Olympia). Although popular modern understanding of the ancient Greek world is based on the classical art of fifth century B.C.E. Athens, it is important to recognize that Greek civilization was vast and did not develop overnight.

The Dark Ages (c. 1100–c. 800 B.C.E.)  to the Orientalizing Period (c. 700–600 B.C.E.)

Following the collapse of the  Mycenaean citadels  of the late Bronze Age, the Greek mainland was traditionally thought to enter a “Dark Age” that lasted from c. 1100 until c. 800 B.C.E. Not only did the complex socio-cultural system of the Mycenaeans disappear, but also its numerous achievements (i.e., metalworking, large-scale construction, writing). The discovery and continuous excavation of a site known as  Lefkandi , however, drastically alters this impression. Located just north of Athens, Lefkandi has yielded an immense  apsidal  structure (almost fifty meters long), a massive network of graves, and two heroic burials replete with gold objects and valuable horse sacrifices. One of the most interesting artifacts, ritually buried in two separate graves, is a centaur figurine (see photos below). At fourteen inches high, the terracotta creature is composed of a equine (horse) torso made on a potter’s wheel and hand-formed human limbs and features. Alluding to mythology and perhaps a particular story, this centaur embodies the cultural richness of this period.

Centaur, c. 900 B.C.E. (Proto-Geometric period), terracotta, 14 inches high, the head was found in tomb 1 and the body was found in tomb 3 in the cemetery of Toumba, Lefkandi, Greece (detail of head photo:  Dan Diffendale  CC BY-NC-SA 2)

Similar in its adoption of narrative elements is a vase-painting likely from Thebes dating to c. 730 B.C.E. (see image below). Fully ensconced in the Geometric Period (c. 800–700 B.C.E.), the imagery on the vase reflects other eighth-century artifacts, such as the  Dipylon Amphora ,  with its geometric patterning and silhouetted human forms. Though simplistic, the overall scene on this vase seems to record a story. A man and woman stand beside a ship outfitted with tiers of rowers. Grasping at the stern and lifting one leg into the hull, the man turns back towards the female and takes her by the wrist. Is the couple  Theseus and Ariadne ? Is this an abduction? Perhaps   Paris and Helen ? Or, is the man bidding farewell to the woman and embarking on a journey as had  Odysseus and Penelope ? The answer is unattainable.

Late Geometric Attic spouted krater (vessel for mixing water and wine), possibly from Thebes, c. 730 B.C.E., 30.5 cm high (The British Museum, London), photo:  Egisto Sani  CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

In the Orientalizing Period (700–600 B.C.E.), alongside  Near Eastern motifs and animal processions , craftsmen produced more nuanced figural forms and intelligible illustrations. For example, terracotta painted plaques from the Temple of Apollo at Thermon (c. 625 B.C.E.) are some of the earliest evidence for architectural decoration in Iron Age Greece. Once ornamenting the surface of this Doric temple (most likely as metopes), the extant panels have preserved various imagery (watch  this video  to learn about the Doric order). On one plaque (see image below), a male youth strides towards the right and carries a significant attribute under his right arm—the severed head of the  Gorgon  Medusa (her face is visible between the right hand and right hip of the striding figure). Not only is the painter successful here in relaying a particular story, but also the figure of Perseus shows great advancement from the previous century. The limbs are fleshy, the facial features are recognizable, and the hat and winged boots appropriately equip the hero for fast travel.

Fragment showing Perseus with the head of Medusa likely from a metope from the Temple of Apollo at Thermon, c. 630 B.C.E., painted terracotta, 87.8 cm high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  ArchaiOptix , CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Archaic Period (c. 600–480/479 B.C.E.)

While Greek artisans continued to develop their individual crafts, storytelling ability, and more realistic portrayals of human figures throughout the Archaic Period, the city of Athens witnessed the rise and fall of tyrants and the introduction of democracy by the statesman Kleisthenes in the years 508 and 507 B.C.E.

Visually, the period is known for large-scale marble kouros (male youth) and kore (female youth) sculptures (see below). Showing the influence of ancient Egyptian sculpture (like  this example  of the Pharaoh Menkaure and his wife in the MFA, Boston), the kouros stands rigidly with both arms extended at the side and one leg advanced. Frequently employed as grave markers, these sculptural types displayed unabashed nudity, highlighting their complicated hairstyles and abstracted musculature (below left). The kore, on the other hand, was never nude. Not only was her form draped in layers of fabric, but she was also ornamented with jewelry and adorned with a crown. Though some have been discovered in funerary contexts, like  Phrasiklea  (below right), a vast majority were found on the Acropolis in Athens (for the Acropolis korai, click  here ). Ritualistically buried following desecration of this sanctuary by the Persians in 480 and 479 B.C.E., dozens of korai were unearthed alongside other dedicatory artifacts. While the identities of these figures have been hotly debated in recent times, most agree that they were originally intended as votive offerings to the goddess Athena.

Left:  Anavysos (Kroisos) Kouros , c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6′ 4″ (National Archaeological Museum, Athens), photo:  Steven Zucker  Right: Aristion of Paros,  Phrasikleia Kore , c. 550–540 B.C.E. Parian marble with traces of pigment, 211 cm high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens), photo:  Asaf Braverman  CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The Classical Period (480/479–323 B.C.E.)

Though experimentation in realistic movement began before the end of the Archaic Period, it was not until the Classical Period that two- and three-dimensional forms achieved proportions and postures that were naturalistic. The “Early Classical Period” (480/479–450 B.C.E., also known as the “Severe Style”) was a period of transition when some sculptural work displayed archaizing holdovers. As can be seen in the  Kritios Boy , c. 480 B.C.E., the “Severe Style” features realistic anatomy, serious expressions, pouty lips, and thick eyelids. For painters, the development of perspective and multiple ground lines enriched compositions, as can be seen on the  Niobid Painter’s vase  in the Louvre (image below).

Niobid Painter, Niobid Krater, Attic red-figure calyx-krater, c. 460–50 B.C.E., 54 x 56 cm (Musée du Louvre, Paris; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

During the “High Classical Period” (450–400 B.C.E.), there was great artistic success: from the innovative structures on the  Acropolis  to Polykleitos’ visual and cerebral manifestation of idealization in his sculpture of a young man holding a spear, the  Doryphoros  or “Canon ” (image below). Concurrently, however, Athens, Sparta, and their mutual allies were embroiled in the Peloponnesian War, a bitter conflict that lasted for several decades and ended in 404 B.C.E. Despite continued military activity throughout the “Late Classical Period” (400–323 B.C.E.), artistic production and development continued apace. In addition to a new figural aesthetic in the fourth century known for its longer torsos and limbs, and smaller heads (for example, the  Apoxyomenos ), the first female nude was produced. Known as the  Aphrodite of Knidos,  c. 350 B.C.E., the sculpture pivots at the shoulders and hips into an S-Curve and stands with her right hand over her genitals in a  pudica  (or modest Venus) pose (see a Roman copy in the Capitoline Museum in Rome  here ). Exhibited in a circular temple and visible from all sides, the  Aphrodite of Knidos  became one of the most celebrated sculptures in all of antiquity.

Polykleitos,  Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)  or The Canon, c. 450–40 B.C.E., ancient Roman marble copy found in Pompeii of the lost bronze original, 211 cm (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Hellenistic Period and Beyond (323 B.C.E.–31 B.C.E.)

Following the death of  Alexander the Great  in 323 B.C.E., the Greeks and their influence stretched as far east as modern India. While some pieces intentionally mimicked the Classical style of the previous period such as Eutychides’  Tyche of Antioche (Louvre), other artists were more interested in capturing motion and emotion. For example, on the  Great Altar of Zeus from Pergamon  (below) expressions of agony and a confused mass of limbs convey a newfound interest in drama.

Athena defeats Alkyoneus (detail), The Pergamon Altar, c. 200–150 B.C.E. (Hellenistic Period), 35.64 x 33.4 meters, marble (Pergamon Museum, Berlin)

Architecturally, the scale of structures vastly increased, as can be seen with the  Temple of Apollo at Didyma , and some complexes even terraced their surrounding landscape in order to create spectacular vistas as can be seem at the  Sanctuary of Asklepios on Kos . Upon the defeat of Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 B.C.E., the Ptolemaic dynasty that ruled Egypt and, simultaneously, the Hellenistic Period came to a close. With the Roman admiration of and predilection for Greek art and culture, however, Classical aesthetics and teachings continued to endure from antiquity to the modern era.

Additional resources

Techniques – further reading.

• Getty Museum – Making Greek Vases – short technique video – https://youtu.be/WhPW50r07L8
• Victoria and Albert Museum – Lost Wax Bronze Casting – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfymA6HN5Y
• Smarthistory – Lost Wax Bronze Casting – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZHLmG8DRbY
• Getty Museum – Carving Marble with Traditional Tools – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWUuGDovHEI

Check out these chapters about ancient Greek art in Reframing Art History :

• Pottery, the body, and the gods in ancient Greece, c. 800–490 B.C.E.
• War, democracy, and art in ancient Greece, c. 490–350 B.C.E.

Empire and Art in the Hellenistic world (c. 350–31 B.C.E.)

The Art of classical Greece from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

Greek Art in the Archaic Period on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

Cite this page as: Dr. Renee M. Gondek, “Introduction to ancient Greek art,” in Smarthistory , August 14, 2016, accessed January 19, 2024,  https://smarthistory.org/greek_intro/ .

Chronology  

As you will see, scholars over the ages have used different names (and often slightly different dates) when creating a chronology of this region.

Geometric Period                 900-700 BCE

Orientalizing Period             700-600 BCE

Archaic Greece                    600-480 BCE

Early Classical Greece        480-450 BCE

High Classical Greece         450-400 BCE

Late Classical Greece          400-323 BCE

Hellenistic Greece                  323-31 BCE

Architecture

Introduction to ancient greek architecture.

The Erechtheion , 421–405 B.C.E. (Classical Greek), Acropolis, Athens (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

For most of us, architecture is easy to take for granted. It’s everywhere in our daily lives—sometimes elegant, other times shabby, but generally ubiquitous. How often do we stop to examine and contemplate its form and style? Stopping for that contemplation offers not only the opportunity to understand one’s daily surroundings but also to appreciate the connection that exists between architectural forms in our own time and those from the past. Architectural tradition and design have the ability to link disparate cultures together over time and space—and this is certainly true of the legacy of architectural forms created by the  ancient Greeks .

Ancient Greek world map (underlying map © Google)

Where and when

Greek architecture refers to the architecture of the Greek-speaking peoples who inhabited the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese, the islands of the Aegean Sea, the Greek colonies in Ionia (coastal Asia Minor), and Magna Graecia (Greek colonies in Italy and Sicily).

Greek architecture stretches from c. 900 B.C.E. to the first century C.E., with the earliest extant stone architecture dating to the seventh century B.C.E.

Greek architecture influenced  Roman architecture  and architects in profound ways, such that Roman Imperial architecture adopts and incorporates many Greek elements into its own practice. An overview of basic building typologies demonstrates the range and diversity of Greek architecture.

“Hera II,” c. 460 B.C.E., 24.26 x 59.98 m, Greek, Doric temple from the classical period likely dedicated to Hera, Paestum (Latin) previously Poseidonia (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The most recognizably “Greek” structure is the temple (even though the architecture of Greek temples is actually quite diverse). The Greeks referred to temples with the term ὁ ναός ( ho naós ), meaning “dwelling,” temple derives from the Latin term,  templum . The earliest shrines were built to honor divinities and were made from materials such as wood and mud brick—materials that typically don’t survive very long. The basic form of the  naos  (the interior room that held the cult statue of the God or Gods) emerges as early as the tenth century B.C.E. as a simple, rectangular room with projecting walls ( antae ) that created a shallow porch. This basic form remained unchanged in its concept for centuries. In the eighth century B.C.E., Greek architecture begins to make the move from ephemeral materials (wood, mud brick, thatch) to permanent materials (namely, stone).

The Greek Architectural Orders

During  the Archaic period , the tenets of the Doric order of architecture in the Greek mainland became firmly established, leading to a wave of monumental temple building during the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E. Greek city-states invested substantial resources in temple building—as they competed with each other not just in strategic and economic terms, but also in their architecture. For example, Athens devoted enormous resources to the construction of the  Acropolis  in the 5th century B.C.E.—in part so that Athenians could be confident that the temples built to honor their gods surpassed anything that their rival states could offer.

Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, Athens, 447–432 B.C.E. (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The multi-phase architectural development of  sanctuaries  such as that of Hera on the island of Samos demonstrates not only the change that occurred in construction techniques over time but also how the Greeks re-used sacred spaces—with the later phases built directly atop the preceding ones. Perhaps the fullest, and most famous, expression of Classical Greek temple architecture is  the Periclean Parthenon of Athens —a Doric order structure, the Parthenon represents the maturity of the Greek classical form.

Left: Tholos temple, sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, 4th century B.C.E., Delphi, Greece (photo:  kufoleto , CC BY 3.0); right: Greek temple plans (diagram:  B. Jankuloski ,  CC BY-SA 4.0 )

Greek temples are often categorized in terms of their ground plan and the way in which the columns are arranged. A prostyle temple is a temple that has columns only at the front, while an amphiprostyle temple has columns at the front and the rear. Temples with a peripteral arrangement (from the Greek  πτερον  ( pteron ), meaning “wing”) have a single line of columns arranged all around the exterior of the temple building. Dipteral temples simply have a double row of columns surrounding the building. One of the more unusual plans is the tholos, a temple with a circular ground plan; famous examples are attested at the  sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi  and the sanctuary of  Asclepius  at Epidaurus.

Stoa (στοά) is a Greek architectural term that describes a covered walkway or colonnade that was usually designed for public use. Early examples, often employing the Doric order, were usually composed of a single level, although later examples (Hellenistic and Roman) came to be two-story freestanding structures. These later examples allowed interior space for shops or other rooms and often incorporated the Ionic order for interior colonnades.

P. De Jong, Restored Perspective of the South Stoa, Corinth (image:  American School of Classical Studies, Digital Collections )

20th-century reconstruction of the Stoa of Attalos in the Athenian Agora (original c. 159–138 B.C.E.) (photo:  DerHexer , CC BY-SA 3.0)

Greek city planners came to prefer the stoa as a device for framing the  agora  (public marketplace) of a city or town. The South Stoa (c. 700–550 B.C.E.), constructed as part of the sanctuary of Hera on the island of Samos, numbers among the earliest examples of the stoa in Greek architecture. Many cities, particularly Athens and Corinth, came to have elaborate and famous stoas. In Athens, the famous Stoa Poikile (“Painted Stoa”), c. fifth century B.C.E., housed paintings of famous Greek military exploits, including the battle of Marathon, while the Stoa Basileios (“Royal Stoa”), c. fifth century B.C.E., was the seat of a chief civic official ( archon basileios ).

Later, through the patronage of the kings of Pergamon, the Athenian agora was augmented by the famed Stoa of Attalos (c. 159–138 B.C.E.), which was recently rebuilt according to the ancient specifications and now houses the archaeological museum for the Athenian Agora itself. At Corinth, the stoa persisted as an architectural type well into the Roman period; the South Stoa there, c. 150 C.E., shows the continued utility of this building design for framing civic space. From the  Hellenistic period  onwards, the stoa also lent its name to a philosophical school, as  Zeno of Citium  originally taught his Stoic philosophy in the Stoa Poikile of Athens.

Theater at the Sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus, c. 350–300 B.C.E. (photo:  Andreas Trepte ,  CC BY-SA 2.5)

The Greek theater was a large, open-air structure used for dramatic performance. Theaters often took advantage of hillsides and naturally sloping terrain and, in general, utilized the panoramic landscape as the backdrop to the stage itself. The Greek theater is composed of the seating area (theatron), a circular space for the chorus to perform (orchestra), and the stage ( skene ). Tiered seats in the theatron provided space for spectators. Two side aisles ( parados , pl.  paradoi ) provided access to the orchestra. The Greek theater inspired the Roman version of the theater directly, although the Romans introduced some modifications to the concept of theater architecture. In many cases, the Romans converted pre-existing Greek theaters to conform to their own architectural ideals, as is evident in the  Theater of Dionysos  on the slopes of the Athenian Acropolis. Since theatrical performances were often linked to sacred festivals, it is not uncommon to find theaters associated directly with sanctuaries.

Bouleuterion, Priène (Turkey), c. 200 B.C.E. (photo:  QuartierLatin1968 ,  CC BY-SA 2.0)

• Bouleuterion

The Bouleuterion (βουλευτήριον) was an important civic building in a Greek city, as it was the meeting place of the boule (citizen council) of the city. These select representatives assembled to handle public affairs and represent the citizenry of the polis (in ancient Athens, the boule was comprised of 500 members). The Bouleuterion generally was a covered, rectilinear building with stepped seating surrounding a central speaker’s well in which an altar was placed. The city of Priène has a particularly well-preserved example of this civic structure, as does the city of Miletus.

House of regular plan, Olynthus, Greece, House A vii 4, built after 432, before 348 B.C.E., from Olynthus, vol. 8 pl. 99, 100 and fig. 5, kitchen complex c, d, and e; andron (k) (photo:  Perseus Digital Library )

Greek houses of the Archaic and  Classical  periods were relatively simple in design. Houses usually were centered on a courtyard that would have been the scene for various ritual activities; the courtyard also provided natural light for the often small houses. The ground floor rooms would have included kitchen and storage rooms, perhaps an animal pen and a latrine; the chief room was the andron — site of the male-dominated drinking party ( symposion ). The quarters for women and children ( gynaikeion ) could be located on the second level (if present) and were, in any case, segregated from the men’s area. It was not uncommon for houses to be attached to workshops or shops. The houses excavated in the southwest part of the Athenian Agora had walls of mud brick that rested on stone socles and tiled roofs, with floors of beaten clay.

The city of Olynthus in Chalcidice, Greece, destroyed by military action in 348 B.C.E., preserves many well-appointed courtyard houses arranged within the Hippodamian grid-plan of the city. House A vii 4 had a large cobbled courtyard that was used for domestic industry. While some rooms were fairly plain, with earthen floors, the  andron  was the most well-appointed room of the house.

Fortifications and gate, Palairos, Greece (photo:  orientalizing ,  CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 )

Fortifications

The  Mycenaean  fortifications of Bronze Age Greece (c. 1300 B.C.E.) are particularly well known—the megalithic architecture (also referred to as Cyclopean because of the use of enormous stones) represents a trend in Bronze Age architecture. While these massive Bronze Age walls are difficult to best, first millennium B.C.E. Greece also shows evidence of stone-built fortification walls. In Attika (the territory of Athens), a series of Classical and Hellenistic walls built in ashlar masonry (squared masonry blocks) have been studied as a potential system of border defenses.  At Palairos in Epirus (Greece), the massive fortifications enclose a high citadel that occupies imposing terrain.

Stadium, gymnasium, and palaestra

The Greek stadium (derived from  stadion , a Greek measurement equivalent to c. 578 feet or 176 meters) was the location of foot races held as part of sacred games; these structures are often found in the context of sanctuaries, as in the case of the Panhellenic sanctuaries at Olympia and Epidauros. Long and narrow, with a horseshoe shape, the stadium occupied reasonably flat terrain.

The gymnasium (from the Greek term  gymnós  meaning “naked”) was a training center for athletes who participated in  public games . This facility tended to include areas for both training and storage. The palaestra (παλαίστρα) was an exercise facility originally connected with the training of wrestlers. These complexes were generally rectilinear in plan, with a colonnade framing a central, open space.

Altar of Hieron II, 3rd century B.C.E., Syracuse, Sicily, Italy (photo:  Urban~commonswiki ,  CC BY-SA 3.0 )

Front view, model, Pergamon Altar

Since blood sacrifice was a key component of Greek ritual practice, an altar was essential for these purposes. While altars did not necessarily need to be architecturalized, they could be, and, in some cases, they assumed a monumental scale. The third century B.C.E. Altar of Hieron II at Syracuse, Sicily, provides one such example. At c. 196 meters in length and c. 11 m in height, the massive altar was reported to be capable of hosting the simultaneous sacrifice of 450 bulls. [1]

Another spectacular altar is the Altar of Zeus from Pergamon, built during the first half of the second century B.C.E. The altar itself is screened by a monumental enclosure decorated with sculpture; the monument measures c. 35.64 by 33.4 meters. The altar is best known for its program of relief sculpture that depicts a gigantomachy (battle between the Olympian gods and the giants) that is presented as an allegory for the military conquests of the kings of Pergamon. Despite its monumental scale and lavish decoration, the Pergamon altar preserves the basic and necessary features of the Greek altar: it is frontal and approached by stairs and is open to the air—to allow not only for the blood sacrifice itself but also for the burning of the thigh bones and fat as an offering to the gods.

Fountain house

Black-figured water-jar (hydria ) with a scene at a fountain-house, Greek, about 520–500 B.C.E., 50.8 cm high, ©  The Trustees of the British Museum

The fountain house is a public building that provides access to clean drinking water and at which water jars and containers could be filled. The Southeast Fountain house in the Athenian Agora (c. 530 B.C.E.) provides an example of this tendency to position fountain houses and their dependable supply of clean drinking water close to civic spaces like the agora. Gathering water was seen as a woman’s task and, as such, it offered the often isolated women a chance to socialize with others while collecting water. Fountain house scenes are common on ceramic water jars ( hydriai ), as is the case for a Black-figured hydria found in an Etruscan tomb in Vulci that is now in the British Museum.

The architecture of ancient Greece influenced ancient Roman architecture and became the architectural vernacular employed in the expansive Hellenistic world created in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Greek architectural forms became implanted so deeply in the Roman architectural mindset that they endured throughout antiquity, only to be then re-discovered in the  Renaissance  and especially from the mid-eighteenth century onwards as a feature of the  Neoclassical movement . This durable legacy helps to explain why the ancient Greek architectural orders and the tenets of Greek design are still so prevalent—and visible—in our post-modern world.

[1] Diodorus Siculus  History 11.72.2

Greek architectural orders

Greek architectural orders. Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris  URL: https://youtu.be/nrRJkzXl4a4

An architectural order describes a style of building. In  classical  architecture, each order is readily identifiable by means of its proportions and profiles, as well as by various aesthetic details. The style of column employed serves as a useful index of the style itself, so identifying the order of the column will then, in turn, situate the order employed in the structure as a whole. The classical orders—described by the labels Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian—do not merely serve as descriptors for the remains of ancient buildings, but as an index to the architectural and aesthetic development of  Greek architecture  itself.

The Doric order

The Doric order is the earliest of the three Classical orders of architecture and represents an important moment in Mediterranean architecture when monumental construction made the transition from impermanent materials (i.e. wood) to permanent materials, namely stone. The Doric order is characterized by a plain, unadorned column capital and a column that rests directly on the stylobate of the temple without a base. The Doric entablature includes a frieze composed of  triglyphs  and  metopes . The columns are fluted and are of sturdy, if not stocky, proportions.

Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, 447–432 B.C.E., Athens (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Doric order emerged on the Greek mainland during the course of the late seventh century B.C.E. and remained the predominant order for Greek temple construction through the early fifth century B.C.E., although notable buildings of the Classical period—especially the canonical  Parthenon  in Athens—still employ it. By 575 B.C.E the order may be properly identified, with some of the earliest surviving elements being the metope plaques from the Temple of Apollo at Thermon. Other early, but fragmentary, examples include the sanctuary of Hera at Argos,  votive  capitals from the island of Aegina, as well as early Doric capitals that were a part of the Temple of Athena Pronaia at Delphi in central Greece. The Doric order finds perhaps its fullest expression in the Parthenon (c. 447–432 B.C.E.) at Athens designed by Iktinos and Kallikrates.

Ionic Capital, North Porch of the Erechtheion (Erechtheum), Acropolis, Athens, marble, 421–407 B.C.E. (British Museum; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Ionic order (photo:  Coyau , CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Ionic order

As its name suggests, the Ionic Order originated in Ionia, a coastal region of central Anatolia (today Turkey) where a number of ancient Greek settlements were located. Volutes (scroll-like ornaments) characterize the Ionic capital and a base supports the column, unlike the Doric order. The Ionic order developed in Ionia during the mid-sixth century B.C.E. and had been transmitted to mainland Greece by the fifth century B.C.E. Among the earliest examples of the Ionic capital is the inscribed votive column from Naxos, dating to the end of the seventh century B.C.E.

The monumental temple dedicated to Hera on the island of Samos, built by the architect Rhoikos c. 570–560 B.C.E., was the first of the great Ionic buildings, although it was destroyed by earthquake in short order. The sixth century B.C.E. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, a wonder of the ancient world, was also an Ionic design. In Athens, the Ionic order influences some elements of the Parthenon (447–432 B.C.E.), notably the Ionic frieze that encircles the  cella  of the temple. Ionic columns are also employed in the interior of the monumental gateway to the Acropolis known as the Propylaia (c. 437–432 B.C.E.). The Ionic was promoted to an exterior order in the construction of the  Erechtheion  (c. 421–405 B.C.E.) on the Athenian Acropolis.

East porch of the Erechtheion, 421–407 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis, Athens (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Ionic order is notable for its graceful proportions, giving a more slender and elegant profile than the Doric order. The ancient Roman architect  Vitruvius  compared the Doric module to a sturdy, male body, while the Ionic was possessed of more graceful, feminine proportions. The Ionic order incorporates a running frieze of continuous sculptural relief, as opposed to the Doric frieze composed of triglyphs and metopes.

The Greek Orders

The Corinthian order

The Corinthian order is both the latest and the most elaborate of the Classical orders of architecture. The order was employed in both Greek and Roman architecture, with minor variations, and gave rise, in turn, to the Composite order. As the name suggests, the origins of the order were connected in antiquity with the Greek city-state of Corinth where, according to the architectural writer Vitruvius, the sculptor Callimachus drew a set of acanthus leaves surrounding a votive basket (Vitr. 4.1.9–10). In archaeological terms, the earliest known Corinthian capital comes from the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae and dates to c. 427 B.C.E.

Corinthian column capital 4th–3rd century B.C.E. ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art )

The defining element of the Corinthian order is its elaborate, carved capital, which incorporates even more vegetal elements than the Ionic order does. The stylized, carved leaves of an acanthus plant grow around the capital, generally terminating just below the abacus. The Romans favored the Corinthian order, perhaps due to its slender properties. The order is employed in numerous notable Roman architectural monuments, including the Temple of Mars Ultor and the Pantheon in Rome, and the  Maison Carrée  in Nîmes.

Acanthus leaf (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Legacy of the Greek architectural canon

The canonical Greek architectural orders have exerted influence on architects and their imaginations for thousands of years. While Greek architecture played a key role in inspiring the  Romans , its legacy also stretches far beyond antiquity. When James “Athenian” Stuart and Nicholas Revett visited Greece during the period from 1748 to 1755 and subsequently published  The Antiquities of Athens and Other Monuments of Greece  (1762) in London, the  Neoclassical  revolution was underway. Captivated by Stuart and Revett’s measured drawings and engravings, Europe suddenly demanded Greek forms. Architects the likes of Robert Adam drove the Neoclassical movement, creating buildings like Kedleston Hall, an English country house in Kedleston, Derbyshire. Neoclassicism even jumped the Atlantic Ocean to  North America , spreading the rich heritage of Classical architecture even further—and making the Greek architectural orders not only extremely influential, but eternal.

Learn more about ancient Greek architecture in three chapters in  Reframing Art History : “ Pottery, the body, and the gods in ancient Greece, c. 800–490 B.C.E. , ” “ War, democracy, and art in ancient Greece, c. 490–350 B.C.E. ,” and “ Empire and Art in the Hellenistic world (c. 350–31 B.C.E.) .”

Cite this page as: Dr. Jeffrey A. Becker, “Greek architectural orders,” in Smarthistory , August 8, 2015, accessed February 11, 2024,  https://smarthistory.org/greek-architectural-orders/ .

Greek sanctuaries as artistic hubs

Temple of Apollo (with reconstructed columns), Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi, Greece (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

For the  ancient Greeks , religion was inextricably tied to everyday life. Gods and many other supernatural beings could manifest anywhere, at any time, and often in unexpected forms. Yet even within such a boundless concept of religion, there were locations deemed especially numinous (the sense of divine presence) and appealing to the gods. These were the places where sanctuaries would be established, such as the  sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi  on the slopes of Mount Parnassos, and where more structured communications with the divine would be sought through ritual. Technically, a boundary-wall delineating the sacred area and an altar on which blood sacrifices could be made were all that was necessary to establish a sanctuary. However, in line with the piously  agonistic  spirit of the Greeks, sanctuaries quickly became monumental, housing colossal cult images, temples, treasuries, and copious cult accoutrements.

The Erechtheion, 421–405 B.C.E., Acropolis, Athens (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Greek sanctuaries were perennially lively venues, each with their idiosyncratic myths and rites. The Athenian Akropolis (also spelled Acropolis), whose slope and plateau were home to many sanctuaries, was where Poseidon and Athena had competed for the patronship of Athens. The mark left by Poseidon’s trident and the olive tree that sprung from the ground on Athena’s command (at the site of the  Erechtheion ) were two of the most marvelous sights the city boasted.

Phidias(?), “Peplos Scene,” on the Parthenon Frieze, c. 438–32 B.C.E., pentelic marble, Classical Period (British Museum; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Every four years, during a festival called the  Greater  Panathenaia , Athenians dedicated to their city goddess a monumental garment ( peplos ) decorated with mythical images celebrating Athena’s glories. This is only one of the instances exemplifying the transactional framework of Greek religion, for it was through performing sacrifices and dedicating  votives  that the Greeks believed they could achieve an audience with their gods.

The Athenian Treasury (reconstruction) at the Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi, Greece house votive offerings offered by Athenian citizens to the sanctuary (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

While certain religious festivals like the Panathenaia occurred at specific intervals and on specific dates, votaries (be they individuals, tribes, or  city-states ) were free to dedicate gifts to the sanctuaries practically any time of the year to commemorate events, ask for favors, and thank the gods for favors fulfilled. This meant a consistent influx of artworks in various media and of varying qualities.

Map with the three Greek sanctuaries discussed in this essay (map Google)

Some of the more famous works recorded in inscriptions and other written sources have not reached our times not only due to weathering but also because sanctuaries were ripe for looting, as they often acted as treasuries for the city-states by which they were governed. Nevertheless, the remains which we can access still reveal interactions of various kinds. We find examples of different visual media in conversation, such a ceramics that depicted stone cult statues at sanctuaries. Some materials reveal interactions between specific city-states. Literary and visual evidence across generations also help us to understand the varied roles of Greek sanctuaries and the art that once filled them. Three sanctuaries, one Athenian and two  Panhellenic , illustrate these types of interactions and provide a glimpse into life at ancient Greek sanctuaries.

The Acropolis of Athens (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Sanctuaries to Athena on the Athenian Akropolis

Commanding the ancient city of Athens from all viewpoints, the Akropolis is not the city’s highest hill but certainly the most significant and symbolically charged. The cult of Athena prospered here in the Archaic Period (600–480 B.C.E.), and well into the Hellenistic Period (323–31 B.C.E.). The crest of the Akropolis, where numerous cult structures, treasuries, and dedications to Athena were localized, saw nearly ceaseless growth in tandem with Athens’ military, financial, and (later) symbolic prominence. Nearly all Greek deities had  multiple aspects to their identities , and on the Akropolis several of Athena’s aspects were venerated with votive statues.

Map showing the placement of the two colossi (no longer surviving) of the Athena  Promachos  and the Athena  Parthenos . The Erechtheion housed the Athena  Polias  and in the Temple of Athena  Nike  was another cult image of Athena (map Google)

Pheidias, Athena  Parthenos , 447–32 B.C.E. (this is a 3rd c. C.E. copy known as Varvakeion found in Athens), National Archaeological Museum in Athens; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The most sumptuous of these were generally funded by the citizens of Athens as a collective, such as two renowned colossi (no longer surviving): the bronze Athena  Promachos  (“in the frontline of battle”) and the  chryselephantine  Athena  Parthenos  (“the maiden”), both built by Pheidias (also spelled Phidias). Equipped with a shield and lance, the Athena  Promachos  towered over the Acropolis between the  Parthenon  and the Propylaea. In the  Temple of Athena  Nike  (“the victorious”) was another cult statue of Athena, presumably seated and adorned with her battle gear. In the  Erechtheion , the main temple of Athens, stood the relatively diminutive Athena  Polias  (“of the city”), and which differed from the previously mentioned votive statues because it was believed to have fallen from the sky and so was not made by human hands. [1] Such statues made tangible the different aspects of Athena (noted by the different names given to her) and typically became  de facto  cult images as worshippers prayed to them.

Scholars propose a busy “souvenir” industry at Greek sanctuaries, meaning visitors purchased, along the way to and perhaps even at the sanctuaries, offerings for the gods. Votive gifts, therefore, made a robust industry and also provide scholars with invaluable information on the religious life and visual culture of the Greeks. Painted pottery found on the Akropolis indicate that one of the most popular decorative subjects was, perhaps not unexpectedly, Athena herself, especially representations of her most famous sculptural forms.

A black-figure lekythos shows a sacrifice to Athena (a bull led to sacrifice at an altar, and Athena enthroned holding a libation bowl). Attributed to the Gela Painter, c. 500-490 B.C.E. ( The British Museum , © The Trustees of the British Museum)

A well-preserved black-figure  l ekythos  shows a sacrificial procession, before an Athena seated in a simplified architectural setting that stands for both the Akropolis in its entirety and the sacred structures housing cult images. Other lekythoi show Athena  Promachos  being tended by a priest in a temple, while a sacrificial procession approaches her flaming altar.

The Athenas, while not entirely faithful to their respective cult-image prototypes, show that vase painters likely took as inspiration the sculptures and sacred structures they saw all around the sanctuary and Athens as a whole. We may suppose that a visitor dedicated an image  of  Athena  Promachos  to  the  Athena  Promachos  with the depiction of a perpetual sacrifice recalling the actual sacrifices the statue/goddess received regularly. Much like the myriad iterations the Statue of Liberty has received in other media following her erection, statues of Athena were reproduced constantly on vases and plaques that often accompanied these statues on the Akropolis.

Endoios,  Potter Relief , 520–510 B.C.E., marble from Penteli ( The Acropolis Museum, Athens ). The potter-dedicant sits on a stool (diphros) holding two kylikes (wine cups) he made himself.

A different kind of votive gift is the so-called “Potter Relief,” carved by Endoios and dedicated on the Akropolis by a potter whose inscribed name is now incomplete, is yet another sophisticated result of artistic collaboration. The potter, thankful for the good luck Athena  Ergane  (“the worker”) has bestowed, commissioned the sculptor to carve in stone the potter himself holding two of the  kylikes  he has produced.

Temple of Zeus, c. 470–457 B.C.E., Olympia. A chryselephantine statue of Zeus by Pheidias that once stood inside, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world (photo:  Andy Montgomery ,  CC BY-SA 2.0)

An artistic battlefront: “War of Monuments” at Olympia

Arguably the most important Panhellenic sanctuary was that of Zeus at Olympia in Peloponnesos. Besides being the location of the  Olympic Games , this sanctuary was where Greeks from all geographies, including the great colonies like Gela and Syracuse in Sicily, gathered to honor not only Zeus but almost all other  primary deities  and many  ancestral heroes .

Site plan of the Olympia sanctuary, Greece. The artist Pheidias even had a workshop within the sanctuary.

Consequently, potential visibility by a large population of divine and mortal alike made every inch of Olympia precious real estate for dedications. The Classical Temple of Zeus, itself a votive offering funded by the city-state of Elis and dedicated to the patron god, along with its immediate surroundings quickly became the most prestigious spot for other votives. Around 456 B.C.E., following their victory at Tanagra over Athens, Sparta placed a golden shield on the temple roof. We do not know the exact details of the shield, but it was certainly seen by each and every visitor of Olympia as a gleaming reminder of Sparta’s success and the property Athens and her allies lost at Tanagra.

Nike of Paionios, c. 420 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Carole Raddato , CC BY-SA 2.0)

Plinth on which stood the Nike of Paionios across from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (photo:  Andy Hay ,  CC BY 2.0 )

Decades later, however, Sparta got a direct response: In 425 B.C.E., with the help of Messenians and Naupaktians, Athens achieved a significant victory over Sparta on the island of Sphakteria. Some of the war booty was used to erect a winged Nike on a triangular pedestal across from the temple’s entrance. The sculpture, carved by Paionios of Mende (hence the name of this sculpture—Nike of Paionios) together with its base stood nearly 39-feet-tall. It depicted Nike about to touch land, presumably with a victory wreath in her hand. Holes on the pedestal indicate that shields decorated each side, and the inscription succinctly explains the reason for the dedication: “The Messenians and Naupaktians dedicated this statue to Zeus  Olympios  from the spoils of the wars. Paionios of Mende made it, who also won the competition to make the  akroteria  of the temple.” [2]

As the personification of victory, the Nike of Paionios is also meant to remind the viewer of the desirability and allure of being a victor, without shying away from any erotic connotation. The left breast of the figure is bare, yet it is her luxurious garment clinging to her curves that ends up exposing more—an excellent example of the  “wet style”  in  Classical Greek  sculpture. [3]

The Nike of Paionios on the front of the Olympic medal for the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece

In more ways than one, the Nike of Paionios was the perfect votive offering in a sanctuary that thrived on the Greeks’ agonistic spirit in all its incarnations: war, politics, sports, beauty, and the favor of gods. No wonder, then, the medals for the 2004 Olympics bore as their primary image this very Nike soaring before the Akropolis and the renovated Panathenaic Stadium of Athens ( Kallimarmaro ).

Images into Words: Pausanias at Delphi

Scholars of Ancient Greek art do not always have the luxury to study artworks firsthand. The colossi of Athena  Parthenos  and the Spartan golden shield mentioned above are just two examples that have not reached our time but live on in replicas and, more often, the written word. Cult statues by the famous sculptors Pheidias, Alkamenes, Myron, and Euphranor, for instance, are used as a zany plot device in one of Lucian’s satirical plays.

An 1892 reconstruction of Polygnotos’s Nekyia (“underworld”) at Delphi reported by Pausanias, in Robert Carl,  Hallisches Winckelmannsprogramm (Band 16): Die Nekyia des Polygnot   (Halle a. S., 1892)

Perhaps the most valuable source, however, is a multi-volume travelogue written by Pausanias, a Greek living under Roman rule in the second century C.E. Visiting every accessible corner of mainland Greece, Pausanias noted the intricate etiologies (foundation myths), sacred rites, monuments, and conditions of cities, sanctuaries, and communities. The last book of his  Description of Greece  includes a lengthy section on the  shrine of Apollo at Delphi  (where some came to ask questions of the oracle). Two works of art that he describes extensively are two wall paintings decorating the interior of the  lesche  (clubhouse) of  Knidians , both by the famous Classical painter Polygnotos.

Pausanias’ complete description of these paintings is too long to quote here, but it should be noted how they exemplify the fundamentality of interactions between different artistic media (inter-media) in ancient Greece. Both paintings used Archaic literary epics as their source: one depicted the fall of Troy in the aftermath of Homer’s  Iliad  and the other Odysseus’ journey to the underworld ( nekyia ) as related in the  Odyssey . Polygnotos must have known these stories by heart, as they had always been cornerstones of folk song and popular literature. In each painting he depicted approximately seventy figures in what must have been overall compositions divided into several intertwining registers. So, the eighth-century B.C.E. epics were translated into monumental paintings by Polygnotos in the mid-fifth century B.C.E., and nearly half a millennium later, they were put back into words by Pausanias. This is how they were preserved until our “modern” times when scholars of Ancient Greece began parsing the  Description of Greece  to access so much that has been lost and recreated, albeit with a certain naivete, what Pausanias might have seen.[4]

Sanctuaries nurtured the psyche of Greeks in myriad ways, including giving them outlets to create and, consequently, opportunities to observe, appreciate, and (re)interpret all that had been created. Religion in Greece was ingrained in every aspect of life, so it makes perfect sense that sacred sites themselves were enriched by all means with which Greeks recorded their lives.

[1] For a thorough history of the Athenian Akropolis and the cult of Athena in association with the Panathenaic Games, see Jenifer Neils, ed.,  Worshipping Athena: Panathenaia and Parthenon  (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996).

[2] Translation from the “ Nike of Paionios ” page of Cambridge University’s Museum of Classical Archaeology Databases.

[3] Richard Neer,  The Emergence of the Classical Style in Greek Sculpture  (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010, pp. 138-41.

[4] Mark D. Stansbury-O’Donnell, “Polygnotos’s  Nekyia : A Reconstruction and Analysis,”  American Journal of Archaeology  vol. 94, no. 2 (1990), pp. 213–35

Architecture in Ancient Greece on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.

Classic, classical, and classicism explained

Learn more about the  Siphnian Treasury at Delphi

The Olympic Games

Greek Vase-Painting, an introduction

Niobid Painter,  Niobid Krater , Attic red-figure calyx-krater, c. 460-450 B.C.E., 54 x 56 cm (Musée du Louvre)

Useful for scholars

Pottery is virtually indestructible. Though it may break into smaller pieces (called sherds), these would have to be manually ground into dust in order to be removed from the archaeological record. As such, there is an abundance of material for study, and this is exceptionally useful for modern scholars. In addition to being an excellent tool for dating, pottery enables researchers to locate ancient sites, reconstruct the nature of a site, and point to evidence of trade between groups of people. Moreover, individual pots and their painted decoration can be studied in detail to answer questions about religion, daily life, and society.

Shapes and Themes

Diagram of Greek pot shapes ( British Museum )

Made of terracotta (fired clay), ancient Greek pots and cups, or “vases” as they are normally called, were fashioned into a variety of shapes and sizes (see above), and very often a vessel’s form correlates with its intended function. For example, the  krater  was used to mix water and wine during a Greek  symposion  (an all-male drinking party). It allows an individual to pour liquids into its wide opening, stir the contents in its deep bowl, and easily access the mixture with a separate ladle or small jug. Or, the vase known as a  hydria  was used for collecting, carrying, and pouring water. It features a bulbous body, a pinched spout, and three handles (two at the sides for holding and one stretched along the back for tilting and pouring).

On the exterior, Greek vases exhibit painted compositions that often reflect the style of a certain period. For example, the vessels created during the Geometric Period (c. 900-700 B.C.E.) feature geometric patterns, as seen on the famous  Dipylon amphora  (below), while those decorated in the Orientalizing Period (c. 700-600 B.C.E.) display animal processions and Near Eastern motifs, as is visible  on this early Corinthian amphora   (The British Museum).

Later, during the Archaic and Classical Periods (c. 600-323 B.C.E.), vase-paintings primarily display human and mythological activities. These figural scenes can vary widely, from daily life events (e.g., fetching water at the fountain house) to heroic deeds and Homeric tales (e.g., Theseus and the bull, Odysseus and the Sirens), from the world of the gods (e.g., Zeus abducting Ganymede) to theatrical performances and athletic competitions (for example, the Oresteia, chariot racing). While it is important to stress that such painted scenes should not be thought of as photographs that document reality, they can still aid in reconstructing the lives and beliefs of the ancient Greeks.

Dipylon Amphora, c. 750 B.C.E., ceramic, 160 cm (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

Techniques, Painters and Inscriptions

To produce the characteristic red and black colors found on vases, Greek craftsmen used liquid clay as paint (termed “slip”) and perfected a complicated three-stage firing process. Not only did the pots have to be stacked in the kiln in a specific manner, but the conditions inside had to be precise. First, the temperature was stoked to about 800° centigrade and vents allowed for an oxidizing environment. At this point, the entire vase turned red in color. Next, by sealing the vents and increasing temperature to around 900-950° centigrade, everything turned black and the areas painted with the slip vitrified (transformed into a glassy substance). Finally, in the last stage, the vents were reopened and oxidizing conditions returned inside the kiln. At this point, the unpainted zones of the vessel became red again while the vitrified slip (the painted areas) retained a glossy black hue. Through the introduction and removal of oxygen in the kiln and, simultaneously, the increase and decrease in temperature, the slip transformed into a glossy black color.

Briefly, ancient Greek vases display several painting techniques, and these are often period specific. During the Geometric and Orientalizing periods (900-600 B.C.E.), painters employed compasses to trace perfect circles and used silhouette and outline methods to delineate shapes and figures (below).

Frieze with mourning figures (detail),  Dipylon Amphora , c. 750 B.C.E., ceramic, 160 cm (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

Around 625-600 B.C.E., Athens adopted the black-figure technique (i.e., dark-colored figures on a light background with incised detail). Originating in Corinth almost a century earlier, black-figure uses the silhouette manner in conjunction with added color and incision. Incision involves the removal of slip with a sharp instrument, and perhaps its most masterful application can be found on an  amphora by Exekias  (below). Often described as Achilles and Ajax playing a game, the seated warriors lean towards the center of the scene and are clothed in garments that feature intricate incised patterning. In addition to displaying more realistically defined figures, black-figure painters took care to differentiate gender with color: women were painted with added white, men remained black.

Exekias (potter and painter), Attic black-figure amphora (detail showing Ajax and Achilles playing a game), c. 540-530 B.C.E., 61.1 cm high, found Vulci (Gregorian Etruscan Museum, Vatican City)

The red-figure technique was invented in Athens around 525-520 B.C.E. and is the inverse of black-figure (below). Here light-colored figures are set against a dark background. Using added color and a brush to paint in details, red-figure painters watered down or thickened the slip in order to create different effects.

Watered down slip or “dilute glaze” has the appearance of a wash and was used for hair, fur, and anatomy, as exemplified by the sketchy coat of the hare and the youth’s musculature on the interior of this cup by Gorgos (below). When thickened, the slip was used to form so-called “relief lines” or lines raised prominently from the surface, and these were often employed to outline forms. Surprisingly similar to red-figure is the white-ground technique.

Gorgos, Attic Red-figure Kylix (interior), c. 500 B.C.E. (Agora Museum, Athens)

Though visually quite different with its polychrome figures on a white-washed background, white-ground requires the craftsman to paint in the details of forms just like red-figure, rather than incise them (see the Kylix below).

Alongside figures and objects, one can sometimes find inscriptions. These identify mythological figures, beautiful men or women contemporaneous with the painter (“kalos” / “kale” inscriptions), and even the painter or potter himself (“egrapsen” / “epoiesen”). Inscriptions, however, are not always helpful. Mimicking the appearance of meaningful text, “nonsense inscriptions” deceive the illiterate viewer by arranging the Greek letters in an incoherent fashion.

Attributed to the Villa Giulia Painter, Attic white ground kylix (drinking cup), c. 470 B.C.E., terra-cotta, red figure, white ground, 6.2 x 16.2 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Vases and Reception

The overall attractive quality of Greek vases, their relatively small size, and—at one point in time—their easily obtainable nature, led them to be highly coveted collector’s items during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Since the later part of the nineteenth century, however, the study of vases became a scholarly pursuit and their decoration was the obsession of connoisseurs gifted with the ability to recognize and attribute the hands of individual painters.

The most well-known vase connoisseur of the twentieth century, a researcher concerned with attribution, typology, and chronology, was Sir John Davidson Beazley. Interested in Athenian black-, red-figure, and white-ground techniques, Beazley did not favor beautifully painted specimens; he was impartial and studied pieces of varying quality with equal attention. From his tedious and exhaustive examinations, he compiled well-over 1000 painters and groups, and he attributed over 30,000 vases. Although some researchers since Beazley’s death continue to attribute and examine the style of specific painters or groups, vase scholars today also question the technical production of vessels, their archaeological contexts, their local and foreign distribution, and their iconography.

Additional resources:

Beazley Archive at the University of Oxford

Athenian Vase Painting: Black- and Red-Figure Techniques on The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Read a  Reframing Art History  textbook chapter, Pottery, the body, and the gods in ancient Greece, c. 800–490 B.C.E.

Scenes of Everyday Life in Ancient Greece on the The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

ARCHAIC PERIOD

Sculpture , kouroi and korai, an introduction.

Archaic ideals

Origins of kouroi and korai

Greek sculptors began to experiment with making statues out of marble in the second half of the seventh century B.C.E. The earliest examples of marble kouroi come from Naxos and Paros,  Cycladic islands  with natural supplies of marble. Greek artists and patrons may have been inspired to create kouroi after seeing life-size stone sculptures of men and women in  Egypt , which opened its borders to foreigners around 650 B.C.E. Greek kouroi borrow their stiff, upright postures from Egyptian statues of humans (such as  King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen ).

Partly carved marble Kouros in situ, Naxos quarry (photo:  John Winder , CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

A few unfinished kouroi that were abandoned in quarries on Naxos show us that sculptors did much of their preliminary work before the marble block was moved from its excavation site. They probably began to sculpt the block into a kouros before it was sent to its final destination to reduce its weight, allowing for easier transport. Sculptors likely traveled with the partially sculpted blocks to finish them near where they were erected.

Statue of a woman (Lady of Auxerre), c. 640–630 B.C.E., Daedalic (Early Archaic), Greek, possible Crete, limestone, 75 cm high (Louvre; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Shortly after the kouros form was invented in Naxos, clients from other Greek cities began to commission kouroi. In the first half of the sixth century B.C.E., Naxian and Parian sculptors made kouroi for patrons in  Attica  and  Boeotia  in mainland Greece, and exported statues to  sanctuaries  throughout the Greek world.

Left: detail from King Menkaure (Mycerinus) and queen (Egyptian Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4), 2490–2472 B.C.E., greywacke, 42.2 x 57.1 x 55.2 cm (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, photo left: Hrag Vartanian, CC BY ND 2.0) Right: Statue of a woman (Lady of Auxerre), c. 640–630 B.C.E., Daedalic (Early Archaic), Greek, possible Crete, limestone, 75 cm high (Louvre; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Korai became popular soon after kouroi. Like kouroi, many of the earliest korai were made in the Cyclades, but they do not seem to have been based on Egyptian models. Whereas early korai are extremely modest and show almost no indication of their bodies beneath their robes, Egyptian statues of women tend to show more of their form. Greek sculptors may instead have been inspired by images of women they saw on Near Eastern objects like metal vessels and elaborately decorated furniture, which were imported into Greece in large quantities during the Archaic period. They may also have adapted their previous works in the  Daedalic  style. Daedalic sculptures of women (like the  Lady of Auxerre ) are richly dressed and rigid like the korai that followed them, but korai are rounder and more columnar than Daedalic statues, embodying a new ideal of feminine beauty.

Kouros of Samos , early 6th century B.C.E., marble, 525 cm (Samos Archaeological Museum)

The changing ideal

Standard kouroi and korai are easily recognizable because of their shared characteristics. They are made of marble and stand in stiff, upright postures. They have  Archaic smiles  that imbue them with a sense of vitality. Their hair is elaborately coiffed, and korai sometimes wear metal headpieces. Kouroi are nude, displaying their slim, athletic bodies, but korai always appear clothed in luxurious dresses and cloaks. Whereas male nudity was embraced in Archaic sculpture because men’s bodies were celebrated as objects of beauty and strength, female nudity was still considered inappropriate and immodest. Although kouroi and korai all have these basic traits, their appearances vary depending on when and where they were made.

Just as today’s beauty ideals differ between countries, different regions of the Greek world preferred different types of kouroi. On Samos, an East Greek island with an important sanctuary dedicated to Hera, kouroi were rounded and smooth. A colossal kouros dedicated in Hera’s sanctuary demonstrates these preferences. Standing more than 15 feet tall, this statue has a fleshy body with no indication of individually defined muscles or bones. Its sculptor carved it so that the veins in the marble compliment the body’s curves, emphasizing its roundness,  wide eyes, and bulky bodies.

Marble Statue of a Kouros (New York Kouros, from Attica), c. 590–580 B.C.E. (Attic, Archaic), Naxian marble, 194.6 x 51.6 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

In contrast, Athenians preferred kouroi with slender bodies, lean muscles, and large heads, like the  New York Kouros .  Attic  kouroi changed over time, becoming more naturalistic as sculptors grew more comfortable working with marble and patrons’ tastes changed. The  Anavysos Kouros , made some 50 years after the New York Kouros, has a more realistic face than its predecessor. The later kouros (the Anavysos Kouros) has a wider body that more closely resembles that of an actual man. Although the Anayvsos Kouros is more developed than the New York Kouros, it still has rigid posture, intricately braided hair, and an Archaic smile.

Anavysos (Kroisos) Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6′ 4″ (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photos: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Pomegranate Kore, 580–570 B.C.E., Pentelic marble, 101 cm high (Acropolis Museum)

Kore from the Heraion of Samos, c. 570–560 B.C.E., marble, dedicated by Cheramyes (Louvre)

Attic korai also evolved during the sixth century B.C.E. The earliest kore dedicated on the  Athenian Acropolis  is today called the Pomegranate Kore because she holds a pomegranate in her left hand. Her costume is relatively simple, hanging from her body in straight lines, though it would have been more elaborate in antiquity when it was painted. Sometime after this kore was made, Athenian sculptors changed the costumes of their korai to look more like those worn by East Greek korai (such as the kore from the Heraion of Samos), who sport intricately folded garments draped diagonally across their upper bodies. This change reflects the shifting fashion preferences of Athenians in the Archaic period.

By 530 B.C.E., Athenian korai wore pleated, East Greek style cloaks over their dresses, as we can see on a kore made by the artist Antenor. This later kore has a slightly more active posture than her predecessors and her body is more visible beneath her gown. Like the Anavysos Kouros, Antenor’s kore is more naturalistic than the korai made before her, but she is still easily recognizable as a kore.

Antenor Kore, 525–500 B.C.E., Pentelic and Paros marble, 205 cm (Acropolis Museum)

Identifying kouroi and korai

Despite these regional and chronological differences, kouroi and korai generally resemble one another and were immensely popular throughout the Archaic period. What did ancient Greeks use them for, and who did they represent?

When kouroi and korai acted as grave markers, they usually represented the dead person whose grave they marked. They were not realistic depictions of the dead, but instead showed an idealized version of the person they commemorated. The statue’s identity would only be recognizable because of the inscription that accompanied it, usually on its base but sometimes on its clothes or body. Today, many kouroi and korai are found without their bases, making it harder for archaeologists to determine who they honored. We do know that the Anavysos Kouros marked the grave of a man named Kroisos because of the inscription on its base. The statue commemorates Kroisos in what Greeks believed to be the most perfect state, on the cusp of manhood, creating the most ideal memory possible.

Aristion of Paros, Phrasikleia Kore, 550–530 B.C.E., Parian marble and polychromy, 211 cm (National Archaeological Museum of Athens; photos: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Funerary korai like the Phrasikleia Kore, a particularly well-preserved statue made between 550 and 530 B.C.E., served similar functions. The inscription on the base of this kore identifies the deceased as Phrasikleia, a maiden who died before she was able to marry. The kore is an image of a perfect young Athenian woman. Much of the red paint on her gown survives, and it is incised with ornamental rosettes and meander patterns. She holds a lotus bud in her left hand, wears lotus bud earrings, and sports a lotus crown. The lotus was a symbol of maidenhood, and its multiple appearances on this kore remind us of Phrasikleia’s youth and the tragedy of her death.

Peplos Kore , c. 530 B.C.E., Paros marble, polychromy, 120 cm (Acropolis Museum)

It is more difficult to determine the identities of the kouroi and korai that were set up in sanctuaries as offerings to the gods. People dedicated these statues to demonstrate their devotion to the gods. Some made their offerings in hopes of securing the protection or approval of the gods, while others dedicated the statues as thank-you gifts in exchange for something they believed the gods had done for them. Like their funerary counterparts, these  votive  kouroi and korai were often accompanied by inscriptions, but these texts identify the dedicator rather than who the statues represent. It is unlikely that votive kouroi and korai depicted the people who dedicated them because some inscriptions show that men dedicated korai.

Some kouroi and korai may have represented the deities to whom they were dedicated, but we can only securely identify them if they carry  attributes . For example, the Peplos Kore, which is just one of dozens of korai that were dedicated to Athena on the Athenian Acropolis, may represent Athena. She wears an unusual costume that sets her apart from other korai, but because her arms do not survive, we can’t tell whether she held the goddess’s attributes. This kore and others like her might instead represent actual young women who served the goddess as attendants. Athenian families could have honored their daughters by dedicating these idealized images to Athena. Just like kouroi, korai were especially expensive and permanent offerings that allowed their dedicators to show off their wealth and devotion to the gods at the same time.

The decline of rigidity

Kouroi and korai began to decline in popularity towards the end of the sixth century B.C.E. They were so emblematic of Archaic elite ideals that they likely seemed conservative to viewers after a new, more democratic government came to power in Athens and began shifting focus towards civic (rather than individual) greatness. When the  Persian Empire  invaded Athens and burned much of the Acropolis to the ground in 480 B.C.E., the Archaic period came to a close and kouroi and korai fell out of fashion entirely. After the Persian attack, Athenians carefully buried the damaged korai that once stood on the Acropolis in the sacred ground, disposing of them in a respectful manner. They and their male counterparts were replaced by increasingly realistic images of men and women in dynamic postures. The rigidity of the Archaic period was abandoned, and naturalism became a key artistic trait of the Classical period that followed.

Lady of Auxerre

The Lady of Auxerre stands at the beginning of the history of Greek sculpture, offering a promise of what is to come.

Statue of a woman, known as the “Lady of Auxerre,” Daedalic style, Crete(?), c. 640-630 B.C.E., limestone, 75 cm high (Musée du Louvre)   URL: https://youtu.be/XoEVvoc2PlM

Cite this page as: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, “ Lady of Auxerre ,” in  Smarthistory , December 14, 2015, accessed February 12, 2024,  https://smarthistory.org/lady-of-auxerre/ .

Marble statue of a kouros (New York Kouros) 

This early Greek depiction of the idealized male form displays power and poise in his nudity and steadfast gaze.

Marble Statue of a kouros (New York Kouros) , c. 600–580 B.C.E., Attic, archaic period, Naxian marble, 194.6 x 51.6 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven ZuckerURL: https://youtu.be/Ax8vcxRtmHY

In 1932, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City purchased an over life-size statue of a nude male youth. The ancient Greek sculpture was said to have been found near the town of Phoinikia in Attica, a region of Greece that is home to the city of Athens. It is an example of the  kouros (plural: kouroi) type of Greek sculpture . Kouroi are statues of young, nude men that were popular in the  Archaic period . Unlike many kouroi, the kouros in New York is not entirely nude: he wears a choker style necklace and a  fillet  in his hair. Today, the statue is known as the New York Kouros because of its current location. Scholars date its creation to c. 600–580 B.C.E., making it one of the earliest examples of the kouros type.

Map of the Aegean with the probable findspot and material source of the New York Kouros, c. 600–580 B.C.E. (underlying map © Google)

New York Kouros, c. 600–580 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art,  New York)

From Naxos to Attica

Some 2600 years ago, the New York Kouros functioned as a grave marker in Attica. Although it stood above a grave in this mainland Greek region, it is made of a type of marble that comes from hundreds of miles away, on the island of Naxos in the Cyclades. [1] Naxos has large quantities of high-quality marble, notable especially for its shininess. People living on the island were already using the local marble to craft life-size statues of humans in the  Protoarchaic period . By c. 600 B.C.E., they were exporting many of their sculptures to areas throughout the Greek world, including Attica. [2] Although it remains somewhat unclear whether Naxian sculptors traveled to fulfill  commissions , it is plausible that the skilled Naxian sculptors did travel to mainland Greece to create large kouroi for local elites beginning in the early Archaic period. [3]

Rigidity and symmetry as Archaic ideals

The early Archaic date of the New York Kouros is confirmed by its style. Overall, the New York Kouros is rigid and stiff, and seems to recall the four-sided marble block it was carved from. Greek sculptors who created kouroi may have been inspired by Egyptian stone sculptures they heard about or saw in the Protoarchaic and early Archaic periods. Indeed, some scholars believe the New York Kouros is so similar to Egyptian sculptures that its creators must have used the same rigid system of proportions that Egyptian sculptors did. [4] However, Jane Carter and Laura Steinberg’s recent reevaluation of statistical comparisons between this kouros and the  Egyptian canon of proportions  disproves this. [5] Although this kouros is block-like and carefully proportioned, it conforms to a distinctly Archaic Greek ideal. It has an impossibly large head, which sits atop a long neck that is adorned with a knotted ribbon. [6] It has broad shoulders, a long waist, and short thighs. [7] To prevent the marble of the kouros from breaking, the sculptor thickened its ankles slightly and left its fists attached to its thighs with narrow strips of stone. [8]

The sculptor’s goal was not to create a highly realistic image that closely resembled the deceased whose grave the kouros marked, but instead to create one that embodied the ideal of the period. For that reason, the anatomy of the figure is rendered in a series of patterns that appear almost decorative. The figure’s pelvis is distinguished by a prominent raised line that resembles a V, while the upper portion of his abdomen is marked out by a less prominently raised line that looks like an upside-down V. [9]

Head (detail), New York Kouros, c. 600–580 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The sculptor’s focus on symmetry and pattern is especially noticeable in the face and hair of the figure. The cheeks are flat, while the eyebrows are indicated by single curving lines. The ears are curled like  volutes . The hair is rigidly patterned, made up of a series of squared off strands that fall heavily on the figure’s back. Although none of these characteristics could have closely resembled an actual human, they are easily recognizable as human body parts. They have been made decorative to create a more perfect image of an elite male. In the Archaic period, the entire statue would have appeared even more ornamental because it would have been painted. Traces of pigment are still visible in the reddish tones that appear on the kouros’s fillet and hair.

Left: Head (detail), New York Kouros, c. 600–580 B.C.E., marble (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0; right: head of a kouros (the so-called Dipylon Head), c. 600 B.C.E., marble, 17 inches high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Kouros (the so-called Sacred Gate Kouros), c. 600–590 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 10 inches high (Kerameikos Museum, Athens; photo:  Zde , CC BY-SA 4.0)

Relationship with other kouroi

The highly decorative style of the New York Kouros is typical of the earliest Athenian kouroi. The head of another kouros that was found in Athens so closely resembles the New York Kouros that some scholars believe the two were created in the same workshop. [10] The kouros’s head, now known as the Dipylon Head because it was found near the Dipylon cemetery in Athens, closely resembles that of the New York Kouros. Both kouroi have large, staring eyes under curved eyebrows, volute-like ears, and fillets in their hair. They have similar hairstyles, with heavy locks made up of squarish individual elements, though the Dipylon Head’s strands of hair interlock with one another rather than lying next to each other in the more grid-like pattern we see on the New York Kouros. [11]

In 2002, archaeologists working in Athens found yet another kouros that closely resembles both the Dipylon Head and the New York Kouros, further enhancing our understanding of what kouroi looked like in the early 7th century B.C.E. This recently discovered kouros is known as the Sacred Gate Kouros because of its findspot. The Sacred Gate Kouros is more muscular than the New York Kouros, but it is similarly proportioned, and especially similar in the appearance of its hair and face.

Left: New York Kouros, c. 600–580 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York); right: Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

As the Archaic period progressed, the ideal form of the kouros shifted. These changes are especially noticeable when we compare the New York Kouros to the  Anavysos Kouros , which was made about 60 years later. Both kouroi served as grave markers, perhaps even in the same cemetery, but they embody different ideals. [12] The Anavysos Kouros is more naturalistic, or lifelike, than the earlier New York Kouros. Its muscles are carved more deeply and appear more rounded, and thus more closely resemble the proportions of an actual young man. The Anavysos Kouros’s proportions are also more realistic, with a smaller head, thicker waist, and less elongated calves. Both statues are nude and muscular, and both have elaborate hairstyles. Both also take slight steps forward with their left legs, advancing despite their stiffness and rigidity. However, it is clear that as the Archaic period continued, wealthy customers and the sculptors who worked for them were interested in more rounded and naturalistic kouroi.

New York Kouros, c. 600–580 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

A perfected memorial

The New York Kouros now stands in the center of a gallery in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. But why would a wealthy Athenian living in 600 B.C.E. want to mark a loved one’s grave with this statue? It could not have closely resembled the deceased, or any other real person. Instead, it projected a perfected image of the deceased to all who passed it. Kouroi were expensive monuments, and would have been available to only the most elite customers. The presence of the kouros would indicate to ancient viewers that the person who was buried beneath it was wealthy and honorable. The kouros’s nudity allows it to display its perfected, muscled body. Youth and strength were highly valued by the ancient Greeks, who understood these characteristics to be crucial to achieving success in athletic and military competitions. [13] The decorative symmetry of the kouros was in keeping with the preferred style of the early Archaic period. Gazing out over the heads of those who walked by it, the New York Kouros would draw attention to itself and the person whose grave it marked, preserving the memory of the deceased and associating him with ideals of youth and strength.

To see Notes go to https://smarthistory.org/marble-statue-of-a-kouros-new-york-kouros/

URL: https://youtu.be/ZbZ-t1FmnKY

Marble Statue of a kouros (New York Kouros) , c. 600–580 B.C.E., Attic, archaic period, Naxian marble, 194.6 x 51.6 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). Video from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This video features Met curator Joan R. Mertens on self-reliance in  Marble statue of a kouros (youth) . This kouros is one of the earliest marble statues of a human figure carved in Attica. The rigid stance, with the left leg forward and arms at the side, was derived from Egyptian art. The pose provided a clear, simple formula that was used by Greek sculptors throughout the sixth century B.C.E. In this early figure, geometric, almost abstract forms predominate, and anatomical details are rendered in beautiful analogous patterns. The statue marked the grave of a young Athenian aristocrat.

Video Transcript

Cite this page as: Dr. Monica Bulger, “ Marble statue of a kouros (New York Kouros) ,” in  Smarthistory , February 2, 2024, accessed February 11, 2024,  https://smarthistory.org/marble-statue-of-a-kouros-new-york-kouros/ .

Anavysos Kouros

“Stay and mourn at the monument of dead Kroisos, who raging Ares slew as he fought in the front ranks.”

Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris  URL: https://youtu.be/v1_pCZBVWuY

Grave markers or votive offerings

In the late  Archaic period , this over life-size statue stood above the grave of a man from a wealthy Greek family, grandly marking his tomb. With its idealized body, rigid posture, and distant gaze, the statue still commands attention today, long after it was completed around 530 B.C.E. By looking closely at the statue, we can learn quite a lot about the ancient Greeks who looked upon it centuries ago.

Tjayasetimu, c. 664–610 B.C.E., limestone, 4 feet 1.2 inches high (©  The Trustees of the British Museum , London)

This statue is an example of the  kouros (plural: kouroi) type of Greek sculpture . The ancient Greek word kouros means “youth” or “young boy,” but we don’t know if the ancient Greeks called these statues kouroi—modern scholars were the first to use the term to describe them. [1] A kouros is a statue of a young, nude male. The young age of the kouros is evident in his beardless face, which indicates that he has not yet fully matured into adulthood.

Kouroi are usually entirely nude, though some wear headbands or necklaces. Although kouroi take one small step forward, placing their left foot in front of their right, they are rigid and stiff, holding their clenched fists close to their sides and tensing their muscles. Throughout the Archaic period, Greek sculptors made kouroi that functioned either as grave markers or as  votive offerings  given to the gods.

Influence of Egypt

The Greek sculptors who invented the kouros type may have been partially inspired by Egyptian stone sculptures. [2] Just before the beginning of the Archaic period, interactions between Greece and Egypt increased, creating more opportunities for Greeks to see Egyptian statues. Like Greek kouroi, Egyptian statues of elite men are often stiff and rigid, and they are made of stone, a durable and expensive material. However, there are two major differences between typical Egyptian sculptures of men and Greek kouroi. First, whereas kouroi are always nude, Egyptian sculptors usually showed men clothed (elites, like the priest named Tjayasetimu who is depicted in this image, wear kilts). Second, kouroi are fully separated from the block of stone from which they are carved. Although they are stiff, they stand without support. Many life-size Egyptian stone sculptures, including this one, rely on stone supports to stand up. These differences reveal that, while the Archaic Greeks may have taken Egyptian statues as inspiration, they created their own type when they invented the kouros.

Side view of the kouros’s head (detail), Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

For the Archaic Greeks, kouroi were the perfected images of masculinity. They embody a specifically Greek ideal. The Anavysos Kouros is one of the best preserved examples of this ideal. His face is symmetrical, with wide staring eyes and a slight smile. His smile is not meant to convey that he is happy. This expression, known as the Archaic smile, is instead intended to make the statue appear more lifelike. The hair of the kouros is also symmetrical and elaborately styled. Curls are arranged across the figure’s forehead, while long braids of hair fall down his back. This elaborate hairstyle conveys the wealth of the individual represented. A thin ribbon runs around the crown of the kouros’s head, seemingly holding a cap in place. [3] Traces of red pigment are still visible on the eyes and hair of the kouros’s head. [4] Like most ancient Greek statues, the Anavysos Kouros was originally brightly painted. Much of that paint has now faded, leaving the whitish marble visible.

Left: statue of a kouros (New York Kouros), c. 600–580 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York); right: Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

By comparing the Anavysos Kouros to an earlier kouros, we can see how the style of kouroi—and the ideal they embody—evolved throughout the Archaic period. Like the Anavysos Kouros, the  New York Kouros  is stiff and rigid. Both kouroi stand with their hands clenched at their sides and take one step forward with their left legs. Both have patterned hair and Archaic smiles. Both also originally functioned as grave markers and were probably set up close to each other in the same cemetery. [5] However, the Anavysos kouros is more  naturalistic , or lifelike, than the New York Kouros in several ways. The Anavysos Kouros has much more rounded, fully developed muscles than the New York Kouros does. In comparison, the muscles of the New York Kouros look almost like patterns carved into the stone rather than volumetric muscles. The face of the Anavysos Kouros is also more naturalistic than that of the New York Kouros, with more realistically proportioned facial features and more attention to the transitions between parts of the body.

To create a more naturalistic image, the sculptor of the Anavysos Kouros has carved further into the block of marble than the sculptor of the New York Kouros did. Although the Anavysos Kouros’s hands are still attached to his thighs by small pieces of marble, ensuring that they would not break off, these supports are much smaller than the larger attachments that fuse the New York Kouros’s hands to his sides. The Anavysos Kouros’s rounded muscles make him appear fleshier and more lifelike. He is still idealized—no real person could actually be this symmetrical—but he is more naturalistic than the New York Kouros, which was made 50 years before he was.

Torso of the kouros, with the modern break still visible above the navel (detail), Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Not discovered by archaeologists

This statue is called the Anavysos Kouros because it was found near the town of Anavysos in Greece. Unfortunately, this statue was not discovered by archaeologists. Looters first uncovered the kouros in 1936, and soon smuggled it out of Greece so that it could be sold in Paris. In order to get the large statue out of the country, the smugglers sawed it into ten pieces. [6] One of their cuts is still visible just above the kouros’s navel. When the statue was returned to Greece in 1937, conservators were able to piece almost all of it back together, mending much of the damage that was done.

Map with the towns of Athens and Anavysos in Greece (underlying map © Google)

Front of statue base probably originally associated with the Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 9.45 inches high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  F. Tronchin , CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Almost 20 years after the Anavysos Kouros was returned to Greece, a statue base found near Anavysos was given to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Many scholars believe that the Anavysos Kouros originally stood atop this base. The base is inscribed with ancient Greek text that commemorates the person whose grave it marked. In translation, the text reads: “Stay and mourn at the monument for dead Kroisos whom violent Ares destroyed, fighting in the front ranks.” [7]

This moving inscription tells us much about the person who was buried beneath it. His name was Kroisos, and he died while fighting in a war. [8] He is celebrated as an accomplished warrior, “fighting in the front ranks” against the enemy, destroyed by “violent Ares,” the god of war himself. The text encourages viewers to “stay and mourn” the deceased. Together with the kouros that stood above it, it demands the attention of passersby and asks them to remember the man it memorializes.

The Anavysos Kouros is an idealized representation of a man in his prime. Kroisos could not have actually looked like this statue. No real, living person is so symmetrical or stiff. Moreover, Kroisos was a soldier, and so he must have been a bearded adult when he died. [9] But this statue is not intended to depict Kroisos as he actually appeared. It instead presents an image of a perfect man, as imagined by the Archaic Greeks. His nudity allows him to show off his perfected musculature, which conveys his strength. The wealthy family who had this statue made to mark the grave of their dead loved one chose it because it would forever project an image of perfection, making the ideal memory of their relative permanent in stone.

For Notes go to https://smarthistory.org/anavysos-kouros/ 

This work at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Peplos Kore

by DR. MONICA BULGER: 

Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 1.2 m high, from the Acropolis, Athens, Greece (Acropolis Museum, Athens). Speakers: Dr Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker URL: https://youtu.be/RjpT4Apgda8

Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 1.2 m high ( Acropolis Museum , Athens)

The  Acropolis  was one of the holiest places in ancient Athens, full of temples and dedications to the gods. In 480 B.C.E., many of the sacred buildings and statues on the site were damaged by an invading army. In the decades that followed, the people of Athens carefully buried some of these broken  votives  in pits on the Acropolis, keeping them within the confines of the holy land but removing them from view. Thousands of years later, in 1886, Greek archaeologists excavated one of these pits just northwest of a temple known as the  Erechtheion . Within it they found several statues of young women. The most famous of them is today known as the Peplos Kore.

Acropolis, Athens with the findspot of the Peplos Kore, the Erechtheion, and the Parthenon (underlying map © Google)

Head and torso (detail), Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble (Acropolis Museum, Athens; photo:  Marsyas , CC BY-SA 2.5)

When she was first found, the Peplos Kore was recognized as an especially beautiful example of the  kore (plural: korai) statue type . Korai are statues of richly dressed young women that were popular in the  Archaic period . Archaeologists also believed she wore a simple garment called a  peplos , and so she came to be called the Peplos Kore. However, new research focused on the paint and metal additions that once adorned the Peplos Kore has revealed that she is wearing a different garment altogether, and may in fact represent a goddess. In the following paragraphs, we will consider how the Peplos Kore compares to other Archaic korai and how her original appearance differs from her contemporary one.

Like other korai, the Peplos Kore represents an idealized young woman. Her face is smooth and symmetrical, embodying the Archaic ideal of female perfection. Her slight smile, known as the Archaic smile, is another trait that is typical of korai and their male counterparts,  kouroi  (singular: kouros). The Archaic smile is meant to convey a sense of liveliness rather than signal a happy emotion. The Peplos Kore’s hair is carefully combed and styled into wavy strands, which are further detailed with carved lines that indicate individual hairs. [1] Three of these strands fall in front of each of her shoulders, adding to the overall sense of symmetry in the statue. The kore’s elaborate hairstyle resembles those of other Archaic korai and contributes to the impression that the woman represented here is an idealized, if generic, elite.

Left: Phrasikleia Kore, c. 540 B.C.E., marble, 1.76 m high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  Carole Raddato , CC BY-SA 2.0); right: Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 1.2 m high ( Acropolis Museum , Athens)

Upon first glance, the Peplos Kore seems to have the same rigid posture that we expect of Archaic korai. However, looking more closely reveals that she is slightly asymmetrical. Her shoulders are not completely straight like those of the stiffer Phrasikleia Kore. Instead, the Peplos Kore’s left shoulder is very slightly higher than her right, reacting to the movement of her arm, which (though now missing) once reached out in front of her. The bottom of her cape is not exactly parallel to her belt, rising up slightly on the right. Her head turns a tiny bit to the left. [2] All of these small adjustments make the Peplos Kore appear more natural and lifelike than many other Archaic korai. [3]

Left:  Caryatid from the Erechtheion , c. 421–406 B.C.E., marble, 2.28 m high (©  The Trustees of the British Museum , London); right: Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 1.2 m high ( Acropolis Museum , Athens)

The Peplos Kore’s clothing is also unlike that of a typical kore. When she was first found, scholars believed that she was wearing a peplos, a garment that is made of a single rectangular piece of cloth. The cloth of the peplos is wrapped around the body and folded down at the top, with the flap of cloth usually hanging down to the waist. The peplos is then pinned at the shoulders and belted at the waist. As we can see on the  caryatid  from the Erechtheion, who sports a peplos, the garment leaves the woman’s arms bare. The so-called Peplos Kore does not have bare arms, and her garment is not pinned at the shoulders, suggesting that she is not wearing a peplos.

Left: back of the torso (detail), Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble ( Acropolis Museum , Athens); right: front of skirt (detail), Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble (Acropolis Museum, Athens; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

In fact, when we look at the back of the Peplos Kore, we find that she is wearing a short cloak or cape over another garment. A closer look at the front of her skirt provides another hint that she is not wearing a peplos: the marble is carved in a way that suggests two rectangular pieces of cloth are hanging vertically from just below her belt, indicating that some kind of sash held part of her garment in place. [4] Just above her feet, below the hem of her skirt, part of a pleated undergarment is visible. [5]

Émile Gilliéron, “Plate 9: Ancient statue from the Acropolis,” 1887, watercolor originally published as Plate 9 in  Ephemeris Archaiologike

In antiquity, when the Peplos Kore was brightly painted, it would have been much easier to determine what she was wearing. When we see the statue today we might notice traces of red paint on her hair and face and dark painted patterns on her clothes. When the kore was first found in the late 1800s even more paint was visible on her, as Émile Gilliéron documented in a  watercolor painting  of the statue that he made shortly after she was excavated. The watercolor shows traces of blue and green paint on the kore’s cape and skirt that are no longer visible to the naked eye.

Proposed reconstruction of the Peplos Kore on display at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford in 2015 (photo:  Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez , CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recent research has further clarified what the Peplos Kore originally looked like and what she is wearing. In the early 2000s, a team of researchers led by Vinzenz Brinkmann used new scientific methods and technologies to analyze the paint on the Peplos Kore. Their work revealed more about the remarkable painted decoration that once adorned the statue and confirmed that she is not wearing a peplos. We can see what she is actually wearing in one of the reconstructions proposed by Brinkmann. Atop her pleated undergarment, the kore wears a long sheath-like dress that is decorated with representations of animals. That dress is partially covered by the short cloak that the kore wears around her shoulders and by a mantle that she wears wrapped around her lower half, which is held in place by the sash with hanging tassels, and left open at the front to reveal the animal decoration of the dress below. [6]

The creatures that decorate the kore’s garment were an especially unexpected discovery. The dress is decorated with real and mythical animals, including a lion, a goat, and a  sphinx , in a series of square panels. [7] This unusual decoration led scholars to reconsider the identity of the Peplos Kore: while most korai are understood to represent idealized but generic young women, this kore is distinguished by her elaborate, animal-covered dress, and more likely represents a specific individual. A gown embroidered with animals would be especially appropriate attire for Artemis, the goddess of wild animals and the hunt. Although the Peplos Kore was found buried on the Athenian Acropolis, which is sacred to the goddess  Athena , Artemis also had a small  sanctuary  on the hill and may well have received dedications there. [8]

Additional details visible on the statue support the idea that the Peplos Kore is actually an image of the goddess Artemis. There is a hole in the kore’s right fist, suggesting that she once held an object made of metal. Although the kore’s left forearm is now missing, her posture reveals that she once held it out in front of her, likely grasping another object. The goddess Artemis was known to be an excellent archer, and is sometimes shown holding a bow in her left hand and an arrow in her right, as she is in  one statue that is now in Boston . [9]  If the kore originally held a metal bow and arrow then her identity as Artemis would be unquestionable. [10]

Top of head (detail), Peplos Kore, c. 530 B.C.E., marble ( Acropolis Museum , Athens)

If we look at the statue from above, we see 35 holes encircling her head, as well as a central metal rod that still projects from the center of her head. These holes once secured an elaborate metal wreath or crown to the kore’s head, further distinguishing her from other, less decorated korai. [11]

Proposed reconstruction of the Peplos Kore as Artemis (photo:  Donatus Fuscus,  CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Today, the metal attachments and elaborate paint that once enriched the Peplos Kore are absent. Without them, the kore looks quite similar to other Archaic korai. She is frontal and at first glance stiff, though further examination reveals that she is shifting slightly. She appears to wear a rectangular garment that could easily be mistaken for a peplos. It is only when we consider the decorative elements that are now missing from the Peplos Kore that we come to a better understanding of who she really was. With her brightly colored, layered garments and metal attachments, she would’ve been easily recognizable as a specific individual, quite likely the goddess Artemis. Examining the Peplos Kore reminds us that years of erosion and wear can significantly change the appearance of ancient artworks and affect our understanding of their original significance.

[1] Andrew Stewart,  Greek Sculpture: An Exploration  (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990), p. 123.

[2] Richard Neer,  Art & Archaeology of the Greek World,  2nd edition (London: Thames & Hudson, 2019), p. 163.

[3] Another kore found on the Acropolis, now known as  Acropolis Kore 678 , has similar features and is so similar to the Peplos Kore that the two are sometimes described as sisters. Mary C. Sturgeon, “The Archaic Style in Greek Sculpture,”  Handbook of Greek Sculpture , edited by Olga Palagia (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2019), pp. 282–84 discusses the similarities between the two and suggests that they might have been dedicated together.

[4] Sturgeon (2019), p. 281 describes this feature as “truly unexpected.”

[5] This garment is probably a chiton, another type of ancient Greek dress.

[6] Vinzenz Brinkmann, “Girl or Goddess? The Riddle of the ‘Peplos Kore’ from the Athenian Acropolis,”  Gods in Color: Painted Sculpture of Classical Antiquity  (Munich: Stiftung Archäologie Glyptothek, 2007), p. 46.

[7] Brinkmann (2007), p. 46. There was also likely a human riding a horse, perhaps a hunter, in one of the panels on the kore’s garment.

[8] Sturgeon (2019), p. 282. It is also possible that this image of Artemis was dedicated to Athena: the ancient Greeks did sometimes dedicate images of gods in sanctuaries sacred to other gods.

[9] Catherine Keesling,  The Votive Statues of the Athenian Acropolis  (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 136.

[10] Alternatively, if the kore held a spear in her right hand, she would have been recognizable as Athena. However, Athena is not closely associated with wild animals like Artemis is. Moreover, Keesling (2003), p. 139 points out that a statue holding a large spear horizontally in her right hand would present practical issues, as it would jut into the space of the sanctuary in which it stood.

[11] Brunilde Ridgway, “Birds, ‘Meniskoi,’ and Head Attributes in Archaic Greece,”  American Journal of Archaeology , volume 94 (1990), p. 609.

This sculpture at the Acropolis Museum

Video from Acropolis Museum

Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi

The god Apollo spoke through his priestess at Delphi, and Greek cities competed for his favor with offerings.

Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, Greece  URL: https://youtu.be/AAuCHWr8A_o

For a Transcript go to: https://smarthistory.org/sanctuary-of-apollo-at-delphi/

Siphnian Treasury, Delphi

The island of Siphnos used its great wealth to earn the favor of the gods through art, architecture, and offerings.

Pediment and Frieze of the Siphnian Treasury at the Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, c. 530 B.C.E.  URL:  https://youtu.be/KxmRlLEEJ5o

For a Video Transcript go to: https://smarthistory.org/siphnian/

Ancient Greek Temples at Paestum

Explore the development of the Doric order in the temples of the city of Poseidon, the god of the sea.

Ancient Greek Temples at Paestum: Hera I, c. 560-530 B.C.E., Archaic Period; Hera II, c. 460 B.C.E., Classical Period; Temple of Minerva, c. 500 B.C.E., Archaic Period   URL: https://youtu.be/_tNnI_w6TTQ

Temple of Hera on Google Maps

EARLY CLASSICAL PERIOD

Temple of zeus, olympia.

Temple of Zeus at Olympia, digital reconstruction (animation still © Microsoft, with the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and Iconem)

Around 471 B.C.E., after many years of conflict, a long standing dispute between the towns of Elis and Pisa in the  Peloponnese  region of Greece finally ended with a decisive victory for Elis. With this triumph, Elis gained control of the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, which was at that time one of the most important places of worship in the Greek world. In antiquity, people traveled hundreds of miles to visit the  sanctuary  at Olympia, where they could worship Zeus, the king of the Olympian gods, and witness the  Olympic games  that took place there every four years.

Map of the Peloponnese region of ancient Greece with Elis, Pisa, and Olympia (underlying map © Google)

The people of Elis decided to build a new Temple of Zeus to celebrate their victory. They hired a local architect, Libon of Elis, to plan and build the structure. Construction began in 470 B.C.E. was completed by 457 B.C.E. [1]

Site plan of the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, with the Temple of Zeus highlighted

At that time, the area that we know today as Greece was divided into city-states. The new Temple of Zeus was situated within the holy land of the  Panhellenic sanctuary  of Zeus at Olympia, so it was accessible to people living in all city-states. The temple was seen by visitors from across the Greek world for centuries until an earthquake caused its collapse in the 5th century C.E. [2] Its exterior was decorated with sculptures that told stories from popular myths, many of which the ancient Greeks understood to be stories from their collective history. These narratives, which offered morals about the strength of the Greeks and the power of the gods, carried particular meaning for visitors to Olympia. The sculptures’ clear and distinctive  Early Classical  style helped them convey these messages to a wide audience.

View of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia in 1899, after early German excavations (photo:  Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts )

Today, our understanding of the Temple of Zeus is greatly helped by several sources. First, many of the structure’s Early Classical architectural decorations are still preserved. After the temple collapsed, these sculptures were reused in other buildings and later covered by silt from a nearby river. German archaeologists recovered these sculptures during their excavations at Olympia in the late 1800s. Continuing archaeological study of the temple and its decorations help us understand its original appearance.

Another crucial source is the Roman travel writer Pausanias, who visited Olympia in the 2nd century C.E., when the Temple of Zeus was still standing. His detailed account of the temple, its decorations, and its  cult statue , as well as the sanctuary as a whole, provides much useful information. [3]

Ruins of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, with the sole reconstructed column visible in the background (Archaeological Site of Olympia; photo:  Andy Hay , CC BY 2.0)

Plan and construction

Many ancient Greek buildings followed one of  three conventional architectural orders . The Temple of Zeus at Olympia adheres to the Doric order. Like other temples in the Doric order, the temple’s columns have plain  capitals  and sit directly on the  stylobate . However, the Early Classical columns of the temple are both taller and thinner than the columns of earlier  Archaic  Doric temples. This alteration made the structure look lighter and taller overall, which fit with the newly evolving stylistic preferences of the  Classical period . [4]

Plan of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., limestone and marble, 27.7 x 64.1 m

The Temple of Zeus also follows the rule of Classical architecture that the number of columns on its long sides must be one more than double the number of columns on its short sides. [5] As a result, there are 6 columns on each of the temple’s east and west façades, and 13 columns on each of its longer north and south sides.

Most of the Temple of Zeus was built of local limestone. The quality of this limestone was not ideal, and the stone often had pockmarks. To cover up these imperfections, the builders of the temple covered the limestone with  stucco , which made it look like marble, a more expensive and highly valued material. Although most of the temple’s structural blocks were made of limestone, its roof tiles and much of its architectural decoration—including the sculptures that filled its pediments and its relief metopes—were made of marble that was imported from the island of Paros in the  Cyclades . [6]

When it was completed in 457 B.C.E., the Temple of Zeus was the largest temple on mainland Greece (though there were larger temples elsewhere in the Greek world). [7]

Both of the  pediments  of the Temple of Zeus were lavishly decorated with larger-than-life sculpted narratives. While they depict different myths, both pediments tell stories that were familiar and relevant to ancient viewers. The pediments also share the same representational style, which is typical of the Early Classical period and often called the  Severe Style  because of its simplicity, seriousness, and heaviness.

West pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble, 26 m wide (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

West pediment

The west pediment of the temple shows a story that was well known to all Greek visitors at Olympia. In the mythical past, the king of a group of legendary Greek people known as the Lapiths had a large wedding celebration. In addition to inviting many of his fellow Lapiths to the party, King Perithoos invited his friend Theseus, a famous  Athenian  hero, and the centaurs, half-man half-horse hybrids who lived in the same region as the Lapiths. The centaurs, who were unaccustomed to drinking wine (the Greeks’ preferred beverage at such parties), quickly became intoxicated. Drunk centaurs attacked Lapith women, sexually assaulting them during the wedding feast. Eventually, with the help of the Lapith men, Perithoos and Theseus subdued the centaurs and saved the women. This battle, known as the  Centauromachy , was popular in ancient Greek art, but the sculptors at Olympia were the first to show it on such a grand scale in architectural sculpture. [8]

The battle, as depicted in the west pediment, is a dynamic event full of motion and struggle. Figures are paired in groups of two and three, creating pointed interactions that contribute to the overall sense of chaotic violence. Their movements are believable and their bodies are realistic, seemingly full of muscle even though they are stone.

Lapith woman and a centaur (detail), west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble. The drill holes in the centaur’s head would once have held metal attachments, perhaps for locks of hair (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Close to the center of the pediment, one Lapith woman fights back against her attacker. As the centaur tries to pick her up and carry her away, she tries to pry his hands off her chest and elbows him in the head, connecting her left elbow with the right side of his face. Although his face is mostly worn away, the centaur appears to react with a grimace. The expression of pain on the centaur’s face reflects the sculptors’ interest in portraying responsive emotion, an important characteristic of the Early Classical style. The Lapith woman, on the other hand, appears unmoved. As a respectable Greek woman, she maintains composure even under attack. Many of her features are typical of the Early Classical, or Severe, style. Her dress falls heavily against her body, with a believable weight and thick folds that make it look like dough. Her face is also rounded and heavy, with a large chin, full lips, and thick eyelids.

Theseus, a centaur, and a Lapith woman (detail), west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Elsewhere in the pediment, the battle rages on. One centaur screams, in fear or in pain, as a Lapith woman grasps his hair and beard in an attempt to push him away. The fingers of her left hand sink believably into the centaur’s beard. His open mouth and furrowed brow dramatize his emotions. His muscles strain beneath the skin of his human torso as he stretches away from the woman attacking him and reaches an arm out towards another attacker who approaches him from behind. The man to the left of the stricken centaur is probably the Athenian hero Theseus. [9] His face is calm and his arm is raised as he prepares to strike the centaur. This moment is telling: although the battle is shown as an active, undecided conflict, ancient viewers would know that the Greeks would emerge victorious.

Apollo (detail), west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble, 3.3 m high (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC-BY-NC 2.0)

At the center of the pediment, the god  Apollo  stands still. His unmoving presence contrasts sharply with the struggle swirling around him. While Apollo’s body faces frontally, he turns his head to his right as he holds his arm out and gestures in the same direction. He may be silently directing the action of the battle and deciding its outcome, or perhaps he is pointing towards a fighter he particularly favors or dislikes. [10] While Apollo’s gesture is difficult to decipher, it is relatively easy to see that the centaurs and Lapiths around him seem completely unaware of his presence. Surely, if they saw a god in their midst, they would react with wonder and surprise. Instead, we are likely meant to understand Apollo as a kind of apparition: his presence at the battle is undeniable, but those fighting do not see him. [11] Instead, the visitors to the sanctuary of Olympia were given the exclusive opportunity to see this perfected image of the god, standing some 3.3 meters (10.82 feet) tall, at the center of the temple’s west pediment.

Apollo’s face (detail), west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC-BY-NC 2.0)

Like the other Early Classical figures around him, Apollo has a heavy chin, thick eyelids, and pillowy lips. His hair sits heavily on his head, almost like a cap, and somewhat resembles the hair of the  Early Classical Kritios Boy . His mantle rests heavily on his shoulder in thick, doughy folds. Although Apollo is in the same representational style as the Lapiths and centaurs around him, his central position, large size, and calm presence set him apart as divine. Devout visitors to the sanctuary of Olympia would be awed to see an Olympian god on display like this.

Why did the architect and sculptors who made the Temple of Zeus depict a centauromachy on its west pediment? Overall, the story demonstrates the strength and heroism of the Greeks. It conveys an important, violent message about Greek superiority to everyone who sees it. The wild centaurs upended the norms of ancient Greek society when they disrupted a wedding and assaulted their fellow guests. The Greek Lapiths’ swift retaliation was understood as heroic because it restored order and civility.

As Judith Barringer points out, the centauromachy on the west pediment is depicted in a way that makes it particularly relevant to Olympia, where young athletes from many regions of Greece battled for prizes in the ancient Olympic games. [12] Many of the Greek heroes in the pediment fight centaurs with their bare hands, dominating with the sheer force of their physical strength, the same strength that athletes relied on to win competitions.

Left: Centaur and a Lapith man (detail), west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani,  CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0); right: Men wrestling on the exterior of an Attic red-figure cup (detail), attributed to the Foundry Painter, Archaic, c. 490–480 B.C.E., ceramic (©  The Trustees of the British Museum , London)

The similarities between the mythical battle and athletic competitions are made even more explicit in the sculptures’ details. The classicist Wendy Raschke has noted that several of the Lapiths grasp the centaurs in postures that seem to intentionally recall wrestling holds that real Greek athletes used. [13] For example, one Lapith whose arm is being bitten by a centaur is holding his opponent in a type of neck-hold that was commonly used in the pankration, an unarmed combat sport that used brutal wrestling and boxing techniques. In antiquity, athletes competed in the pankration at the Olympic games. An athlete depicted on this cup holds his opponent in a nearly identical pose. One scholar has even pointed out that this same Lapith, who grapples with a centaur even as his arm is bitten, has cauliflower ear, a real deformity that often afflicts boxers and occurs when an ear is repeatedly hit. [14]

The sculptors who carved the west pediment figures included these details to make this centauromachy especially relevant to, and effective for, their audience at Olympia. Young athletes arriving to compete in the Olympic games would see themselves in this dramatic tale of heroism, and understand their physical prowess to suggest a certain strength of character, which they might someday use to defend their society.

East pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble, 26 m wide (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

East pediment

When visitors to the Temple of Zeus at Olympia encountered the building’s east pediment, on the front of the building, they saw a very different scene from the frenzied battle they witnessed in the west pediment. Here, all is calm. No one moves dramatically, or even seems to interact with each other. Instead, the moment depicted is one of anticipation. The chariots that once flanked the five central figures (now lost, though fragments of the horses that pulled them survive) would soon speed away and participate in a race that would shape the future of Olympia and the entire Peloponnese.

Central figures of the east pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Zeus (detail), east pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Troy McKaskle , CC BY-SA 2.0)

The most important characters in this story are depicted in the middle of the pediment. At the very center, Zeus stands with a cloak wrapped around his waist. The thick folds of the drapery are typical of the Early Classical style, as is the god’s perfectly muscular chest. Although Zeus’s legs are only partially preserved, we can see that he bears most of his weight on his right leg, while his left leg bends.  This shifting posture  imbues the statue with life, and reveals an interest in realism that is typical of the Early Classical period. [15] Like Apollo in the west pediment, Zeus seems to be invisible to most of the people around him, even though his commanding presence is unavoidable to us, the mortal viewers. His appearance in the scene is likely meant to suggest that he will be watching over—and perhaps arbitrating—the chariot race that is about to start. Regardless of his exact role in the scene, there is no doubt that a larger-than-life representation of Zeus was an appropriate decoration for the center of his temple’s east pediment. From this lofty perch on his temple, he could look down at the visitors in his most important sanctuary.

The men who will soon compete in the chariot race stand on either side of Zeus. Their story is of crucial importance to the history of the Peloponnese. [16] On Zeus’s right is King Oinomaos, a fabled king of Pisa (the long-standing rival of Elis, the city that built this very temple after their victory against Pisa in the Early Classical period). His wife Sterope stands beside him, wearing a heavy, doughy garment and crossing her arms. Legend has it that when Oinomaos’s daughter, Hippodameia, became eligible for marriage, Oinomaos insisted on competing with all of her suitors in a chariot race. Whoever won a victory against Oinomaos would also win Hippodameia’s hand in marriage and control of Pisa. Thirteen suitors, one after another, raced Oinomaos. Oinomaos defeated each of them, and subsequently killed them.

Finally, a fourteenth suitor challenged Oinomaos to a chariot race. This young man, whose name is Pelops, stands on Zeus’s left. He is beardless, indicating that he is younger than Oinomaos. Ancient visitors to Olympia who were familiar with this story would know that Pelops won the race against Oinomaos, and with it the kingdom of Pisa and a new bride. [17] Pelops’s soon-to-be wife, Hippodameia, stands beside him. With her left hand she pulls at the left shoulder of her garment, a gesture of modesty that was often associated with brides in ancient Greek imagery. [18]

Seer (detail), east pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Angela Monika Arnold , CC BY 3.0)

Despite the impending competition, the people in the pediment are passive, apparently unaware of the unexpected turn of events that will soon occur. The only figure who expresses clear concern about the race is an old man who sits behind the chariot next to Pelops. His age is indicated by his slightly sagging chest and his bald scalp, both realistic details that are typical of the Early Classical style. His expression suggests anxiety: his brow is wrinkled, his eyes look warily towards the competitors at the center of the pediment, and he raises his fist to his cheek in a gesture of concern. The man’s age and awareness of events that have not yet happened suggest that he is a seer, a person with the ability to see the future.

The story in the east pediment is relevant to its Olympic context in many ways. It relates an important moment in local lore, when Pelops won control of Pisa. In fact, in one poem he wrote in 476 B.C.E., the Greek poet Pindar said that Pelops himself founded the Olympic Games after he won his race against Oinomaos. [19]

For ancient viewers to understand this narrative, they would have to be familiar with the myth of Pelops and Oinomaos. It is likely that many were, and that still others were told the story by companions or guides as they stood before the temple. But even those viewers who could not identify Pelops or Oinomaos would find something of interest in this composition. In the actual ancient Olympics, chariot races were the most popular event for many centuries. They were prestigious and dangerous. High above the sanctuary of Olympia, facing towards the stadium where real chariot races occurred, these sculptures immortalized the quiet anticipation that precedes a competition. Just as Zeus appears in the middle of the pediment, worshippers and athletes competing in games to honor the god might imagine Zeus’s presence in their midst as they passed through his sanctuary.

In addition to having elaborately decorated pediments, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia was adorned with 12 sculpted  metopes . The  relief  metopes did not wrap all the way around the temple. Instead, they were only on the shorter east and west sides of the temple. Six appeared on the front (east), while another six were on the back (west).

Restored cross section of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia showing the position of the metopes above the porch, by Guillaume-Abel Blouet and Achille Poirot, c. 1831

The metopes were also placed in a somewhat unusual location on the temple. They did not appear on the exterior façades, directly beneath the pediments (which was more typical). Instead, they decorated the exterior walls of the  cella , so that the viewer would have to step up in between the columns to see them. [20]

Although the metopes are smaller than the pediments, each measuring about 1.6 meters (5 feet 3 inches) square, they are impressive in their own right. They show the 12 labors of Herakles, a series of extremely difficult tasks that the hero completed over a number of years. Each metope tells the story of a single labor and constitutes an independent narrative. But together, the metopes tell a larger story about the greatest Greek hero triumphing against every imaginable opponent and earning his fame.

Herakles is shown without a beard (and thus as a young man) in the first metope from the temple, but by the last metope he has grown a thick beard, indicating that he has aged into adulthood. Left: Herakles’s face (detail), west metope 1 from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0); right: Herakles cleaning the Augean Stables (detail), east metope 6 from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Jean Housen , CC BY-SA 4.0)

There is no doubt that the sculptors intended these metopes to show several related stories: from the first metope to the last, Herakles noticeably ages. [21] In his first labor, depicted on the first metope, he is a young, beardless man who sits wearily after defeating his foe; on the last metope he is bearded and mature, strenuously finishing a final task. These depictions of great physical strength performed by a popular hero were suitable for the sanctuary at Olympia, where athletic competitions were so significant. [22] Most of the labors shown in these metopes took place in the Peloponnese, the region in which Olympia is situated, which probably made them feel even more relevant to the temple’s visitors. Moreover, these mythic stories were especially fitting decorations for the Temple of Zeus because Zeus was Herakles’s father, and because some myth traditions suggested that Herakles, not Pelops, founded the Olympic games. [23]

The metopes display several typical features of Early Classical art. The figures who populate them have the cap-like hair, thick eyelids, and doughy drapery we have come to expect of the Early Classical style. Some of the scenes are full of dramatic motion, while other, calmer scenes reveal an interest in the emotions of their characters. By looking closely at several of the better preserved metopes from the temple, we will see how the sculptors depicted Herakles’s labors.

West metope 3 from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble, 1.6 x 1.6 m (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

In the third metope on the west side of the temple, Herakles is shown in the quiet moments after he has completed a labor. He has just defeated the Stymphalian Birds (a group of man-eating birds that were attacking people living near them). Herakles was at first unable to access the swamp where the birds lived, but the goddess Athena provided him with much needed assistance. She appears next to him on the metope. She sits on a rock and turns back to look towards the hero, who reaches his arm out to pass her something, perhaps one of the birds. Her dress falls heavily against her body, revealing the shape of her chest and legs even as it conceals them. The thick folds of the drapery, as well as her cap-like hair and placid expression, are characteristics of the Early Classical style. The nude Herakles is shown with an idealized body that moves believably in space. Although this is a relief sculpture, both Athena and Herakles twist and turn in order to interact realistically. To achieve this naturalistic motion, the sculptor has carved his relief especially deeply in places. For example, Herakles’s right arm is fully free of the metope’s background. The narrative focus here is not on the labor itself, but instead on the interaction between the successful hero, Herakles, and his patron goddess, Athena.

West metope 4 from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble, 1.6 x 1.6 m (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Joanbanjo,  CC BY-SA 3.0)

In contrast, the next metope is full of action. Here, we see Herakles in the midst of capturing the destructive Cretan Bull. Both Herakles and the bull are rendered with an extreme attention to naturalism. As the bull rears up and towards the viewer’s right, he turns his head backwards to look at the hero. The animal’s head projects fully from the background of the metope. Herakles tries to counteract the force of the bull by pulling back, towards the left. His muscles visibly strain beneath his torso and his gaze is directed straight at his opponent. Herakles and the bull move in opposite directions, countering each other and crossing over one another, creating a composition that is full of tension. [24]

East metope 4 from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble, 1.6 x 1.6 m (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Egisto Sani , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The fourth metope on the east side of the temple depicts one of Herakles’s last labors. Herakles was asked to steal golden apples from the Garden of the  Hesperides . When he arrived at the garden, Herakles encountered Atlas, an old god who was forced to hold up the heavens for all of eternity after losing a battle against Zeus and the other Olympian gods. Herakles asked Atlas to retrieve the golden apples for him, offering to hold up the sky in his absence. In this metope we see the moment Atlas returns from the Garden of the Hesperides, with the golden apples in his hands, as Herakles supports the sky with the help of Athena.

Although there is no exaggerated motion in this relief, there is still plenty of tension. Despite his immense strength, Herakles struggles under the enormous weight of the skies. He uses both arms (and a cushion on his shoulders) to hold up heaven. He looks down in a posture that suggests great strain, and his torso bends back as he engages all his muscles. By contrast, Athena shows no struggle at all. She casually places one palm flat up against the burden of the sky, effortlessly helping Herakles. Through her heavy drapery, we can see that she is standing with her weight on her left leg while her right leg bends free, apparently relaxed in spite of the weight she bears. This contrast reminds us that the impressive strength of the hero Herakles is still less than the strength of the gods.

Reconstruction drawing of east metope 4 from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia between triglyphs

Another innovation makes this metope even more interesting. When it was positioned on the temple, it would have been situated between two  triglyphs , directly beneath another course of stone. In this context, it would look as if the load Herakles and Athena carried was the temple’s superstructure itself. Ancient viewers would immediately recognize the story being told here, but its clever incorporation into its architectural context would provide an unexpected twist that might have provoked conversation. The designers of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia intentionally played with some of the metopes’ positions on the temple, integrating them into the building in new ways. [25]

East metope 6 from the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, 470–457 B.C.E., marble, 1.6 x 1.6 m (Archaeological Museum of Olympia; photo:  Jean Housen , CC BY-SA 4.0)

The last metope on the east side of the temple depicts one of Herakles’s less popular labors. This labor was first described in ancient literature in 476 B.C.E., only 6 years before construction on the temple began, and, to the best of our knowledge, had never before been depicted in Greek art. [26] In this particularly unpleasant labor, Herakles was asked to clean the stables owned by a king named Augeas. Although these stables were home to hundreds of cattle, they had not been cleaned in decades, leaving Herakles with the foul task of scooping out an unimaginable amount of cattle dung. To complete this labor, Herakles re-routed two entire rivers so that they would run through the stables and wash them clean.

The metope shows Herakles as he changes one of the river’s paths. He is mid-swing, about to drive his tool into the ground to reshape the water’s flow. In its original position on the temple, it would look as though Herakles was about to drive his tool into the neighboring triglyph and pry it off. Athena stands beside him, wearing her heavy dress and her helmet. Her presence indicates her support of Herakles, though once again she appears in a relaxed posture that contrasts with Herakles’s strenuous motion.

The sculptors’ decision to include the story of the Augean Stables in their series of metopes was an ingenious one. Legend tells us that one of the rivers that Herakles re-routed was the Alpheios River, a large waterway that flows through the Peloponnese, close to the sanctuary at Olympia. Once again, we see that the artisans who designed the architectural sculpture of the Temple of Zeus chose narratives that were especially relevant to their context. The great hero Herakles, who eventually became a god in part because of his great strength, was a popular figure amongst all ancient Greeks and a role model for the athletes who competed in the Olympic Games. Working in the Early Classical style, the sculptors made metopes that showed off Herakles’s physicality. Their work celebrates the achievements of this heroic son of Zeus and pointedly incorporates them into the temple’s structure and the sanctuary.

Site plan of the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia, with Pheidias’s workshop and the Temple of Zeus highlighted

Cult statue

Almost 30 years after the Temple of Zeus and its rich decorations were completed, sanctuary officials decided to add one more element to the structure. They hired Pheidias, the master sculptor who had recently created the cult statue of Athena Parthenos that stood in the Parthenon in Athens, to create a cult statue of Zeus for his temple at Olympia. Archaeologists have discovered the workshop Pheidias used while building his enormous gold and ivory statue of Zeus just behind the temple.

Reconstruction drawing of the statue of the Zeus within the Temple of Zeus at Olympia by Hermann Luckenbach, c. 1904

Pheidias’s statue of Zeus does not survive today, but ancient depictions and written descriptions of the image give us a sense of what it looked like. The statue was so large that the columns inside the Temple of Zeus had to be taken down and moved further apart to fit it. [27] Modern scholars who have converted ancient measurements of the statue suggest that the statue’s total height, including its base, was some 13.3 meters (43.64 feet), and that the base was about 6.6 meters (21.65 feet) wide. [28] The immense size of the statue, as well as the expensive materials of which it was made, would have made it even more awesome for ancient visitors to the temple.

Reverse of a coin minted under Antiochus IV Epiphanes in Syria, c. 175–164 B.C.E., gold. The coin seems to show the Olympian Zeus, seated on a throne, holding a scepter in his left hand and a Nike on his right hand (©  The Trustees of the British Museum , London)

Zeus was shown seated on a throne that was elaborately decorated with a number of mythical scenes. He held a small  Nike  in the palm of one hand and grasped a scepter with the other. He was shown with his chest and arms bare, while a cloak wrapped around the rest of his body. Pheidias’s decision to represent Zeus with a bare chest showed off the god’s physical perfection and emphasized the great cost of the statue, as his skin was made of ivory, a hugely expensive imported material. [29] The impressiveness of this statue of Zeus within the temple at Olympia is further indicated by the fact that it was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

This cult statue was the final addition to an already spectacular temple. Libon of Elis designed the temple, a Doric structure of great scale, to act as a focal point of worship in the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia. His sculptors decorated it with images, both in the pediments and on the metopes. These sculptures tell stories of Greek triumphs, many of which are especially relevant to their Olympic, and more broadly, Peloponnesian context. It is probable that only a select few worshippers would have been allowed inside the temple, but even those who were not able to enter the temple would be able to view its rich exterior decoration. The Temple of Zeus, its decorations, and the cult statue that sat within it would have encouraged all visitors to the sanctuary at Olympia to consider the heroism and artistic prowess of the Greeks.

To see the Notes go to https://smarthistory.org/temple-of-zeus-olympia/

Read more about the Metope with Athena, Herakles, and Atlas 

Ancient Olympia: Common Grounds digital reconstruction project

The Archaeological Site of Olympia at the UNESCO World Heritage Center

Architectural Sculpture

East and west pediments from the temple of aphaia, aegina.

Explore the evolution of ancient Greek sculpture with two groups from the same temple, but that seem ages apart.

Note: Recent scholarship suggests that both pediments of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina were made at the same time in the Early Classical period, likely by two different workshops working in two different styles.

Free-Standing Sculpture

Contrapposto explained.

A discussion about contrapposto while looking at “Idolino” from Pesaro, (Roman), c. 30 B.C.E., bronze, 158 cm (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Firenze), speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker URL: https://youtu.be/5vK7Z2Odnc0

Although these particular objects may not have been known in the Renaissance, the ideas and form of contrapposto were revived in the Italian Renaissance.

Kritios Boy

Following war with the Persians, this highly naturalistic sculpture was buried out of respect.

Kritios Boy, from the Acropolis, Athens, c. 480–470 B.C.E., 4 feet high, marble (Acropolis Museum, Athens). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris  URL: https://youtu.be/Q5IWDhXtsmE

Photo of objects found on the Acropolis in Athens in the early 1860s (with the torso of the Kritios Boy visible at right), 1865, albumen silver print from glass negative, 27.7 x 21.8 cm ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York)

The head and torso of a famous ancient Greek sculpture were found separately on the  Acropolis  in Athens, in two different pits that were filled with dirt, rubble, and fragments of other statues. In the late 1800s, Greek architects and archaeologists who were preparing to build a new museum on the Acropolis discovered many ancient sculptures buried in such pits. [1] Ancient Athenians created these pits during the  Classical period , sometime after the  Persians  invaded Athens and damaged the Acropolis in 480 B.C.E. While working to maintain and restore the Acropolis, they collected damaged statues and various pieces of refuse and buried them in pits across the sacred site. [2] Since the filling of these pits is composed of elements made at many different dates, it is difficult for archaeologists to determine when precisely the statues found within them were made. As a result, art historians and archaeologists still debate when one statue of a young nude boy that was found in two pieces was created. This statue, today known as the Kritios Boy, has a new sense of movement and liveliness that was not often seen in the  Archaic period , suggesting that it was probably made in the earliest years of the Classical period, sometime between 480 and 470 B.C.E.

Kritios Boy, c. 480–470 B.C.E., marble, 4 feet high ( Acropolis Museum , Athens)

From stiff steps to realistic shifting

The Kritios Boy is an under life size statue of a nude boy. In the Greek Archaic period, relatively rigid statues of nude young men known as  kouroi (singular: kouros)  were popular, and the Kritios Boy continued their lineage. Like most Archaic kouroi, the Kritios Boy is idealized and lacks easily identifiable individualistic characteristics, making it difficult to tell who exactly he represents. [3] However, he is far less stiff than his Archaic predecessors, such as the Anavysos Kouros.

Since the lower halves of the statue’s legs are not preserved, we can not tell exactly how they were positioned, but their imbalance is implied in the shifting movement of the Kritios Boy’s body. His right leg is bent and placed slightly ahead of his left leg, so that his left leg carries most of his weight. Reacting to this imbalance, his right hip is slightly lower than left hip, and his left shoulder is slightly lower than his right shoulder. This posture that shows the body in realistic movement is known as  contrapposto . As he shifts his weight, the Kritios Boy appears to be on the brink of motion, preparing to take a step forward.

Left: Kritios Boy, c. 480–470 B.C.E., marble, 4 feet high ( Acropolis Museum , Athens); right: Anavysos Kouros, c. 530 B.C.E., marble, 6 feet 4 inches high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Contrapposto is not apparent in Archaic kouroi. Comparing the Kritios Boy to a kouros made about 50 years earlier, during the Archaic period, reveals how much more  naturalistic  the Kritios Boy’s posture is. Both sculptures represent nude male youths with one leg advancing. The  Anavysos Kouros  places his left leg in front of his right, but his body remains completely stiff. His hips do not shift at all, nor do his shoulders. Instead, his upper body and arms remain perfectly still and symmetrical, embodying the Archaic ideal. In contrast, the Kritios Boy’s entire body shifts as he appears to move his weight off his right leg and onto his left leg, as if he is about to walk. His head turns to the right, making him appear more alert and lively. The movement in his hips and shoulders make his motion more believable. Even without knowing the original position of the Kritios Boy’s feet, we can appreciate the realistic imbalance that his shift in weight enacts. [4] This increased naturalism in the sculpture’s posture suggests that he was made after the end of the Archaic period, in the  Early Classical period .

Head (detail), Kritios Boy, c. 480–470 B.C.E., marble (Acropolis Museum, Athens; photo:  Marsyas , CC BY-SA 2.5)

Early Classical style

More Early Classical stylistic features are apparent in the head of the Kritios Boy. Although his eyes are now hollow, they would have once been inlaid with glass or stone, which would have made the statue appear more lively. [5] The Kritios Boy’s expression is serious, with no hint of the smile we see in many Archaic figures. He has thick eyelids, flat cheeks, and a large chin. His hair is elaborately styled, with individual strands rolled up over a  fillet  that encircles his head. All of these physical characteristics of the Kritios Boy’s head are typical of the  Severe Style , a representational style that was especially popular during the Greek Early Classical period. This too suggests that the Kritios Boy was sculpted after the end of the Archaic period.

Left: Head (detail), Kritios Boy, c. 480–470 B.C.E., marble (Acropolis Museum, Athens; photo:  Marsyas , CC BY-SA 2.5); right: Kritios, head of one of the Tyrannicides (Harmodios), Roman copy (c. 100–200 C.E.) of Greek original (c. 477/476 B.C.E.), marble (National Archaeological Museum, Naples; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Kritios and the Kritios Boy

The Kritios Boy also resembles a few other sculptures made during the Early Classical period, which further implies that he was made during that era. One such sculpture represented the  Tyrannicides , two Athenians who were celebrated by their fellow citizens after they killed a tyrant who ruled Athens in the Archaic period. The Tyrannicides sculpture was made by two artists named Kritios and Nesiotes. Today, only Roman copies of the original Greek sculpture of the Tyrannicides survive, but there is a resemblance between the head of one of the men—the one sculpted by Kritios—and the head of the Kritios Boy. By looking more closely at the head of the Tyrannicide originally made by Kritios and the head of the Kritios Boy, we can better understand their similarities. The boys have similar flat cheeks, heavy chins, and thick eyelids. They have different hairstyles, but similar serious expressions. These similarities have led some scholars to suggest that the sculpture found on the Acropolis in the late 1800s was made by the artist Kritios, resulting in his modern name being the Kritios Boy. However, since no original Greek sculptures definitely sculpted by Kritios survive, we must be cautious when associating the statue found on the Acropolis with him. The Kritios Boy may have actually been made by a follower of Kritios, or someone working in a style quite similar to that of Kritios. [6]

Although we can’t be sure that the Kritios Boy was sculpted by Kritios himself, we can still appreciate the statue’s stylistic innovations. Rather than taking an impossibly rigid step forward like his Archaic predecessors, the Kritios Boy shifts his weight believably. His body curves realistically in response to his imbalanced posture. Since the Kritios Boy was found only partially preserved in a backfill with a jumble of other statues made at different times, we can’t rely on archaeological context to tell us when exactly he was made. Instead, we must rely on stylistic analysis to determine his date of creation. [7] The Kritios Boy’s naturalism, as well as his Severe Style facial features and expression, suggest that he was made during the Early Classical period, as a new representational style began to replace the relatively stiff style of the Archaic period.

Follow this link for the Video Transcript, Footnotes and Bibliography

Charioteer of Delphi

Take part in the celebration of an athlete’s victory—this life-size bronze is a hinge between the Archaic and Classical.

Charioteer of Delphi , c. 478–474 B.C.E., bronze (lost wax cast) with silver, glass, and copper inlay, 1.8 m high (Delphi Archaeological Museum)

URL: https://youtu.be/A-Q79HlORtM  Click here for the Video Transcript.

Artemision Zeus or Poseidon

This bronze god sank to the bottom of the sea where he sat for millennia, but who is he and what can he tell us?

Artemision Zeus or Poseidon, c. 460 B.C.E., bronze, 2.09 m high, Early Classical (Severe Style), recovered from a shipwreck off Cape Artemision, Greece in 1928 (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

URL: https://youtu.be/zqb4Zvb5PNA

Click here for the Video Transcript

Riace Warriors

Statue A (foreground) and Statue B (background), from the sea off Riace, Italy, c. 460–50 B.C.E. (?), Statue A, bronze, 198 cm high, Statue B, bronze, 197 cm high ( Museo Archeologico Nazionale Reggio Calabria )

The discovery of the statues in 1972 (photo:  MM )

The  Riace Warriors  (also referred to as the  Riace bronzes  or  Bronzi di Riace ) are two life-size Greek bronze statues of naked, bearded warriors. The statues were discovered by Stefano Mariottini in the Mediterranean Sea just off the coast of Riace Marina, Italy, on August 16, 1972. The statues are currently housed in the Museo Nazionale della Magna Grecia in the Italian city of Reggio Calabria. The statues are commonly referred to as “Statue A” and “Statue B” and were originally cast using the  lost-wax technique .

Head and torso (detail), Statue A, from the sea off Riace, Italy, c. 460–50 B.C.E. (?), bronze, 198 cm high ( Museo Archeologico Nazionale Reggio Calabria )

Statue B, from the sea off Riace, Italy, c. 460–50 B.C.E. (?), bronze, 197 cm high ( Museo Archeologico Nazionale Reggio Calabria )

Statue A stands 198 centimeters tall and depicts the younger of the two warriors. His body exhibits a strong  contrapposto  stance, with the head turned to his right. Attached elements have been lost—most likely a shield and a spear; his now-lost helmet atop his head may have been crowned by a wreath. The warrior is bearded, with applied copper detail for the lips and the nipples. Inset eyes also survive for Statue A. The hair and beard have been worked in an elaborate fashion, with exquisite curls and ringlets.

Statue B depicts an older warrior and stands 197 centimeters tall. A now-missing helmet likely was perched atop his head. Like Statue A, Statue B is bearded and in a contrapposto stance, although the feet of Statue B and set more closely together than those of Statue A.

Severe style

The Severe or Early Classical style describes the trends in Greek sculpture between c. 490 and 450 B.C.E. Artistically this stylistic phase represents a transition from the rather austere and static  Archaic  style of the sixth century B.C.E. to the more idealized  Classical  style. The Severe style is marked by an increased interest in the use of bronze as a medium as well as an increase in the characterization of the sculpture, among other features.

Statue B (detail), from the sea off Riace, Italy, c. 460–50 B.C.E. (?), bronze, 197 cm high ( Museo Archeologico Nazionale Reggio Calabria )

Interpretation and chronology

The chronology of the Riace warriors has been a matter of scholarly contention since their discovery. In essence there are two schools of thought—one holds that the warriors are fifth century B.C.E. originals that were created between 460 and 420 B.C.E., while another holds that the statues were produced later and consciously imitate Early Classical sculpture. Those that support the earlier chronology argue that Statue A is the earlier of the two pieces. Those scholars also make a connection between the warriors and the workshops of famous ancient sculptors. For instance, some scholars suggest that the sculptor Myron crafted Statue A, while Alkamenes created Statue B. Additionally, those who support the earlier chronology point to the Severe Style as a clear indication of an Early Classical date for these two masterpieces.

The art historian B. S. Ridgway presents a dissenting view, contending that the statues should not be assigned to the fifth century B.C.E., arguing instead that they were most likely produced together after 100 B.C.E. Ridgway feels that the statues indicate an interest in Early Classical iconography during the  Hellenistic period .

In terms of identifications, there has been speculation that the two statues represent Tydeus (Statue A) and Amphiaraus (Statue B), two warriors from Aeschylus’ tragic play,  Seven Against Thebes  (about Polyneices after the fall of his father, King Oedipus),   and may have been part of a monumental sculptural composition. A group from Argos described by Pausanias (the Greek traveler and writer) is often cited in connection to this conjecture: “A little farther on is a sanctuary of the Seasons. On coming back from here you see statues of Polyneices, the son of Oedipus, and of all the chieftains who with him were killed in battle at the wall of Thebes…” [1]

A conjectural restored view of the two warriors (image:  Leomonaci121198 )

The statues have lead dowels installed in their feet, indicating that they were originally mounted on a base and installed as part of some sculptural group or other. The art historian Carol Mattusch argues that not only were they found together, but that they were originally installed—and perhaps produced—together in antiquity.

[1]  Pausanias,  Description of Greece,  2.20.5.

Read more about the  Riace Bronzes in “War, democracy, and art in ancient Greece, c. 490–350 B.C.E.” —a Reframing Art History chapter.

Click here for further resources.

CLASSICAL PERIOD

Architecture and architectural sculpture, the athenian agora and the experiment in democracy.

We recognize ancient Greece as the birthplace of democracy, but what did democracy really mean to the Greeks?

URL: https://youtu.be/TYXCcTchLnI

Site plan of the Agora of Athens in the Classical period, creator:  Tomisti , CC BY-SA 4.0

• Altar of Twelve Gods
• Royal Stoa (Stoa Basileios)
• Temple of Zeus, later Stoa of Zeus
• Old and new Temple of Apollo Patroos
• Old Metroon
• Aiakeion (not Heliaia as previously thought)
• SE fount (often Enneakrunos)
• Eleusinion (outside the map)
• Stoa Poikile
• Temple of Hephaestus
• New Bouleuterion
• Prytanikon, later Tholos
• Monument of Eponymous Heros
• Altar of Zeus Agoraios
• Temple of Zeus Phratrios and Athene Phratria
• Strategeion
• House of Simon & agora boundary stone
• South Stoa I
• Columned court

Additional resource

Athenian Agora Excavations by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens  with resources on the history of excavations and democracy, guide to the site, research, and publications

The Parthenon, Athens

Learn about the great temple of Athena, patron of Athens, and the building’s troubled history.

Iktinos and Kallikrates (sculptural program directed by Phidias), Parthenon, 447–432 B.C.E. (Athens). Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker      URL: https://youtu.be/tWDflkBZC6U

The many lives of the Parthenon

The Acropolis of Athens viewed from the Hill of the Muses (photo:  Carole Raddato , CC BY-SA 2.0)

The  Parthenon , as it appears today on the summit of the Acropolis, seems like a timeless monument—one that has been seamlessly transmitted from its moment of creation, some two and a half millennia ago, to the present.  But this is not the case. In reality, the Parthenon has had instead a rich and complex series of lives that have significantly affected both what is left, and how we understand what remains.

Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, 447–432 B.C.E. (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

It is illuminating to examine the Parthenon’s ancient lives: its genesis in the aftermath of the Persian sack of the Acropolis in 490 B.C.E.; its accretions in the Hellenistic and Roman eras; and its transformation as the Roman empire became Christian. Why was the building created, and how was it understood by its first viewers? How did its meanings change over time? And why did it remain so important, even in Late Antiquity, that it was converted from a polytheist temple into a Christian church?

Investigating the many lives of the Parthenon has much to tell us about how we perceive (and misperceive) this famous ancient monument. It is also relevant to broader debates about  monuments and cultural heritage . In recent years, there have been repeated calls to tear down or remove contested monuments, for instance,  statues of Confederate generals  in the southern United States. While these calls have been condemned by some as ahistorical, the experience of the Parthenon offers a different perspective. What it suggests is that monuments, while seemingly permanent, are in fact regularly altered; their natural condition is one of adaptation, transformation, and even destruction.

When Persians sacked Athens, they destroyed or damaged many sculptures, including the now-famous Calf-Bearer (today in the Acropolis Museum). Athenians buried many of these sculptures in a pit, which were not uncovered until the 19th century. Unknown photographer,  The Calf-Bearer and the Kritios Boy Shortly After Exhumation on the Acropolis , 1865, albumen silver print from glass negative, 27.7 x 21.8 cm ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York)

The Moschophoros  or  Calf-bearer , c. 570 B.C.E., marble 165 m high (Museum of the Acropolis of Athens; photo:  Marysas , CC BY-SA 2.5)

The genesis of the Parthenon, 480–432 B.C.E.

The Parthenon we see today was not created  ex novo . Instead, it was the final monument in a series, with perhaps as many as three Archaic predecessors. The penultimate work in this series was a marble building, almost identical in scale and on the same site as the later Parthenon, initiated in the aftermath of the First Persian War.

In the war in 492–490 B.C.E., Athens played a central role in the defeat of the Persians. Thus it is not surprising that ten years later when the Persians returned to Greece, they made for Athens; nor that, when they took the city, they sacked it with particular fervor. In the sack, they paid special attention to the Acropolis, Athens’s citadel. The Persians not only looted the rich sanctuaries at the summit, but also burned buildings, overturned statues, and smashed pots.

When the Athenians returned to the ruins of their city, they faced the question of what to do with their desecrated sanctuaries. They had to consider not only how to commemorate the destruction they had suffered, but also how to celebrate, through the rebuilding, their eventual victory in the Persian Wars.

Remains of materials from the temples destroyed during the Persian sack of the Acropolis, such as column-drums (shown here) and a triglyph-metope frieze, were incorporated into the North Wall (photo:  Gary Todd )

The Athenians found no immediate solution to their challenge. Instead, for the next thirty years they experimented with a range of strategies to come to terms with their history. They left the temples themselves in ruins, despite the fact that the Acropolis continued to be a working sanctuary. They did, however, rebuild the walls of the citadel, incorporating within them some fire-damaged materials from the destroyed temples. They also created a new, more level surface on the Acropolis through terracing; in this fill, they buried all the sculptures damaged in the Persian sack. These actions, most likely initiated in the immediate aftermath of the destruction, were the only major interventions on the Acropolis for over thirty years.

Plan of the Older Parthenon (in black) superimposed on that of the Parthenon (in gray). Plan by Maxime Collignon

In the mid-fifth century B.C.E., the Athenians decided, finally, to rebuild. On the site of the great marble temple burned by the Persians, they constructed a new one: the Parthenon we know today. They set it on the footprint of the earlier building, with only a few alterations; they also re-used in its construction every block from the Older Parthenon that had not been damaged by fire. In their recycling of materials, the Athenians saved time and expense, perhaps as much as one-quarter of the cost of construction.

The Older Parthenon foundation is located below the newer construction (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

At the same time, their re-use had advantages beyond the purely pragmatic. As they rebuilt on the footprint of the damaged temple and re-used its blocks, the Athenians could imagine that the Older Parthenon was reborn—larger and more impressive, but still intimately connected to the earlier sanctuary.

Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, Parthenon Metopes, south flank, marble, c. 440 B.C.E., Classical Period (British Museum, London; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

While the architecture of the Parthenon referenced the past through re-use, the  sculptures on the building  did so more allusively, re-telling the history of the Persian Wars through myth. This re-telling is clearest on the metopes that decorated the exterior of the temple. These metopes had myths, for instance, the contest between men and centaurs, that recast the Persian Wars as a battle between good and evil, civilization and barbarism .  

The metopes did not, however, depict this battle as one of effortless victory. Instead, they showed the forces of civilization challenged and sometimes overcome: men wounded, struggling, even crushed by the barbaric centaurs.  In this way, the Parthenon sculptures allowed the Athenians to acknowledge both their initial defeat and their eventual victory in the Persian Wars, distancing and selectively transforming history through myth.

Thus even in what might commonly be understood as the moment of genesis for the Parthenon, we can see the beginning of its many lives, its shifting significance over time. Left in ruins from 480 to 447 B.C.E., it was a monument directly implicated in the devastating sack of the Acropolis at the onset of the Second Persian War. As the Parthenon was rebuilt over the course of the following fifteen years, it became one that celebrated the successful conclusion to that war, even while acknowledging its suffering. This transformation in meaning presaged others to come, more nuanced and then more radical.

Hellenistic and Roman adaptations

By the Hellenistic era if not before, the Parthenon had taken on a canonical status, appearing as an authoritative monument in a manner familiar to us today. It was not, however, untouchable. Instead, precisely because of its authoritative status, it was adapted, particularly by those who sought to present themselves as the inheritors of Athens’ mantle.

The Parthenon was altered by a series of aspiring monarchs, both Hellenistic and Roman. Their goal was to pull the monument, anchored in the canonical past, toward the contemporary. They did so above all by equating later victories with Athens’ now-legendary struggles against the Persians.

We can still see traces of the Persian shields from Alexander the Great that were at one point below the metopes. The blue circles indicate roughly were they would have been located (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The first of these aspiring monarchs was the Macedonian king Alexander the Great. As he sought to conquer the Achaemenid Empire—alleging, as one  casus belli , the Persian destruction of Greek sanctuaries one hundred and fifty years earlier—Alexander made good propagandistic use of the Parthenon. After his first major victory over the Persians in 334 B.C.E., the Macedonian king sent to Athens three hundred suits of armor and weapons taken from his enemies. Likely with Alexander’s encouragement, the Athenians used them to adorn the Parthenon. There are still faint traces of the shields, once prominently placed just below the metopes on the temple’s exterior. Melted down long ago due to their valuable metal content, the shields must have been a highly visible memento of Alexander’s victory—and also of Athens’ subordination to his rule.

Wounded Gaul , from the Small Pergamene Votive Offering, Roman copy of the 2nd century C.E. from a Greek original of the 2nd century B.C.E. (Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples)

Some two centuries later, another Hellenistic monarch set up a larger and more artistically ambitious dedication on the Acropolis. Erected just to the south of the Parthenon, the monument celebrated the Pergamene kings’ victory over the Gauls in 241 B.C.E. It also suggested that this recent success was equivalent to earlier mythological and historical victories, with monumental sculptures that juxtaposed Gallic battles with those of gods and giants, men and Amazons, and Greeks and Persians. Like the shield dedication of Alexander, the Pergamene monument made good use of its placement on the Acropolis. The dedication highlighted connections between the powerful new monarchs of the Hellenistic era and the revered city-state of Athens, paying homage to Athens’ history while appropriating it for new purposes.

Holes for bronze letters of an inscription honoring the Roman emperor Nero on the east façade of the Parthenon, created and then removed in the 60s C.E. (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

A final royal intervention to the Parthenon came in the time of the Roman emperor Nero. This was an inscription on the east facade of the Parthenon, created with large bronze letters in between Alexander’s previously dedicated shields. The inscription recorded Athen’s vote in honor of the Roman ruler, and was likely put up in the early 60s C.E.; it was subsequently taken down following Nero’s assassination in 68. The inscription honored Nero by connecting him to Athens and to Alexander the Great, a model for the young philhellenic emperor. Its removal offered a different message. It was a deliberate and very public erasure of the controversial ruler from the historical record. In this, Nero’s inscription (and its removal) was perhaps the most striking rewriting of the Parthenon’s history—at least until Christian times.

Reviewing the Hellenistic and Roman adaptations of the Parthenon, it is easy to see them purely as desecrations: appropriations of a religious monument for political and propagandistic purposes. And the speedy removal of Nero’s inscription does support this reading, at least for the visually aggressive strategies of the Roman emperor. At the same time, the changes of the Hellenistic and Roman eras are also testimony to the continued vitality of the sanctuary. Due to the prestige of the Parthenon, formidable monarchs sought to stake their visual claims to power on what was by now a very old monument, over four centuries old by the time of Nero. By altering the temple and updating its meanings, they kept it young.

Marble closure slab with relief cross, from the pulpit of the Christian Parthenon, 5th–6th century (Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens (photo:  George E. Koronaios , CC BY-SA 4.0)

Early Christian transformations

In ancient times, the most radical and absolute transformation of the Parthenon came as the Roman empire became Christian. At that point, the temple of Athena Parthenos was turned into an Early Christian church dedicated to the  Theotokos  (Mother of God). As with the rebuilding of the Parthenon in the mid-fifth century B.C.E., the decision to put a Christian church on the site of Athena’s temple was not just pragmatic but programmatic.

Reconstruction drawing of the church inside the Parthenon by M. Korres from Panayotis Tournikiotis, The Parthenon and Its Impact in Modern Times (New York, 1996)

By transforming the polytheist sanctuary into a space of Christian worship, it provided a clear example of the victory of Christianity over traditional religion. At the same time, it also effectively removed, through re-use, an important and long-enduring center of polytheist cult. This removal through re-use was a characteristic strategy used by the Christians throughout the Roman Empire, from Turkey to Egypt to the German frontier. In all these places, it formed part of the often violent, yet imperially sanctioned, transition from polytheism to Christianity.

The Christian transformation of the Parthenon involved considerable adaptation of its architecture. The Christians needed a large interior space for congregation, unlike the polytheists, whose most important ceremonies took place at a separate altar, outdoors. To repurpose the building, the Christians renovated the inner cella of the Parthenon. They detached it from its exterior colonnade, added an apse that broke through the columns at the east end, and removed from the interior the statue of Athena Parthenos that had been the  raison d’étre  of the polytheist temple.

Metope from the east side of the Parthenon showing the battle of men and Amazons, heavily cut down by early Christians (photo:  Gary Todd )

An illustration showing the location of the pediment, metopes and frieze on the Parthenon.

Other sculptures from the Parthenon suffered likewise from the Christians’ attentions. Most of the metopes—the lowest down and most visible of the Parthenon’s sculptures—were cut away, rendering them difficult to interpret or to use as a focus of polytheist cult. Only the south metopes with the centaurs were spared, perhaps because they overlooked the edge of the Acropolis and were thus hard to see. By contrast, the frieze (hidden between the exterior and interior colonnades) was left almost entirely intact, as were the high-up pediments. The differentiated treatment of the various sculptures on the Parthenon suggests negotiation between traditionalists and the more fervent of the contemporary Christians. Polytheists perhaps sacrificed the relatively small-scale and blatantly mythological metopes to keep the larger, better quality sculptures elsewhere on the monument. Examining the frieze, about one hundred sixty meters long and almost perfectly preserved, it seems like the polytheists got a good deal.

19th-century photographs show the Frankish tower and Ottoman dome (not visible here) that was once part of the Acropolis. Normand Alfred Nicolas,  The northwest side of the Acropolis and the surrounding area , 1851, photograph (Benaki Museum, Athens)

Conclusions

Within and beyond the ancient world, the Parthenon had many lives. Rather than ignoring them, it is useful to acknowledge these lives as contributions to the building’s extraordinary continuing vitality. At the same time, one might note that the biography of the Parthenon (though accessible to specialists) has been decidedly effaced by the way it is presented now. When contrasting its present-day state with the first photographs taken in the mid-nineteenth century, we can see how much has been intentionally removed: a Frankish tower by the entrance to the Acropolis, an Ottoman dome, mundane habitations . 

In its current iteration, the Acropolis has been returned to something resembling its pristine Classical condition, with no reconstructed monuments dating later than the end of the 5th century B.C.E. This feels like a loss: a retardataire effort to reinstate a selective, approved version of the past and to erase the traces of a more difficult and complex history. As such it stands as an example, and perhaps also a warning, for our current historical moment.

The Parthenon sculptures at The British Museum

Digital Acropolis Museum

History of the Acropolis from Greece’s Ministry of Culture and Sports

View on Google Maps

Phidias, Parthenon sculpture (pediments, metopes and frieze)

Discover stunning depictions of gods, heroes, and mythical beasts in the most influential sculptures in history.

Phidias(?), Parthenon sculptures, frieze: 438-432 B.C.E., pediment: c. 438-432 B.C.E. and metopes: c. 447-32 B.C.E. Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris     URL: https://youtu.be/uF_W0jQ7bi0

View on at the British Museum in Google Maps and at the Acropolis Museum

Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?

Ancient Greeks made them, Ottomans captured them, Venetians blew them up, and the British took them away.

Phidias(?), Parthenon sculptures, frieze: 438-432 B.C.E., pediment: c. 438-432 B.C.E. and metopes: c. 447-32 B.C.E., an ARCHES video.  Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris      URL: https://youtu.be/QRH105_ztAw

How the Parthenon lost its Marbles (National Geographic)

The British Museum on the Parthenon sculptures

The Acropolis Museum

William St Clair, Imperialism, Art & Restitution: The Parthenon and the Elgin Marbles

The Erechtheion

Perched on a cliff high above Athens, this complex temple is very different from its neighbor, the Parthenon.

The Erechtheion, 421-405 B.C.E., Classical period, Acropolis, Athens   URL:  https://youtu.be/3ebYvMC12HI

Link to Video Transcript 

Caryatid and Ionic Column from the Erechtheion

These graceful female figures replace columns—how did human form and architecture relate in ancient Greece?

Caryatid (South Porch) and Ionic Column (North Porch), Erechtheion on the Acropolis, Athens, marble, 421-407 B.C.E., Classical Period (British Museum, London). Mnesicles may have been the architect.  https://youtu.be/X872rmThCF8

The caryatid

The Erechtheion is perhaps the most complex building on the Acropolis. It houses shrines to several different deities, including Athena, Zeus and Poseidon. It is named for the mythic King Erechtheus who judged the contest between Athena and Poseidon for who would be the patron deity of Athens.

This caryatid is one of six elegant female figures who supported the roof of the south porch of the Erechtheion (figures who do the work of columns—carrying a roof—are called caryatids). The figure wears a garment pinned on the shoulders (this is a peplos—a kind of garment worn by women in ancient Greece). The drapery bunches up at the waist and pours over the belt. She stands in contrapposto with her left knee bent and pressing against the drapery The folds of drapery on other right side resemble the fluting (vertical grooves) on a column. She looks noble and calm despite the fact that she carries the weight of a roof on her head.

Ionic Column (North Porch), Erechtheion on the Acropolis, Athens, marble, 421-407 B.C.E., Classical Period (British Museum, London). Mnesicles may have been the architect.

The Erechtheion is a highly decorated and elegant Ionic temple. The scroll forms at the top of the column (the capital) and its tall slender profile indicate that this is the Ionic order. The column is formed of four pieces (known as “drums”) and is fluted (decorated with vertical grooves). Just below the scroll shapes (also called volutes) you see decorative moldings, including one called “egg and dart” (egg shapes alternating with V-shapes), and below that a ring of plant-like shapes—an alternating palmette and lotus pattern.

These decorative patterns also appear on the entablature of the Erechtheion (the entablature is the horizontal area carried by the columns).

Entablature from the Erechtheion, Acropolis, Athens, marble, 421-407 B.C.E. (British Museum, London)

Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis

Temple of Athena Nike, 421-05 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis, Athens

The temple of Athena Nike (Athena as a goddess of victory) is the smallest temple at the Acropolis in Athens, placed at its southwest corner, at the edge of a high cliff (see images above). Its construction was completed in the year 420 B.C.E., during the so called High Classical Period, according to the design of Kallikrates (the same architect who was responsible for the construction of the  Parthenon ). The temple by Kallikrates replaced an earlier small temple, which got completely destroyed during the  Persian wars .

Reconstruction diagram of the Athenian Acropolis

The spot, highly vulnerable to attack but also well placed for defense, was very appropriate for the worship of the goddess of victory. There is some archaeological evidence, that the location was used for religious rituals already in Mycenaean age ( Mycenaean  was a period of early Greek history, roughly from 1600 to 1100 B.C.E.). Mycenaeans also raised the first defensive bastion on the spot; its fragments are preserved in the temple’s basement.

An Ionic gem

The temple of Athena Nike, built in  Ionic order  of beautiful white  Pentelic marble , has columns at the front and back but not on the sides of the  cella ; this kind of floor plan is called an amphiprostyle. Because of the small size of the structure, there are only four columns on each side. The columns are monolithic, which means that each one of them was made of a single block of stone (instead of horizontal drums, as it is in the case of the Parthenon).

This small and elegant structure is sometimes called the pearl of the Acropolis, since it was designed and decorated with great care. For example, interestingly, its side columns have  volutes  both in the front and at the side, in order to create a pleasant view from any viewpoint. The Greeks considered their temples as a kind of monumental sculpture, which was supposed to be viewed from all sides and experienced in connection to its surroundings. The Romans later had a different concept—for them, the frontal view was most important (for example, the Roman  Temple of Portunus ).

Amphiprostyle plan of the Temple of Athena Nike

Another interesting detail is that the columns of the temple of Athena Nike are not as slender as those of many other Ionic buildings. Usually the proportions between the width and the height of an Ionic column was 1:9 or even 1:11. Here the proportion is 1:7—and the reason for that choice might have been the intention to create a harmonious whole with other buildings nearby. The temple of Athena Nike stands just next to the Propylaea (below), a heavy, monumental gateway to the Acropolis, built in the  Doric  order. To visually counteract this massive structure, the architect may have decided to widen the columns, otherwise the building might feel out of place, and too delicate in contrast to the neighboring architectural mass of the Propylaea. We know that the ancient Greeks were very aware of mathematical ratios while constructing architecture or creating statues, feeling that the key to beauty lies in correct proportion.

Mnesikles, The Propylaea, 437-32 B.C.E., marble, Acropolis, Athens

The temple of Athena Nike, as with all Greek temples, was considered a home of the deity, represented in its statue, and was not a place where regular people would enter. The believers would simply perform rituals in front of the temple, where a small altar was placed, and could take a glimpse of the sculpted figure of the goddess through the space between the columns. The privilege of entering the temple was reserved for the priestesses, who held a respected position in Greek society. As the name suggests, the temple housed the statue of Athena Nike, a symbol of victory. It probably had a connection to the victory of the Greeks against the Persians around half a century earlier. Nike usually had wings, but in this case we know that the statue had no wings, hence it was called Athena  Apteros  (without wings). The ancient Greek writer Pausanias later explained that the statue of Athena had no wings, so that she could never leave Athens.

The history of this architectural monument has been quite tumultuous. In the 5th century C.E. the temple was converted into a Christian church, then in the 17th century it was completely dismantled by the Ottoman Turks who needed its material to build fortifications. The temple was later reconstructed after Greece regained independence in 1832. In the 1930s the building was restored again. Very recently, new concerns about the structure’s integrity prompted a new conservation project. First, a team of specialists completely dismantled the temple. Each of its parts was examined and mended, and eventually the entire building was reassembled using the original pieces, with some fill wherever it was needed. These additions can be easily recognized since they are of a lighter color than the original marble.

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal  (detail), south side of the parapet of the Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, c. 410 B.C.E., marble, 3′ 6″ high (Acropolis Museum, Athens)

The temple of Athena Nike featured beautiful sculptural decoration, including a typical continuous Ionic  frieze , which on the eastern side represented a gathering of gods. On the southern wall, the sculptor decided to show a battle between Greeks and Persians, and on the remaining sides, battles between Greeks and other warriors. Sculptures on the pediments, almost entirely lost, most probably depicted the  Gigantomachy  and  Amazonomachy . Best known are reliefs from the outside of the stone parapet that surrounded the temple at the cliff’s edge. These represented Nike in different poses and could be admired by people climbing the stairs to the Acropolis. Most famous of these is the  Nike Adjusting Her Sandal   (above) which presents the goddess in a simple, everyday gesture, perhaps adjusting her sandal (or maybe taking it off) as she prepares to enter the sacred precinct. Whatever she is doing, the relief is still charming in its elegance and simplicity. Both  Nike Adjusting Her Sandal  and parts of the frieze can be admired today at the Acropolis Museum.

Greek Gods and Religious Practices on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

Acropolis Restoration Service website

Acropolis Museum

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal , Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens

Compare this off-balance image of the goddess of victory to earlier classical sculpture.

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal , from the south side of the parapet of the Temple of Athena Nike, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, c. 410 B.C.E., marble, 3′ 6″ high (Acropolis Museum, Athens)   URL: https://youtu.be/B4HXrb8cPQI

Additional resources Temple of Athena Nike video, Acropolis Museum

Video Transcript 

Polykleitos,  Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)

For the ancient Greeks, the human body was perfect. Explore this example of the mathematical source of ideal beauty.

Polykleitos,  Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer) , Roman marble copy after a Greek bronze original from c. 450–440 B.C.E. (Museo Archaeologico Nazionale, Naples). Speakers: Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

URL: https://youtu.be/zojMBDSiNIU

Roman copies of ancient Greek art

When we study  ancient Greek art , so often we are really looking at  ancient Roman art , or at least their copies of ancient Greek sculpture (or paintings and architecture for that matter).

Basically, just about every Roman wanted ancient Greek art. For the Romans, Greek culture symbolized a desirable way of life—of leisure, the arts, luxury and learning.

Polykleitos,  Doryphoros  ( Spear-Bearer ) or  Canon , Roman marble copy of a Greek bronze, c. 450–440 B.C.E. (Museo Archaeologico Nazionale, Naples; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The popularity of ancient Greek art for the Romans

Greek art became the rage when Roman generals began conquering Greek cities (beginning in 211 B.C.E.), and returned triumphantly to Rome not with the usual booty of gold and silver coins, but with works of art. This work so impressed the Roman elite that studios were set up to meet the growing demand for copies destined for the villas of wealthy Romans. The  Doryphoros  was one of the most sought after, and most copied, Greek sculptures.

Example of original Greek bronze sculpture,  Antikythera Youth , 340–330 B.C.E., bronze, 1.96 m high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens, photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Bronze versus marble

For the most part, the Greeks created their free-standing sculpture in bronze, but because bronze is valuable and can be melted down and reused, sculpture was often recast into weapons. This is why so few ancient Greek bronze originals survive, and why we often have to look at ancient Roman copies in marble (of varying quality) to try to understand what the Greeks achieved.

Detail showing hand where bronze spear was once held, Polykleitos,  Doryphoros  ( Spear-Bearer ) or  Canon , Roman marble copy of a Greek bronze, c. 450–440 BCE (Museo Archaeologico Nazionale, Naples; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Why sculptures are often incomplete or reconstructed

To make matter worse, Roman marble sculptures were buried for centuries, and very often we recover only fragments of a sculpture that have to be reassembled. This is the reason you will often see that sculptures in museums include an arm or hand that are modern recreations, or that ancient sculptures are simply displayed incomplete.

The  Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)  in the Naples museum (image above) is a Roman copy of a lost Greek original that we think was found, largely intact, in the provincial Roman city of Pompeii. [1]

The idea of ​​a canon, a rule for a standard of beauty developed for artists to follow, was not new to the ancient Greeks. The ancient Egyptians also developed a canon. Centuries later, during the  Renaissance ,  Leonardo da Vinci  investigated the ideal proportions of the human body with his  Vitruvian Man  .

Polykleitos’s idea of ​​relating beauty to ratio was later summarized by Galen, writing in the second century,

Beauty consists in the proportions, not of the elements, but of the parts, that is to say, of finger to finger, and of all fingers to the palm and the wrist, and of these to the forearm, and of the forearm to the upper arm, and of all the other parts to each other. GALEN,  DE PLACITIS HIPPOCRATIS ET PLATONIS

[1] Recent scholarship suggests that the  Doryphoros  sculpture in the Naples museum may not have been found in a Palestra at Pompeii. See Warren G. Moon, editor,  Polykleitos, The Doryphoros and Tradition  (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995).

Doryphoros at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

Doryphoros on Art Through Time

Myron,  Discobolus (Discus Thrower)

Coiled with athletic energy, balance, and the promise of movement, see the potential of an idealized human body.

Myron,  Discobolus (Discus Thrower) , Roman copy of an ancient Greek bronze from c. 450 B.C.E., Classical Period (Palazzo Massimo alle Terme)

URL: https://youtu.be/OhJKDqZgNXg

See this sculpture on SketchFab

Grave stele of Hegeso

See the mastery of form developed in the Classical period translated to private art on this solemn gravestone.

Grave stele of Hegeso , c. 410 B.C.E., marble and paint, from the Dipylon Cemetery, Athens, 5′ 2″ (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)     URL: https://youtu.be/YUzsxLi43gE

Additional resources This stele at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

LATE CLASSICAL PERIOD

The alexander sarcophagus.

Alexander the Great conquered the known world, but who was this monument for and what does it symbolize?

The Alexander Sarcophagus , c. 312 B.C.E., Pentelic marble and polychromy, found in Sidon, 195 x 318 x 167 cm (İstanbul Archaeological Museums)  URL: https://youtu.be/kxiaae0HIBs

The Antikythera Youth

The Antikythera Youth , 340-330 B.C.E., bronze, 1.96 m high (National Archaeological Museum, Athens), an ARCHES video speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker  URL: https://youtu.be/qdTA63dYh08

Additional resources This sculpture at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The Antikythera Shipwreck

Lysippos,  Apoxyomenos (Scraper)

Ancient Greek athletes cleaned themselves with oil. This sculpture shows one athlete’s bathing ritual.

Lysippos,  Apoxyomenos (Scraper) , Roman copy after a bronze statue from c. 330 B.C.E., 6′ 9″ high (Vatican Museums)

URL: https://youtu.be/REeBUSYRzRo

Lysippos,  Farnese Hercules

Weary from his labors, Hercules leans on his club, with hints of his heroic trials hidden in plain sight.

Lysippos,  Farnese Hercules , 4th century B.C.E. (later Roman copy by Glycon) (Archaeological Museum, Naples)    URL: https://youtu.be/T-Yv4mp5yp8

Capitoline Venus (copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos)

Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, emerges from her bath, but what did her nudity mean to the Greeks?

Capitoline Venus , 2nd century C.E., marble, 193 cm (Capitoline Museums, Rome) (Roman copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos, a 4th century B.C.E. Greek original by Praxiteles)   URL: https://youtu.be/nI07zaDpnJU

Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

HELLENISTIC PERIOD

Following the death of Alexander the Great, Greek influence stretched as far east as modern India. While some artists intentionally mimicked the Classical style of the previous period, other artists were more interested in capturing motion and emotion.    This three-hundred-year period was one of artistic vibrance and immense cultural influence.

Terms to know and use

Alexander the Great          Macedonia

Hellenistic kingdoms               Pergamon

high relief           mosaic       sarcophagus

Key questions to consider

• Who was Alexander the Great? Why is his portraiture significant? What was the impact of the conquest of Alexander? How did these conquests lead to the creation of the Hellenistic empires?
• What are the characteristics of Hellenistic sculpture? Considering issues such as cultural imperialism, displays of power, and changing identities, how do they reflect the period?
• What buildings and sculptures were erected in the city of Pergamon in the Hellenistic period? How do these monuments reflect the political and cultural goals of the kingdom, its rulers, and its citizens?
• How and why did Rome function as a center of Hellenistic art?

by DR. AMANDA HERRING

In contrast to the earlier  Classical period , art of the Hellenistic period (c. 323–31 B.C.E.) has not been universally revered in modern art history. Beginning with Johann Joachim Winckelmann in the eighteenth century and continuing into the twentieth century, scholars referred to the period as one of decline and decadence. Yet, this approximately three-hundred-year period was one of artistic vibrance and immense cultural influence. In the twenty-first century, this period is finally beginning to see a revision in its reputation. Art historians and archaeologists are now recognizing the diversity and significance of the art produced in an era defined by conquest and war, cultural imperialism, dramatic and expensive art and architecture, and the transmission of art and ideas across large areas.

The chapter is framed by the rise of two empires, that of Macedonia in the fourth century B.C.E. and that of Rome in the second and first centuries B.C.E. At the beginning of the fourth century, people who identified as Greek lived across the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and after the conquests of Alexander the Great and the establishment of  Hellenistic kingdoms at the end of the century, Greek cities were established in Europe, north Africa, and Asia as far east as Bactria (modern Afghanistan). This chapter is organized primarily thematically, considering art and architecture within its original historical context.

Conquests of Philip and Alexander

After Philip II, king of Macedonia, came to power in 359 B.C.E., he began to expand his rule south into mainland Greece through a combination of diplomatic and military efforts. Ancient Macedonia, which occupied a territory in the northeastern Greek peninsula that today is divided primarily between the modern countries of Greece and North Macedonia, had a hereditary monarchy as its governmental system, contrasting to the city-states ( poleis ) of southern Greece.

There were cultural differences between the southern Greeks and Macedonians as well. Macedonian Greek was its own dialect, and the cultural institutions that surrounded their monarchy, with its associated societal hierarchy, set them apart.

Evidence of this cultural and political system can be seen in the lavishly decorated tombs filled with rich grave goods found at a number of sites in Macedonia, notably the royal burials at Vergina (ancient Aigai), as well as the monumental architecture built for the king and his court, such as the palace and other buildings at Pella with their impressive  pebble mosaics .

After the Battle of Chaironeia in 338 (when Philip’s army defeated combined Athenian and Theban forces), Philip gained control of most of Greece. Philip placed himself as the leader of the newly formed League of Corinth, which included all of the Greek states except Sparta. The stated goal of the federation was to preserve peace among the Greek cities, but this was enforced by Macedonian dominance and military might. At its first meeting, the league ratified Philip’s plan to invade the  Persian Empire  in retaliation for the Persian Wars in the previous century.

Philip was assassinated in 336 and unable to complete his plans. They were instead taken on by his son, Alexander (the Great), who ascended to the throne at the age of 20 after his father’s unexpected death. Over the next thirteen years until his own death in 323, Alexander and his army embarked on a military campaign of conquest that established Alexander’s rule over a territory of approximately two million square miles. It stretched from Greece and Egypt in the west across Mesopotamia and Persia and into Central Asia and India.

Alexander carefully cultivated his image as a god-like hero, founding cities he named after himself, and commissioning portraits. Alexander tightly controlled his imagery, allowing only one sculptor, Lysippos, and one painter, Apelles, to create portraits that depicted the king with distinct, idealized features as a young conqueror. While none of these original portraits have survived, the type was influential, shaping Greek portraiture for centuries. Alexander’s successors commissioned and displayed portraits of the king and ordered images of themselves that emulated those of Alexander in order to connect themselves with his glory. This was the case for one of the earliest surviving portraits of Alexander from the  Alexander Sarcophagus , which most likely served as the burial place for a king of Sidon in Lebanon. He was a Phoenician king who owed his position to Alexander and commemorated this connection with Greek-style images of Greeks and Persians in battle or hunts on his sarcophagus.

Hellenistic Art and Changing Ideas of Greek Identity

Alexander’s empire only lasted as long as he lived, and after his death most of his territory was split between his generals, who each established their own kingdoms. For the next three hundred years, the eastern Mediterranean and much of West Asia were dominated by these kingdoms. Three major centers of power emerged: Egypt under the Ptolemies, the parts of West Asia under the Seleukids, and Greece and  Anatolia , which saw various rulers, notably the Attalids of Pergamon. As the kings fought for dominance, warfare was nearly constant and the borders of their kingdoms changed regularly. Large, cosmopolitan cities like Antioch, Alexandria, and Pergamon emerged with diverse populations and wealthy upper classes.

As part of their establishment and maintenance of power, most Hellenistic rulers practiced cultural imperialism, promoting Greek language, culture, and religion in territories that previously did not identify as Greek. The period is now known as the Hellenistic period due to this spread of Greek (Hellenic) culture. Yet, this was not simply the imposition of Greek culture across passive, conquered peoples. These kings ruled over millions of people of different ethnicities who spoke numerous languages and worshiped various gods. The cultures, religions, and art of the conquered people influenced those of the conquerors in turn.

There is a large variation in what we identify as Hellenistic art, across the Hellenistic world and across the three centuries that we identify as the Hellenistic period. Yet, the Hellenistic world was intensely interconnected, with artistic ideas, trade, and people moving across huge swaths of territory. There were common cultural touchstones that connected these different areas, notably the spread of the common Greek language, the worship of Greek gods, and Greek artistic style and iconography. Yet, these were regularly re-interpreted on a local level by different populations, and the formation of art and identity was a constant negotiation that happened primarily on a local level. An examination of the funerary complex at Nemrut Dağ of Antiochos I, a king of  Kommagne in the first century B.C.E., who traced his lineage from both Greek and Persian kings, provides an example of Hellenistic hybridity.

The Pergamon Altar

The Pergamon Altar, c. 200-150 B.C.E., 35.64 x 33.4 meters, Hellenistic Period (Pergamon Museum, Berlin); speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker    URL: https://youtu.be/L3SIooVHV8E

Acropolis, Pergamon, İzmir Province, Turkey (photo:  Carol Raddato , CC BY-SA 2.0)

But Ge [goddess of earth] . . . brought forth the giants, whom she had by Uranus [god of the sky]. These were matchless in the bulk of their bodies and invincible in their might; terrible of aspect did they appear, with long locks drooping from their head and chin, and with the scales of dragons for feet. —Apollodorus,  Library  1.6.1

Pergamon Altar (today in the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, photo:  Garret Ziegler , CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

The battle between the gods and giants

Battle between the Gods and Giants (detail), Krater with Gigantomacy scene, classical period, Ancient Greece (Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid)

The ancient  Greeks  represented the mythological battle between the Olympian gods and the giants in a wide variety of media—from miniature engraved gemstones and vase paintings, to over-life-sized architectural sculptures.

Perhaps the most famous and well-preserved of these decorates the Pergamon Altar. The  Altar  once stood in a sacred precinct on the  acropolis  of the ancient city of Pergamon (on the west coast of modern-day Turkey), which was ruled by the Attalid dynasty from 282–133 B.C.E.

In comparison to other Hellenistic kingdoms (kingdoms formed after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C.E. and stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to Central Asia), Pergamon emerged relatively late on the scene. Monumental building projects—including the Altar—served as an important way for the Attalids to stake their claim as legitimate inheritors of Alexander’s empire and, by extension, the legacy of Classical Greece.

In the early 20th century the Altar found a new home in Berlin, Germany—2,677 kilometers from its original location—where it has remained on view since 1930 as the centerpiece of the museum bearing its name (see end note below and learn  more here  about how the altar ended up in Berlin). [1]

Altar in the center foreground, model of the acropolis at Pergamon (c. 150 B.C.E.)

The Altar’s architectural framework alone is impressive—it comprises a monumental Π-shaped structure surrounded by columns and accessed by a grand staircase. However, its most eye-catching feature is undoubtedly the  frieze , a massive 113 meters long and 2.3 meters high marble high-relief that wraps around the building’s entire exterior and depicts the mythological battle between the Gods of  Mount Olympus  and Giants.

The battle, known as the gigantomachy—from the ancient Greek γίγαντες (“giants”) and μάχη (“battle”)—represented a crucial shift for the ancient Greeks: the old religion, which was rooted in the natural world (for example, Ge, the earth goddess and mother of the giants), was overthrown by the new, civilized order of the Olympian gods (for example, Zeus, Athena, and others). According to the myth, the gods received a prophecy that the giants could only be defeated with the help of a mortal. Zeus (assisted by Athena), called upon the hero Herakles who dealt the decisive blow by shooting them with arrows. [2] Over time, the visual tradition of the gigantomachy expanded to include the presence of other Greek heroes, who also aided the gods.

Viewing the Altar

The approach

Ancient viewers would have first approached the Altar from its rear, where the gigantomachy’s main protagonists—the god Zeus and goddess Athena assisted by the hero, Herakles—decisively defeat their giant antagonists. From this view, the figures in the relief appear inaccessible as they tower above—their over-life-sized bodies often twisting into near-impossible positions in the midst of battle. While the stepped platform made it possible to access the frieze up close, this would only have placed viewers in uncomfortable proximity to the immortal skirmish.

From left to right, figures associated with water: Nereus and Doris, Oceanos, and part of Tethys(?). North side of grand staircase, Pergamon Altar (photo:  Carole Raddato , CC BY-SA 2.0)

The sides of the altar

As visitors continued along either side of the Altar they encountered gods and goddesses thematically assembled (for example, the twin gods Apollo and Artemis with their mother Leto). Despite the Altar’s fragmentary state of preservation, many of the figures can be identified—now, as in ancient times—through inscriptions included above (in the case of the gods) and below (in the case of the giants) the frieze.

From left to right, figures associated with water: Nereus and Doris, Oceanos, and part of Tethys(?). Giants kneel further to the right. North side of grand staircase, Pergamon Altar (photo:  Carole Raddato , CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Front of the Altar

Once ancient viewers reached the Altar’s front the characters began to increasingly invade their space, projecting outwards to the point where some giants (such as those battling water divinities on the north side) even kneel on the steps. It’s as if they are inviting us to join the terrifying conflict as we ascend. Despite the immense number of figures on the frieze, each panel manages to offer new discoveries for its viewers.

A battle for Hellenistic times

This version of the gigantomachy is characteristic of the Hellenistic style (Greek art dating from c. 323 to 31 B.C.E.). It is highly dramatic, both in terms of the overtly exaggerated dynamism of the figures’ bodily positions and the pathos exhibited by their expressions. The frieze, and its enigmatic central characters, first draw viewers in via the two central panels featuring the god Zeus and the goddess Athena.

The goddess Athena grasps the giant Alkyoneos by his unruly wavy hair, pulling his face to the left. His right arm grasps in vain at Athena’s forearm. A serpent, the agent of Athena, restrains the giant’s body and simultaneously exposes his anatomy to the viewer. Alkyoneos kneels on his right leg, while his left leg extends outwards, crossing over Athena’s striding form. His face, with its wrinkled brow and open mouth, exaggerates his suffering. It is framed by the interlocked arms of giant and goddess as well as by the giant’s wings, which fill the top of the panel  in low relief . Ge, goddess of the earth and mother of giants, emerges from the ground to beg for her son’s life. Notably, the earth goddess is the only figure to be identified with an inscription on the frieze itself (rather than above or below, as with the other gods and giants) emphasizing her role as an intermediary. Nevertheless, Nike, goddess of Victory, has already flown in to crown Athena, sealing Alkyoneos’ fate.

The giants from the Zeus panel are rendered from three distinct perspectives. One, directly to Zeus’ left, kneels on his left leg, his body not nearly as extended as Athena’s opponent. A second, furthest from Zeus, shows us his muscular back, buttocks, and serpentine legs as he turns toward the god with his bearded face in profile. The third, to Zeus’ right, has been pierced by Zeus’ weapon, the thunderbolt, and sits in profile view, wounded on the ground. Although barely preserved, just to the right of this wounded giant the figure of Herakles can be detected by a paw from the Nemean lion’s skin (an at tribute of the Greek hero Herakles) . Herakles’ essential role in the gigantomachy has been appropriately emphasized through his proximity to Zeus. (In fact, the Attalid’s choice to monumentalize this particular myth was likely tied to the presence of the Greek hero who was the father of Telephos, the mythological founder of Pergamon).

Just as impressive as their dynamic poses, these two panels depict a diversity of giant types—from human to animal. On the Altar, a giant could be fully humanized, and even wear armor. But many more are anguiform (snake-like) and some possess further animalistic features. A few, besides, are even more overtly animal-like, almost monstrous.

Detail of the north frieze showing the god Apollo and goddess Artemis advancing towards a fleeing giant, Siphnian Treasury, c. 530 B.C.E., Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi, Greece (photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Visual traditions of the gigantomachy 

Some of the earliest representations of the gigantomachy, such as the frieze from the  Treasury of the Siphnians  at Delphi (c. 525 B.C.E.), appear to follow  Hesiod’s   Theogony , in which he describes the giants as born wearing  “gleaming armor with long spears in their hands.” [3] For example, a detail from the north frieze shows the god Apollo and goddess Artemis advancing towards a fleeing giant, who turns back to look at them. The  Archaic-style  giants are uniformly depicted in armor (similar to the that worn by hoplites, the foot soldiers of ancient Greece) and face the gods almost as equals.  To the left of this scene, a lion—pulling a goddess’s chariot—attacks a giant. The frieze is dominated by overlapping profiles of gods and giants who stride toward one another but there is little indication of physical engagement between the figures, save for the lion and the giant.

East metopes showing a portion of the gigantomachy, Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, 447–432 B.C.E. (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Over time and in countless artworks, artists reimagined the gigantomachy to include a variety of characters, interactions, and attributes, eventually making the Pergamon Altar version possible. One of the most recognized examples of the gigantomachy, on the east  metopes  of the Parthenon (447–438 B.C.E.), promoted the Athenians as civilizers and preservers of Greek culture over the barbarous Persian forces. Following the Persian wars (545–448 B.C.E.) the attire of the giants changed to include animal skins (difficult to see on the metopes today). The  Classical-style  Parthenon metopes have evolved from the Archaic depictions of the Siphnian treasury to emphasize a clearer distinction between god and giant. The gods are generally portrayed above the giants; the giants have shed the majority of their hoplite armor in favor of donning animal skins and wielding rocks or clubs, which connect them to the natural world.

The Athenian  Parthenon , and the city of Athens more broadly, became incredibly influential in both the Classical and later periods. Hellenistic rulers, including the Attalid kings of Pergamon, sought to emulate Athens and, significantly, forged visual connections between their own newly formed kingdoms and the established cities of mainland Greece. The Pergamene Acropolis contained numerous sculptural and architectural references to Athens, including an over life-sized marble copy of the colossal chryselephantine (gold and ivory)  Athena Parthenos  that once stood inside the Parthenon. The Altar too may have contained compositional allusions to the renowned Athenian temple, namely in the striding figures of Athena and Zeus, whose poses resemble that of Athena and Poseidon on its west  pediment  (see a reconstruction drawing of it  here ).

On the Parthenon, the Athenians used myths to provide commentaries on their contemporary reality. The barbaric giants, decisively defeated by the Olympian gods and assisted by Greek heroes, served as an appropriate visual metaphor for the Persians, who had desecrated the sacred sites of Greece including the Athenian Acropolis. Similarly, were the figures of giants on the Altar meant to evoke the enemies of Pergamon—the Gauls and the Macedonians?

From myth to reality: the Pergamon Altar as a victory monument

Prior to the construction of the Altar, the first king of Pergamon, Attalos I, set up monuments to commemorate his victory over the  Gauls  and legitimize his rule. The fact that his sons (Eumenes II and Attalos II) also fought the Gauls has prompted scholars to consider the Great Altar as another victory monument.

Left: Wounded Gaul from the monument of Attalos I (Roman copy, c. 3rd–2nd century B.C.E.  (Musée du Louvre) ; right: detail of Zeus’ opponent (a giant), Pergamon Altar, c. 1971–39 B.C.E. (Staatliche Museen, Berlin)

Single figures of Gauls from the earlier victory monuments that survive in the form of Roman copies bear clear resemblance to the giants from the Altar frieze. Compare the thick, curly, wild locks of hair of the Wounded Gaul in the Louvre to that of a giant from the Zeus panel. The Gauls were known to have covered their hair with a watered down plaster mixture, giving it a thickened rough appearance. [4] While the giants on the Altar were not exact quotations of the Gauls, their agonized twisting figures likely reminded viewers of the earlier monuments, some of which were probably erected nearby.

Left: Helmeted giant striding forward with shield; right: trampled giant with shield, Pergamon Altar, c. 197–139 B.C.E. (Staatliche Museen, Berlin)

The armored giants in the frieze evoke comparison with another contemporary adversary. Two giants from its east side—one striding toward the goddess Artemis bearing a shield, and a second trampled beneath Hera’s chariot, also holding a shield—bear characteristically  Macedonian  armor. The shield of the trampled giant is adorned with a starburst, a common emblem of the Macedonians. [5]

The Altar is not alone in alluding to victory of Pergamon over the Macedonians—images of their armor also appear at the Sanctuary of Athena, located just north of the Altar precinct on the Pergamene acropolis. The emphatic inclusion of these attributes may have served as a means to quash rumors that Eumenes II was considering peace or an alliance after the Third Macedonian War (172–168 B.C.E.), in which the Attalids had fought alongside the Romans. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the Altar—similar to other multifunctional structures in cities and sanctuaries throughout the Greek world—also served as a treasury for arms and armor captured in the Gallic and Macedonian wars (among others). These reminders—both real and sculpted—would have strengthened viewers’ visual associations between the enemies of Pergamon and the giants on the Altar frieze.

As ancient visitors traversed from the rear to the front of the Altar they witnessed the metamorphosis of giants from overtly monstrous anguiform and animal-headed representations to fully anthropomorphic figures equipped with the arms and armor of Attalid enemies. [6] Taking its cue from the example of the Classical Parthenon, the Pergamon Altar went one step further in encouraging its viewers to visually compare contemporary adversaries with the fearsome giants. Ultimately, in conflating a mythological battle with contemporary Attalid victories the Altar elevated the triumph of Pergamon to that of the gods.

[1] As of writing, the Pergamon Museum is currently under renovations until 2024. The Altar is not currently on view, but initiatives have been taken to make the altar accessible to the public through a  3D model  and temporary exhibition building featuring a  panorama  of the city in Roman times.

[2] Apollodorus,  Library , In Loeb Classical Library, translated by Sir James George Frazer (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1921) 1.6.1-2.

[3] Hesiod,  Theogony , translated by M.L. West (New York: Oxford University Press, 1988), pp. 173–206.

[4] Bernard Andreae, “Dating and Significance of the Telephos frieze in Relation to the Other Dedications of the Attalids of Pergamon,” In  Pergamon: The Telephos Frieze from the Great Altar , edited by R. Dreyfus and E. Schraudolph (San Francisco: Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, 1996-1997), pp. 122–123.

[5] ]For example, the star also adorned Macedonian coinage, such as on a  silver tetradrachm  struck under Philip V (186/5–183/2 B.C.E.), now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

[6] Emma Aston,  Mixanthrôpoi: Animal-human hybrid deities in Greek religion  (Liège: Centre International d’Étude de la Religion Grecque Antique, 2011), p. 19. She argues that three themes are often used to address the animal/human relationship: “combat, bestiality, and metamorphosis.”

3D Model of the Pergamon Altar , Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (2016)

The recent story of the Pergamon Altar (Google Cultural Institute)

What happened in Pergamon (Google Cultural Institute)

Nemrut Dağ (tomb of King Antiochus I Theos)

The mausoleum of Antiochus I (69–34 B.C.E.), who reigned over Commagene, a kingdom founded north of Syria and the Euphrates after the breakup of Alexander’s empire, is one of the most ambitious constructions of the Hellenistic period. The syncretism of its pantheon, and the lineage of its kings, which can be traced back through two sets of legends, Greek and Persian, is evidence of the dual origin of this kingdom’s culture.

Statue of a Victorious Youth Getty Conversations

Would you believe that this ancient Greek statue was found at the bottom of the ocean by fishermen in the 1960s?   What was once a shining emblem of Olympic achievement underwent a physical transformation and now tells of its journey far from home.

A conversation with Dr. Kenneth Lapatin, Curator of Antiquities, Getty Museum and Dr. Beth Harris, Executive Director, Smarthistory, in front of  Statue of a Victorious Youth , Greek, c. 300–100 B.C.E. Bronze with inlaid copper, 151.5 x 70 x 27.9 cm. Getty Museum, Los Angeles.   URL: https://youtu.be/LhL7S8KccDk

Barberini Faun

Part man, part goat, this companion of the god of wine relaxes after a night of drinking.

Barberini Faun , c. 220 B.C.E., Hellenistic Period (Glyptothek, Munich)   URL: https://youtu.be/KQ63wu7lsXo

Dying Gaul and Ludovisi Gaul

Pain is visible on the face of this dying warrior. Did the ancient Greeks sympathize with their defeated enemies?

Dying Gaul  and the  Gaul killing himself and his wife (The Ludovisi Gaul) , both 1st or 2nd century C.E. (Roman copies of Third Century B.C.E. Hellenistic bronzes commemorating Pergamon’s victory over the Gauls likely from the Sanctuary of Athena at Pergamon), marble, 93 and 211 cm high (Musei Capitolini and Palazzo Altemps, Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome)   URL:  https://youtu.be/in6iDVnTw-k

The Dying Gaul  by  Matthew Brennan on  Sketchfab

The Dying Gaul , reconsidered

Kehinde Wiley,  Dying Gaul (Roman 1st Century) , 2022, bronze, 21 1/8 x 18 7/8 x 47 inches

A hooded shirt, frayed jeans, and sneakers: these are the clothes that contemporary artist  Kehinde Wiley  uses to reimagine the famous ancient sculpture known as the  Dying Gaul . The ancient sculpture shows a  Celtic  soldier succumbing to death. Wiley’s sculpture presents a modern Black man in the same pose to prompt viewers to reflect on empathy and violence in art. Following his critique, we should take a closer look at the ancient sculpture of the  Dying Gaul . The original statue’s complicated politics have been forgotten during its long journey from antiquity to becoming a much-copied masterpiece in the modern world.

Dying Gaul , Roman marble copy (1st century B.C.E.) of a Greek sculpture (c. 220 B.C.E), found in Rome in the early 1600s, 93 x 89 x 186.5 cm ( Musei Capitolini, Rome ; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Wiley is one of many artists who have studied the  Dying Gaul . As early as 1683, Gérard Audran  illustrated  the statue in a book about human proportions, and Giovanni Panini even showed artists drawing the  Dying Gaul  in the foreground of his monumental painting  Ancient Rome  from 1757. Full-size plaster  replicas  of the sculpture are held by museums around the world and have been used to teach students appreciation for the  classical  art of the ancient Mediterranean. In art history textbooks, the  Dying Gaul  is often illustrated as an ideal example of ancient Greek and Roman art. These repeated references give the sculpture a central place in the art historical  canon .

Yet, the  Dying Gaul  is based on an ancient ethnic stereotype that combines objects and physical features to portray Celts as both outsiders and uncivilized barbarians. This stereotype was developed by the Greeks who feared Celtic invasions even while hiring Celtic men as mercenaries and trading with Celtic communities across long-distance networks. The Romans later used the stereotype to commemorate their own victories over Celtic armies.

Left: Celtic sculpture of a warrior wearing a lobed headdress (known as the Glauberg warrior), 5th century B.C.E., stone, 1.86 m, 230 kg, excavated from an aristocratic tomb complex in 1994 (World of the Celts Museum, Glauberg); right: Celtic sculpture of a bearded man wearing a torc necklace (known as the Trémuson head), 1st century B.C.E., stone, 40 cm, excavated from an aristocratic villa complex in 2019 (Trémuson, France)

Celtic sculptures like the Glauberg warrior (above left) and Trémuson head (above right) reveal how Celts saw themselves. Such works have received far less attention than the  Dying Gaul  in part due to aesthetic biases that favor  naturalism  over more abstract representations. If you look closely at the sculpted arms, you will see that those on the Glauberg warrior resemble cylinders, while those on the  Dying Gaul  have defined musculature. High naturalism contributes to the  Dying Gaul ’s enduring fame, but does not necessarily make the work more important or more truthful.

In order to understand the  Dying Gaul’s  legacy for modern artists and viewers, its stereotyping of Celtic peoples needs to be explored and balanced with images made by the Celts themselves. Doing so reveals the limitations of the canon and the consequences of exclusion.

Dying Gaul  (detail), Roman marble copy (1st century B.C.E.) of a Greek sculpture (c. 220 B.C.E), found in Rome in the early 1600s, 93 x 89 x 186.5 cm ( Musei Capitolini, Rome ; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The stereotype: origins and legacy

Greeks in the eastern Mediterranean developed the stereotype for Celtic peoples in the fourth and third centuries B.C.E., when Celts were migrating from their homelands and successfully claiming new territory in northern Italy (ancient  Gallia Cisalpina ) and central Turkey (ancient  Galatia ). Later, as Rome’s empire simultaneously expanded, Roman leaders found the stereotype useful for their own monuments commemorating victories over Celts.

The sculpture of the  Dying Gaul  itself is thought to be a Roman marble copy of a Greek statue (now lost) from the eastern Mediterranean. [1] The Greek statue was created around 220 B.C.E. The Roman version dates to the first century B.C.E. By that time, nearly all Celtic territories had been annexed by Rome. Ireland and much of Scotland ultimately escaped Roman conquest, which is one reason why Celtic cultures persisted in those regions.

Seeing the stereotype

To see the stereotype, we need to look closely at the  Dying Gaul ’s belongings, body, and pose. [2]

Celtic sculpture of a man with mustache and torc, c. 200 B.C.E., stone, 23.4 cm high, found at Mšecké Žehrovice in 1943 (National Museum, Prague; photo: Zde, CC BY-SA 4.0)

A distinctive open necklace called a torc establishes the warrior’s Celtic identity. Similar artifacts appear in Celtic self-representations, such as the Trémuson head and the  damaged warrior statues  from Entremont.

Celtic torc and coins found at Tayac, c. 100 B.C.E., gold, part of a buried treasure found in 1893 (Musée d’Aquitaine, Bordeaux)

Torcs also survive in the Celtic lands of ancient Europe. The torc found at Tayac even has a twisting shape similar to the one worn by the  Dying Gaul . Romans targeted these necklaces for looting during military campaigns: to have seized one from an opponent was considered a sign of valor. [3] Torcs even appeared on  Roman coins  to symbolize Celtic defeat. Greek and Roman men did not wear such prominent necklaces, so this jewelry was part of the “othering” of the Celtic soldier.

The mustache also distinguished the  Dying Gaul  as an outsider to Greek and Roman men who grew  beards  or were  clean-shaven , but did not favor mustaches alone. In Celtic sculptures, men could appear fully bearded, fully clean-shaven, or with a mustache, so this feature may have had some basis in reality.

The hairstyle and face of the  Dying Gaul  are more difficult to judge for two reasons. First, we do not have the full ancient statue: earlier restorers replaced the missing nose and trimmed the broken tips of the hair to improve the appearance for display. Second, the ancient representation was filtered through Greek and Roman ideas about Celtic bodies and hairstyling.  Diodorus Siculus , for example, recorded this impression of Celtic men:

They are tall in body, with rippling muscles and white skin, and their hair is blond, not only naturally so, but they are also accustomed to use artificial means to enhance its natural color. For they are always washing it in  lime-water , and they pull it back from the forehead to the top of the head and back to the nape of the neck, so they look like  Satyrs and Pans ; since this treatment of their hair makes makes it so heavy and coarse that it differs not at all from horses’ manes. DIODORUS SICULUS,  HISTORICAL LIBRARY , 5.28.1-2

Dying Gaul  (detail), Roman marble copy (1st century B.C.E.) of a Greek sculpture (c. 220 B.C.E), found in Rome in the early 1600s, 93 x 89 x 186.5 cm (Musei Capitolini, Rome; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Scholars have noted that the  Dying Gaul ’s face has parallels in Greek and Roman images of satyrs (who were half human, half animal). For example, the  Barberini Faun  shares with the  Dying Gaul  a furrowed brow and v-shaped face crowned with wavy hair. ( The   Barberini Faun  also has a tail and pointed ears, which the  Dying Gaul  lacks.) The Celts’ own images reveal a range of hairstyles and faces, but none seems intended to liken men to animals. [4]

The  Dying Gaul ’s nudity and wound are more enigmatic and have no known parallels in Celtic art. In Greek and Roman art, the nudity of a perfectly toned male  body  could reveal heroism or eroticism. Greek and Roman sources also record that Celtic leaders sometimes went into battle naked as an intimidation tactic, so the  Dying Gaul ’s lack of clothing may have had an historical association. [5]

Issued by Julius Caesar, the coin depicts a trophy installation made of seized carnykes (Celtic trumpets with animal heads), shields, a torc, helmet, and armor. Beneath are a clothed woman and a nude, bearded man with bound hands, and the worn letters of Caesar’s name. Roman denarius, 46 B.C.E. silver, 1.78 cm diameter ( American Numismatic Society, New York )

Nudity reveals the sword wound on the  Dying Gaul ’s chest. The dripping blood would have been even more vivid when the sculpture was  painted . The wound’s location on the front of the body indicates that the Celt displayed the heroism of meeting his foe face-to-face rather than turning and running away. Yet the injury also makes clear that he was defeated by his opponent. Modern viewers often respond to his defeat with empathy, but we do not know what ancient viewers thought.

As the soldier succumbs to his wound, his pose is tensely balanced. One knee points upward, while the torso and head tilt downward to foreshadow his fall. This pose makes the nude, dying body vulnerable to our gaze, while also locking the man into a defeated fate. If we survey Greek and Roman representations of Celtic soldiers, we find that they are most often shown dying or captured, with their hands bound, beneath displays of their seized weapons. Movement is limited to running away, as Celtic soldiers are shown doing in a set of terracotta sculptures from  Civitalba .

Celts naturally did not depict their own defeat. In fact they won major victories against Greek and Roman armies, and even sacked the city of Rome in 387 B.C.E. The stereotype obscures this much more complicated history.

Celtic patterned disk, 2nd century B.C.E., bronze, 20 cm diameter, excavated from a tomb at Roissy in 1999 ( Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye , photo:  BastienM , CC BY-SA 3.0)

Celtic perspectives

Celtic points of view can be difficult to recover. Ancient Celts prioritized spoken transmission of their beliefs and histories, so they left few texts to consult. In addition, most Celtic peoples favored intricate patterns in their art, rather than realistic portrayals of people or events. A few communities, however, featured soldiers in their art, and these experiments help us understand heroism from a Celtic point of view.

Celtic coin with a head and the name Dubnocou (front) and a warrior and the name Dubnoreix (back), 50s B.C.E., silver, 1.4 cm diameter, minted by the Aeduan people of Bibracte, France ( Bibliothèque Nationale, Cabinet des Médailles, Paris ). The warrior (right) wears a helmet and armor and has a sword hanging from his right hip. In his right hand, he holds a military standard in the shape of a boar and an animal-headed trumpet called a  carnyx . In his left hand, he holds the severed head of an enemy. The accompanying letters give an alternative spelling of Dumnorix, a well-known Aeduan leader mentioned in Julius Caesar,  Gallic War ,  1.3 ,  1.9 ,  1.18-20 ,  5.6-7 .

Heroism on Celtic coins

Celtic coin with the name Viipotal and an image of a Celtic warrior on the back (shown here), 50s B.C.E., silver, 1.5 cm diameter, possibly minted by the Pictones people of Poitiers, France ( Bibliothèque Nationale, Cabinet des Médailles, Paris ). This coin dates to the era of the Roman invasion led by Julius Caesar

Celtic coins  typically omitted words and featured images that were highly abstract. [6] In the first century B.C.E., however, the names of Celtic leaders appeared on a number of coins, sometimes accompanied by warrior imagery. At the time, the region’s peoples were negotiating political alliances among themselves and responding to repeated Roman invasions. The coins had a practical purpose of sealing alliances and paying soldiers.

One slightly worn coin depicts a Celtic soldier standing and facing the viewer. The warrior wears a helmet, armor, and a belt over a short tunic. His left hand holds a long oval shield. His right hand holds a sculpted boar (the wild pig’s snout faces down). Behind the soldier’s right wrist is an upright spear. Compared to the  Dying Gaul,  this warrior stands ready for battle, wears armor to protect his body from enemy weapons, and has his own weapon close at hand.

The boar sculpture is a  military standard . Boars were important symbols of ferocity in the region’s culture, and bronze  military standards  like the one on the coin have been excavated in France. Whereas the coin’s soldier brandishes a well-crafted animal symbol as a sign of power, the  Dying Gaul ‘s soldier is made to resemble a half-wild creature himself (given that his hair resembles a satyr’s).

The name Viipotal curves around the upper right of the coin’s edge. [7] Viipotal is not known from any other textual sources, so we do not know who he was or why an image of a soldier appeared next to his name. Nonetheless, coins like Viipotal’s allow us to speak of particular Celts, rather than anonymous stereotypes like the  Dying Gaul.

Perrier’s etching reimagines the statue as a human combatant with a bleeding chest wound. The pose is reversed in the print, but would have been correct on the original etching plate. François Perrier, from the series  Segmenta nobilium signorum et statuarum , 1638, etching, 13.4 x 23.3 cm (©  Trustees of the British Museum )

Incompatible afterlives

Of all these images of Celtic soldiers, the  Dying Gaul  is by far the best known. Since the sculpture was rediscovered in the early 1600s, its fame has been spread worldwide by paintings, prints, photographs, and replicas. [8] The statue itself is so highly esteemed that it has been displayed abroad twice. In 1796,  Napoleon  had it seized and transported to Paris (it was returned in 1816). In 2013–14, Italy loaned the statue to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in order to promote Italian culture.

The Celtic coins and statues are far less famous. They have been treated as historical evidence, rather than canonical works worthy of recreation and display abroad.

Dying Gaul  exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Roman marble copy (1st century B.C.E.) of a Greek sculpture (c. 220 B.C.E), found in Rome in the early 1600s, 93 x 89 x 186.5 cm (Musei Capitolini, Rome; photo:  Rob Shelley )

Consequences for the canon

The  Dying Gaul  combines admiration (Celts meet death with courage), insult (Celts are animalistic), truth (Celts wear torcs), and fiction (Celts always lose). Today we more often see such “enemies of the moment” portrayed in films, but villains in spy movies vary in ethnicity from decade to decade and from nation to nation. The difficulty with the  Dying Gaul  is that it stereotypes a momentary enemy in a work that has achieved lasting global fame.

The  Dying Gaul  remains canonical because we continue to engage with it. Kehinde Wiley and other artists have good reasons for  copying  past creations, and art historians develop expertise so as to recognize and interpret their  allusions . Yet repeated references can reinforce the importance of biased works while still marginalizing alternative points of view. The Celts deserve a place in this conversation.

[1] The  Dying Gaul  is not the only version of this statue from antiquity. A fragmentary torso in the same pose is held by the  Skulpturensammlung, Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, Dresden  (inventory number HM 154). A smaller version with a mirrored pose also survives and shows a nude soldier wearing a helmet, with a circular spear wound through the front and back of his torso (inventory number 6015, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, Italy).

[2] After the statue was rediscovered in Rome in the early 1600s, restorations replaced missing areas, including the figure’s toes, left knee, right arm, and nose, as well as the sword on the ground. The head shows signs of multiple reattachments, and restorers also trimmed the fragmented ends of the hair. The shield and trumpet are original to the statue, and they match Celtic evidence in the archaeological record.

[3] The Roman military even created and distributed its own torcs as general awards for courage. These Roman military torcs were typically worn on the chest like a badge, as demonstrated by the funerary portrait of the Roman centurion Marcus Caelius (Xanten, Germany, 9 C.E.;  C.I.L.  13, 1848; Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, Germany).

[4] One exception is the  Celtic Euffeigneix Pillar  (first century B.C.E.), which has a human head, a ponytail, a torc, an image of a boar on the torso, and animal eyes on the sides. Many Celtic communities revered boars for their ferocity, so this melding of human and animal elements would have been complimentary (Inventory number MAN 78243, Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France).

[5] Polybius ( Histories , 2.28-29 ) mentions this strategy at the Battle of Telamon, Italy, fought by the Celts and the Romans in 225 B.C.E.

[6] Celtic communities began minting coins around 300 B.C.E. and took inspiration from the coins of the Greeks and Romans with whom they traded and for whom they worked as mercenaries.

[7] The name is spelled out in the Roman alphabet that the Celts sometimes used to record the sounds of their names even before their territories were claimed by the Roman Empire.

[8] In the 19th century, scholars recognized that the torc and shield could be matched with Celtic artifacts. Before then, the statue was called the “Dying Gladiator,” and many early illustrations still have this title.

Kimberly Cassibry, “ The Tyranny of the  Dying Gaul : Confronting an Ethnic Stereotype in Ancient Art ,”  Art Bulletin  99.2 (2017): pp. 6–40.

Cite this page as: Dr. Kimberly Cassibry, “ The Dying Gaul , reconsidered,” in  Smarthistory , May 13, 2023, accessed September 24, 2023,  https://smarthistory.org/the-dying-gaul-reconsidered/ .

Bronze statue of Eros sleeping

Cupid, chubby and quietly sleeping, is a common symbol today … but what did this sculpture mean to ancient Greeks?

https://youtu.be/_rdhAFaROsV

Bronze statue of Eros sleeping, 3rd–2nd century B.C.E., bronze, 16 1/2 × 14 × 33 9/16″ / 41.9 × 35.6 × 85.2 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Video from  The Metropolitan Museum of Art .   URL: https://youtu.be/_rdh A FaROsV

Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace

Nike (Winged Victory) of Samothrace , Lartos marble (ship) and Parian marble (figure), c. 190 B.C.E. 3.28 m high, Hellenistic Period (Musée du Louvre, Paris); a conversation between Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker   URL: https://youtu.be/PjI0hAr0Vo0

Nike of Samothrace (winged Victory) , Lartos marble (ship), Parian marble (figure), c. 190 B.C.E., 3.28 meters high (Louvre, Paris; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Standing at the top of a staircase in the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the  Nike of Samothrace  looks down over her admiring crowds. One of the most revered artworks of  Hellenistic  Greek art, the  Nike  has been on display in the Louvre since 1866. The statue was brought to France by Charles Champoiseau, who found it in pieces during excavations on the island of Samothrace in 1863. Champoiseau was serving as vice-consul in the Ottoman city of Adrianople (modern Edirne, in Turkey), and visited Samothrace specifically to look for antiquities. At the time, European travelers and archaeologists, as well as many amateurs like Champoiseau, conducted excavations and combed ancient sites in the eastern Mediterranean in search of ancient objects to display in their homes and museums. The ownership of ancient objects highlighted appreciation for and connection to the antique past and was understood as a as sign of elite status.

Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes,  Laocoön and his Sons , early first century C.E., marble, 7’10 1/2″ high (Vatican Museums; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Announcing a naval triumph

The sculptural group consists of two parts, a large ship’s bow made of grey marble and a free-standing white marble statue with theoverall composition rising more than eighteen feet (Nike alone is nine feet tall). The flying personification of victory ( nikē  in Greek means victory) alights on top of the ship, announcing a naval triumph. Her wings stretch dramatically behind her. A forceful wind blows her drapery across her body, gathering it in heavy folds between her legs, around her waist, and streaming behind her, conveying a vivid illusion of movement. Thin and gauzy across her breasts, abdomen, and legs, this same drapery reveals her body underneath the clothing, creating an erotized vision of the female form.

Similar to other Hellenistic artworks such as the  Laocöon  and the  Great Altar at Pergamon , the Nike is extraordinarily dramatic in composition and style. It is intended to be viewed from multiple angles, encouraging the viewer to move around the statue, and through this interaction engage with the artwork physically and emotionally.

Right hand , Nike of Samothrace, c. 190 B.C.E., 3.28 meters high (Louvre, Paris; photo: 林高志, CC BY-SA 4.0)

Recreation of a portion of the original polychromy (photo: Erich Lessing)

The statue, as it stands today in the Louvre, has been partially restored. While it is now plain white marble, the statue, like all ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures, would have originally been brightly painted, and traces of pigment have been found on the statue. The right wing is a modern replica. Surviving fragments indicate that the right wing would have risen higher than the left wing and slanted upward. The missing feet, arms, and head have not been restored, giving the statue its now iconic form.

Nike’s surviving right hand (which was found in 1950) gives a clue to her original appearance. Her fingers are outstretched, indicating that she may have been making a gesture of greeting.

Nike, c. 200–150 B.C.E., terracotta, from Myrina, Anatolia (The British Museum; photo: Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0)

A series of small terracotta figurines of Nike, made in  Myrina in Anatolia , give further insight into the original appearance of the  Nike of Samothrace . These statues show the goddess in flight, her drapery blown by the wind, with her wings stretched behind her balanced by her extended arms in front.  Nike of Samothrace  most likely appeared similarly, but on a much larger scale.

Nike of Samothrace (winged Victory), Lartos marble (ship), Parian marble (figure), c. 190 B.C.E., 3.28 meters high (Louvre, Paris; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Nike’s wings are a mastery of marble construction. Marble is a heavy material, and compositions that included large protruding, unsupported, large elements such as the wings were rarely seen in earlier Greek sculpture. The now-unknown artist(s) of the  Nike of Samothrace  solved this problem by creating slots on Nike’s back into which the wings were inserted, and designing the wings with a downward slope so that the weight of the wings rested primarily against the body and did not need an external support.

Who was Nike?

Nike on a Terracotta lekythos, c. 490 B.C.E., attributed to the Dutuit Painter ( The Metropolitan Museum of Art )

Nike was both the goddess of victory and the personification of victory itself, in both war and athletic competitions. She was rarely featured in Greek myth and had no easily definable personality or biography. She was usually worshipped alongside other gods or as an attribute of another deity, such as  Athena Nike  (Athena Bringer of Victory) on the Athenian Acropolis. Yet, she was regularly featured in Greek art, appearing on pots, architectural sculpture, and free-standing sculptural compositions, either singly or in multiple.

Her iconography is distinctive—a winged, youthful woman—and she is one of the most easily identifiable Greek mythological figures. She crowns gods and victorious athletes with leafy  circlets  or holds palm fronds symbolizing victory. She was the perfect subject to commemorate military triumphs and was regularly featured in victory monuments, notably the fifth-century  Nike of Paionios , erected at the  Sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia  to celebrate a  Peloponnesian War  victory.

Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothrace

Map with the location of the Sanctuary of the Great Gods indicated (underlying map © Google)

The  Nike of Samothrace  was originally erected as a military victory monument in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods (Theoi Megaloi) on Samothrace, a small island in the northern Aegean Sea. While the permanent population of the island was relatively small, an influx of worshippers regularly descended upon Samothrace to participate in religious rites hosted by the sanctuary, especially in the Hellenistic and Roman periods when the sanctuary was at its height of popularity. The  cult  of the Great Gods was a mystery religion, meaning that worshippers needed to be initiated into the cult before they were allowed to participate, and the rites were kept secret from everyone except the initiates. Since secrecy was so central to the cult, modern scholars do not know exactly what was involved in the rituals. However, we do know that the cult promised its initiates safety at sea and personal moral benefit.

Plan of the sanctuary of the Great Gods, Samothrace, with the location of Nike of Samothrace at location 9

Worshippers came from throughout the ancient Mediterranean to worship, and initiation was open to all, regardless of social class, gender, or citizenship. Royals, elites, commoners, and enslaved people were all initiated into the cult. The Roman writer Plutarch even says that the parents of Alexander the Great, Philip and Olympias, met while they were initiates on Samothrace.

The sanctuary was located in a narrow valley, with buildings located on the valley floor and on terraces cut into the hillsides. The Nike monument was on the west slope, in a niche at the top of the hill behind the theater. Placed at one of the highest points in the sanctuary, it would have been visible from numerous viewpoints as initiates moved through rituals.

Scholars once believed the  Nike of Samothrace  stood in a fountain. Archaeological evidence for this theory has now been shown to post-date the monument, and while there is still debate about whether the structure was roofed or enclosed by walls, scholars today hold that the Nike group was housed in a small building, open on the north side, with the Nike facing out over the theater. The illusion of her blowing drapery would have been reinforced by the actual onshore wind that would have blown across the valley.

Dedication and historical context

Due to the popularity of the cult, and its connection to protection at sea, it makes sense that a military leader would have dedicated a monument commemorating a naval victory at Samothrace. The triumphant commander would have proclaimed his victory before an international audience, including perhaps those he defeated. The dedicatory inscription, which most votive statues in Greek sanctuaries included, has not survived, so it is unknown who dedicated the statue or what victory it commemorated.

Left: Athena panel, east frieze, Pergamon Altar, c. 197-139 B.C.E. (Staatliche Museen, Berlin); right:  Nike of Samothrace (winged Victory) , Lartos marble (ship), Parian marble (figure), c. 190 B.C.E., 3.28 meters high (Louvre, Paris; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Based on stylistic similarities between the  Nike of Samothrace  and the external frieze of the  Great Altar at Pergamon , notably its theatricality and hyperrealism, the statue is usually dated to the first half of the second century B.C.E. In the period, naval battles between the  Hellenistic kingdoms  were common as they fought for military, political, and economic control. The Greek Hellenistic world stretched from mainland Greece through Egypt, across Anatolia and the Near East to central Asia. The territory was divided into a series of empires. While most were hereditary monarchies, rulership was frequently unstable; power regularly changed hands and borders shifted. Many of these shifts in power were determined through warfare, and a strong military was a key part of a leader’s ability to hold onto his throne. The Hellenistic dynasts carefully built up their armies and navies, attempting to outdo one another both in the size of their forces and the advancement of their military technology. Triumphs were widely advertised, and victory monuments were an important part of royal propaganda. Erected both at home and at sites like Samothrace, they ensured that the nation’s subjects, allies, and enemies knew of an empire’s military might.

Nike of Samothrace (winged Victory), Lartos marble (ship), Parian marble (figure), c. 190 B.C.E., 3.28 meters high (Louvre, Paris; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0))

Scholars have proposed a number of possible battles that the  Nike of Samothrace  commemorated, but most theories argue that the statue commemorated a victory over the island of Rhodes. This is based in part on the material of the ship on which Nike stood, a grey marble from the Lartos quarries on Rhodes. The Nike herself is made of a white Parian marble, which was revered as a superior material for sculpture, and exported throughout the Mediterranean. Lartian marble was much less commonly used, and we see it primarily in monuments on Rhodes or commissioned by Rhodians. In addition, the amount of marble used in the  Nike of Samothrace  was large, weighing around 30 tons, and would have been a full shipload on a typical merchant ship. Given the cost to ship the marble from Rhodes, it was likely specially ordered and intended to make a statement, connecting it to the Rhodians.

Tetradrachm (coin) showing Nike blowing a trumped, 301–295 B.C.E., minted by Demetrius Poliorcetes, silver (Münzkabinett der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin)

The form of a naval victory monument featuring a carved marble ship appears to be a popular type in the Hellenistic period, and parallels for the  Nike of Samothrace  are widespread—they have been found in mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, and Cyrene in Libya. The closest parallel appeared on coins minted by Demetrius Poliorcetes of Macedonia at the end of the third century B.C.E. The coins depict Nike on the prow of a ship, blowing a horn to announce a victory.

The  Nike of Samothrace , while originally located in a sanctuary on a small island in the north Aegean, was intrinsically part of a Hellenistic world defined by the transmission of ideas, goods, people, and artistic motifs over large distances. Today, it is admired by an international audience in the Louvre, and its original intention was similar. The Sanctuary of the Great Gods, promising protection at sea to its initiates, was visited by worshippers from across the Mediterranean. The statue commemorated a naval triumph, and its placement in this location afforded it a broad audience, advertising its dedicator’s military prowess to the world. The  Nike’s  windswept drapery, outstretched wings, and dramatic location assured that it would have drawn the eyes of everyone who saw it.

Nike of Samothrace  and the Daru Staircase on the Louvre website

A Closer Look at the Victory of Samothrace from the Louvre

Nike of Samothrace  on the American Excavations at Samothrace website

Apollonius, Boxer at Rest  (or  The Seated Boxer )

Look closely to see bloody wounds and a lifetime of scars on this defeated athlete.

Apollonius,  Boxer at Rest , c. 100 B.C.E., bronze, Hellenistic Period (Palazzo Massimo, Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome)  URL: https://youtu.be/FvsSPJoJB3k

Additional resources The Boxer: An Ancient Masterpiece Comes to The Met

The Boxer  by  Matthew Brennan  on  Sketchfab

A moment in time that’s lasted 2,000 years— the Spinario (Boy with Thorn)

The Alexander Mosaic  as seen on the wall of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Alexander Mosaic, created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii

A mighty general (Alexander the Great) charges on horseback across the field of battle. His spear makes contact with a soldier’s torso, who begins to recoil in pain and shock, on the verge of falling over the dead body of a horse strewn on the ground behind him. On the other side of the battlefield, a charioteer scrambles frantically to turn his horses around, trampling bodies beneath their hooves, in an attempt to get the opposing general (Darius) to safety.

These are just some of the evocative scenes depicted in the Alexander Mosaic.

Annotated detail,  Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

This battle is usually identified as the Battle of Issus, a great fight that occurred on November 5, 333 B.C.E. in what is now modern-day Turkey [1]. It took place between the (Hellenic League) forces of the Macedonian-Greek Alexander the Great and the (Achaemenid Persian) forces of Darius III—a struggle which would ultimately result in a victory for Alexander.

The mosaic in context

Detail of tesserae,  Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

The Alexander Mosaic (8 ft 11 in × 16 ft 10 in) is made up of approximately 1.5 million tesserae, which are small, cubed pieces of glass or stones cut into shape. The mostly earth-colored stones are remarkably tiny and used to emphasize the details of the scene. They are laid down in a style known as  opus vermiculatum , a technique which is identified as “worm-like” due to the curved lines of tesserae placed to emphasize features and figures within the work.

The mosaic, which was created in the 2nd century B.C.E., once covered the entire floor of a room located between the two peristyle gardens of the large and grand House of the Faun in  Pompeii . Today, a modern replica can be seen in Pompeii, while the original has been transferred to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (Naples National Archaeological Museum). The original mosaic survives in such good condition because it was protected by layers of ash from the 79 C.E. volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius until its rediscovery in 1831.

Modern Reconstruction of the  Alexander Mosaic , in situ at the House of the Faun in Pompeii (closer view  here )

The field of battle

Though parts of the mosaic have been damaged in the more than two millennia since its creation, much of the dramatic scene is still visible today.

Detail of Alexander the Great,  Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

Near the left side of the mosaic, Alexander charges forward on his horse (named Bucephalus), fully armored, but wearing no helmet. His gaze is intense and confident, and his hair flies out behind him from the force of his forward momentum. His army follows closely as they advance towards the spear-carrying soldiers of the Persian army. In his right hand he holds a sarissa, a type of long spear invented by his father (Philip II, the former King of Macedon), which became an essential tool of Alexander and his forces as they conquered his empire.

Detail of Darius III, Alexander Mosaic, created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

Alexander rides towards the Persian army, led by Darius III, located on the right side of the mosaic, standing atop his chariot.

Detail of an impaled soldier (often identified as one of Darius’ kinsmen), jumping in front of the spear and taking the blow meant for his king (Darius III),  Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

Before Alexander’s spear can make contact with Darius, a man, often identified as one of Darius’ kinsmen, jumps in front of the spear and takes the blow meant for his king. Behind Darius and facing in the opposite direction, the charioteer frantically tries to wheel the chariot around. Holding the reins tightly with his left hand, he raises a whip in his right hand to spur the horses to move faster through the crowd of soldiers across a battlefield that is strewn with blood, bodies, and abandoned weapons. The shock of this moment is reflected in Darius’ face. The artist succeeds in capturing the devastation and fear in Darius’ facial expression. He desperately reaches out in vain towards his dying kinsman, looking towards Alexander.

Detail of Persian soldiers and Darius III in his chariot,  Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

The artist captures the frenzied movements and fearful eyes of the horses as they trample soldiers and Darius flees from the battle, eyes still fixed on Alexander.

Although Alexander wins this battle, Darius is the tallest figure in the mosaic, elevated by the chariot on which he stands and puts his grief on prominent display.

An artist’s skill

This mosaic is remarkable not just for representing this significant battle, but also for the level of detail and naturalism it displays. All of the figures from humans to horses are rendered with a sense of three-dimensional, naturalistic  modeling . By the late classical period and into the Hellenistic period, representations of figures had shifted from classical idealism to humanistic depictions which emphasized realistic anatomy and emotion, as is evident here.

Detail of soldier’s face with tesserae arranged to create light and shadow,  Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

The tesserae are also used effectively to create light, shadow, and reflection. For example, there is a figure who has been knocked to the ground by the fleeing chariot. In a moment of introspection, he stares at the reflection of his own face on a shield, perhaps just before the moment of his own death. The incredible skill of the artist renders dynamic moments like these in realistic ways.

Detail of fallen soldier’s face reflected in a shield,  Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

Though the landscape in which the battle takes place is a barren one with little suggestion of setting, the figures display three-dimensionality, an excellent example of how well the ancient Greeks understood the body and how it moved through space. This is evident, for example, in the  foreshortening  of figures like the horse near the center right of the mosaic. The horse’s flank also displays tonal gradation, where colors transition gradually from a lighter tone to a darker one.

Detail of foreshortened horse,  Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

Greek origins

Compared to the crowded and frenetic battle scene below, the top half of the composition is mostly empty, broken only by spears and a bare, gnarled tree.

So why is the top half of this mosaic so vacant? The answer likely lies in the mosaic’s origins.

This stunningly detailed floor mosaic is usually believed to be a copy of an earlier Greek wall painting. Ancient Greek paintings were a highly popular and respected art form, but unfortunately, examples today are nearly nonexistent. [2] Unlike Roman wall paintings which were painted directly on the wall and therefore fixed and immovable, Greek wall paintings were usually painted on panels which were inserted into walls. These panel paintings could be removed from the wall and replaced as desired. While this was very practical at the time, they were constructed from more impermanent materials which frequently do not survive.

As a painting, the scene would have been displayed on a vertical wall. Given the size, much of the top half of the composition would have been well above the heads of the viewers and therefore not as easily viewed or necessary to fill with objects and figures. We can get a sense of what this looks like today from the mosaic’s wall-mounted position in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

Though the Greek paintings themselves no longer exist, their influence can be seen in  Etruscan  and  Roman  paintings and mosaics, such as this one. Alexander the Great employed many artists during his reign as did his father before him. As Alexander’s empire spread, so too did the artistic styles that began to develop during his lifetime. Even after his death, artists during the Hellenistic period copied or were influenced by these works.

This was a mosaic meant to impress. The House of the Faun is the single largest residence in Pompeii and one of the most opulently decorated. By choosing to showcase this scene in his house, which is a copy of such a famous work, it would suggest to guests that the owner was highly educated in Greek culture and speaks to the Roman fascination with Greek art.

A battle won

Although he was outnumbered by Darius’ forces, Alexander defeated him at the Battle of Issus. The battle was considered a turning point leading to the decline of Achaemenid power, and ultimately, paved the way for Alexander’s conquest, which culminated in him burning the Persian capital Persepolis in 330 B.C.E. Even though he died at the young age of 32, Alexander succeeded in creating one of the largest empires of the ancient world.

Empire of Alexander the Great, 334–328 B.C.E.

Although none of the original paintings of Alexander and Darius survive, the mosaic allows us to see what it may have looked like, capturing a moment in time during a frenetic and emotional battle. Even after more than 2,000 years, the mosaic continues to fascinate all those who look upon it.

Alexander Mosaic , created in the 2nd century B.C.E., from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, reconstructed in the National Archaeological Museum, Naples

Notes: [1] The other possible candidate is the Battle of Gaugamela which took place in 331 B.C.E. and is the second time that Alexander and Darius directly fought each other. [2] A few mid – late 4th century B.C.E. Macedonian paintings survive in the tombs of Vergina, Greece.

The Alexander Mosaic at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Watch a Smarthistory video about the Alexander Mosaic

Learn More about Mosaic Materials

Ancient and Byzantine Mosaic Materials, Art, Institute of Chicago

Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes,  Laocoön and his Sons

The sculptural group known today as the  Laocoön  or  Laocoön and his Sons  has been both one of the most influential ancient artworks in the history of art and one of the most fiercely debated. It has been copied by countless artists, and numerous books have been written about it, yet there is still little scholarly consensus about the circumstances of its creation.

The statue was discovered in 1506 on the Esquiline Hill in Rome by a farmer working in his vineyard. The  Laocoön  was only one of a number of ancient artworks that had been abandoned, forgotten, and eventually buried under later buildings and streets. During the Renaissance, a number of these artworks were rediscovered, either accidentally during construction projects or purposefully by people hunting for the artworks which had become greatly admired. One of the first people to see the statue was  Michelangelo , who was sent by the pope, Julius II, along with architect Guiliano da Sangallo, to inspect the statue after its excavation. Julius, like many of his sixteenth-century Italian contemporaries, was a connoisseur and collector of ancient Greek and Roman art. He purchased the statue, and it has remained in the collection of the Vatican ever since.

Most likely dating to the first century B.C.E. or first century C.E., the statue is made of six blocks of Greek Parian marble. It is over-life sized, at a height of 6’ 8”. The composition depicts the tortuous death of Laocoön and his two sons by snakes (read the full story below). All three are nude with clearly defined, exaggerated musculature. Bands of clenched muscles are visible under the skin of  Laocoön’s torso as he reaches up to fight off the snakes. The statue, like all ancient Greek and Roman marble sculptures, would have been painted originally. The bright green of the twisting snakes and the red blood drawn by their bites would have stood out against the tan flesh of Laocoön and his sons.

Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes,  Laocoön and his Sons , early first century C.E., marble, 7’10 1/2″ high (Vatican Museums; photo:  Steven Zucker , CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Laocoön is at the center of the composition, sitting in a twisted position on an altar. One snake sinks its teeth into his hip. Laocoön throws his head back as he screams in agony. His hair and beard curl in deeply carved locks, contributing to the sculpture’s dramatic tone. Based on surviving paint on his eyes, some scholars have argued that he has been blinded by the bites of the snakes.

Laocoön is flanked by his two teenaged sons. The figure on the left, the younger of the two, has gone limp, and it is likely that he is already dead. The older son, on the right, pulls snake coils off his leg and arm. He turns to look at his father, an expression of horror and confusion on his face. With its emphasis on theatricality and exaggerated realism, it is similar to artworks of the so-called Hellenistic baroque, such as the  Nike of Samothrace  and the  Great Altar at Pergamon . While the style is most closely associated with the city of Pergamon and the island Rhodes in the second century B.C.E., Hellenistic baroque had an enduring popularity, and artworks in the style continued to be produced into the Roman Imperial period, with Rome becoming a center of Hellenistic art.

The Story of Laocoön

The myth of Laocoön dates back to the seventh century B.C.E. It was part of the Epic Cycle, a series of poems that told the story of the Trojan War (Greeks against the city of Troy, in present-day Turkey). Today, only the  Iliad  and the  Odyssey  survive, but we have fragments or descriptions of the other volumes. Laocoön appeared in the now-lost  Ilioupersis  (the sack of Troy) by Arktinos of Miletos. Versions of Laocoön’s story appeared after that, notably in a now-lost fifth century B.C.E. play of Sophocles.

The version closest chronologically to the  Laocoön  statue appeared in Roman writer Vergil’s  Aeneid , published in 19 B.C.E. The  Aeneid  tells the story of the Trojan warrior Aeneas who escapes from Troy during its destruction and makes his way to Italy, where he rules over the Latin people. The story of Laocoön forms part of book two, which recounts the sack of Troy. The Greeks pretended to give up their siege of Troy with its unbreakable walls, leaving only a large wooden horse as a final offering to the gods. In actuality, some hid out of sight while others hid inside the horse. Only a few Trojans spoke against bringing the horse inside the city. The first was Cassandra, who was blessed with the gift of prophecy, but cursed that no one would ever believe her. The other was Laocoön, a priest of Neptune (Greek Poseidon). He warned the Trojans with his now famous line, “I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.” But the gods had decided the Greeks were to win the war, and no one, divine or mortal, can defy fate. So the gods sent a pair of snakes to silence Laocoön. They came from the sea, attacking Laocoön and his sons while he made a sacrifice. They bit and wrapped themselves around the three, killing first the sons and then Laocoön. This is the moment represented in the marble statue.

Trojan war stories were popular in ancient Rome, especially during the reigns of the Julio-Claudian emperors (27 B.C.E.–68 C.E.). The myths connected the Romans back to the ancient and revered past, giving them legitimacy as a cultural and military power through these connections. The Julian family traced their lineage directly back to the Trojan warrior Aeneas, and so actively promoted art and literature like the  Aeneid  that focused on Troy.

Scene showing Laocoön, 1st century C.E., atrium of the House of Menandro, Pompeii ( Wikimedia  CC BY-SA 3.0)

While Laocoön was a recurring subject in texts, he was not as popular in art. Images of Laocoön have been identified on a few pots made by south Italian Greeks in the fourth century B.C.E., but most of the known images are Roman. Gems dating to the late imperial period as well as two first-century C.E. paintings from houses in Pompeii depict the death of Laocoön. Artworks are few, however, and the marble statue is the only monumental depiction of the subject to survive.

Pliny and The Laocoön

The  Laocoön  is fairly unusual among surviving ancient artworks because it is described in an ancient text,  Natural History , by Pliny the Elder. Most of the famous artworks described by ancient authors have been lost and those artworks that have survived are without ancient textual description.

Pliny, a Roman aristocrat and scholar, published the first volumes of  The Natural History  in 77 C.E. This encyclopedia was intended to record all known knowledge. In his discussion of famous statues, Pliny describes the Laocoön as he saw it in the house of the ancient Roman emperor  Titus , and attributes it to the artists Hagesandros, Polydoros, and Athenodoros of Rhodes. Pliny praises the statue as superior to all other artworks. Despite some inconsistencies between the  Laocoön  statue and Pliny’s description, notably the statue is made of multiple blocks of stone rather than a single block as Pliny says, it is widely accepted that the  Laocoön  in the Vatican is the statue described by Pliny.

Dating the Laocoön

Another example of a Greek sculpture that was brought back to Rome, then copied. Lysippos,  Apoxyomenos (Scraper) , Roman copy after a Greek bronze statue from c. 330 B.C.E., 6′ 9″ high (Vatican Museums)

The circumstances surrounding the creation of the  Laocoön , including its date, have been long debated by scholars. While one scholar proposed that the statue was actually a Renaissance forgery by Michelangelo, this theory has been widely discredited, and most scholars date the statue between 150 B.C.E. and 70 C.E. Each of these proposals examine why a statue in the Hellenistic Greek style was found in Rome, and the role of Romans as patrons and collectors of Greek sculpture.

The Romans, especially in the late Republic and early Empire, were  active connoisseurs of Greek art . As they conquered Greek territories, they imported large numbers of Greek artworks to Italy, removing them from homes, public buildings, and sanctuaries. Romans displayed Greek artworks in their homes and public spaces, many in contexts far removed from their original locations and purposes. These artworks took on new meanings as symbols of the wealth and education of their owners. The Romans also commissioned copies of famous statues as well as new compositions inspired by Greek originals. Rome became a center of Hellenistic art as Greek artists moved to Italy to work for wealthy Romans.

Theories that posit the earliest date for the  Laocoön  propose that, based on stylistic similarities, the  Laocoön  is contemporary to the second-century B.C.E.  Great Altar at Pergamon  and that it was made in the Greek island of Rhodes before being exported to Rome. Other scholars propose that the marble statue found in Rome was a copy of an earlier second-century Greek original. Most writers, however, argue that the  Laocoön  was made in Rome for Roman patrons.

North side of grand staircase, Pergamon Altar (photo:  Carole Raddato , CC BY-SA 2.0

Part of the Skylla group, 1st century B.C.E.–1st century C.E., marble, Sperlonga (left photo:  Carole Raddato , CC BY-SA 2.0; right photo:  Sailko , CC BY 3.0)

Support for a Roman context for the creation of the statue comes from the site of Sperlonga, located between Rome and Naples. Here, the emperor  Tiberius  had a  grotto  for dining and entertainment decorated with monumental marble statues. The statues are over-life sized and depict scenes from the Trojan war or the life of Odysseus. They are in the same dramatic, hyper-realistic style as the  Laocoön , and an artist’s signature was found on the sculptural group that depicted Odysseus’ run-in with the sea monster, Skylla attributing the statues to Hagesandros, Athenadoros, and Polydoros of Rhodes—the same artists to whom Pliny attributes the  Laocoön . Debates over the creation of the  Laocoön  statue are therefore intertwined with the Sperlonga statues.

Most recent scholarly discussions have centered on whether the sculptures were made specifically for the grotto and Titus’s palace or whether they were made earlier and moved to these locations. While there is still no definitive consensus, most scholars now place both the Sperlonga statues and the Laocoön in the first century B.C.E. or first century C.E. Their dramatic, Hellenistic style, along with the focus on Trojan war themes place them in line with the concerns of upper-class Roman patrons in these periods.

An unquestionable legacy

From Pliny to Michelangelo to modern visitors to the Vatican Museums, the  Laocoön  statue has made an impact on its viewers. Its dramatic depiction of the agony of Laocoön and his sons forges an emotional connection with its audience. While scholars continue to debate how and when it was created and its ancient context, its legacy is unquestionable.

Laocoön at the Vatican Museums

Digital Sculpture Project: Laocoön

ARTS 101: Art and Architecture from the Prehistoric World through the Medieval World Copyright © 2024 by Karen Brown. All Rights Reserved.

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Ancient Greek Art

Fish Plate, 400–370 BCE. Greek; Athens. Gift of Philip D. Armour and Charles L. Hutchinson.

The ancient Mediterranean, and Greece in particular, was home to a great variety of artistic communities. Over 3,000 years ago, these makers used natural resources like stone, clay, and metals to create new forms, styles, and techniques that remain iconic to this day. Explore a few highlights from the Art Institute’s collection of ancient Greek art here.

Please note: artworks occasionally go off view for imaging, treatment, or loan to other institutions. Click on the images to ensure the work is currently on view.

Among the earliest artworks in the museum’s collection, this stark depiction of a nude woman was carved roughly 5,000 years ago from a single piece of white marble sourced from the rocky coastline of the Cyclades islands, just off the coast of mainland Greece. Statuettes like this one bear evidence that they were once decorated with red, blue, and black pigments. While their exact function remains a mystery, they were likely used in religious rituals or funerary rites given the considerable effort involved in carving them. The vast majority also depict pregnant females, suggesting an association with fertility or regenerative forces.

Small statuettes like this one have been found buried in the grounds of ancient Greek shrines and temples. These precious objects were most likely offered to the gods in hopes of granting favors or answering prayers. Such devotional gifts took many forms, but statuettes of horses were especially popular because the creatures were associated with wealth. The use of precious bronze is further evidence of the value placed on such objects. Following the stylistic preference of the time, the sculptor of this statuette used simple geometric shapes to capture the essence of his subject.

Larger devotional gifts, including bronze cauldrons embellished with attachments like these two griffins, survive from the great holy sites of ancient Greece. Mythical creatures revered for their protective powers, griffins were depicted with the body of a lion, the head of a bird, and tall horse-like ears. These two examples appear highly agitated—their mouths are agape and their tongues curl up, evoking a bloodcurdling screech. Their watchful eyes, inlaid in bone or ivory,  are especially remarkable to have survived over thousands of years since the griffins’ creation.

As the unique ceramic styles of ancient Greece developed, Athens emerged as a center of artistic innovation. Master potters created vases in a multitude of forms, each thoughtfully designed to serve a specific purpose and decorated by a painter with designs gracefully adapted to fit its shape. This type of vase, called a stamnos , was used for mixing and serving wine. Its scene depicts women with a calm and serene air—a hallmark of the vase’s painter’s style.  While the identities of most artists from ancient Greece are unknown, certain painters can be recognized by their distinctive styles. Scholars often name these artists after the museums or institutions where their work was first identified. One such artist, known today as the Chicago Painter , was identified and named thanks to this vase.

Learn more about the Chicago Painter.

On the body of this vessel is painted a fearsome mythical creature—the sphinx. This pyxis was created in the wealthy port city of Corinth at a time when trade between Greece and Egypt was flourishing, and the sphinx reflects this developing relationship and Corinth’s worldliness. Corinth was especially known for exporting perfumed oil across the Mediterranean, and the city’s artists produced a huge number of terra-cotta containers like this one to transport this luxury good. They also developed a multitude of new forms and methods of decoration, including strong lines, the black-figure technique , and the application of rich red and purple red slips seen on this vessel.

Like the Chicago Painter, the artist who decorated this container has been recognized by a distinctive stylistic feature—the depiction of the looping tail of the sphinx in the shape of an ampersand. As such, the artist is now called the Ampersand Painter .

The system of coinage was invented in western Asia Minor (now Turkey) in the early 7th century BCE. In order to communicate a coin’s city of origin, Greek artists employed a variety of designs, often referencing myths associated with the city’s history and featuring a guardian deity, hero, or mythological creature. The most famous of these civic badges in the Mediterranean region was the profile of Athena, the patron goddess of Athens, stamped on the front (obverse) of the city’s coinage. On the back (reverse), her symbolic owl accompanies the inscription AΘE, clarifying that this was coinage “of the Athenians.” While other cities changed the appearance of their coins over time, Athens retained these “owls,” as they were known even in antiquity, with only minor variations for over 300 years, from about the end of the 6th century BCE until the mid-2nd century BCE. Athens was a dominant economic trading power during this time, and so its coinage circulated widely in the eastern Mediterranean. 

By the middle of the 5th century BCE, the artists of Athens had developed a new decorative technique known as “white ground,” named for the application of the light-colored slip that coats the body and shoulder of this vase. The bright, light surface allowed artists to outline figures and scenes in freehand, practically sketching them into action across the body of the vessel. These scenes were often painted in vibrant colors, some of which are still visible today. This type of vessel, called a lekythos , was made to hold oil and to be buried with the dead or left at their graves. Because of this, lekythoi were typically decorated with scenes featuring tombs and moments of farewell. On this vase, an older man in a blue garment, a youth in a dark-orange himation (mantle), and a red-haired woman wearing a chiton (floor-length garment) make a solemn visit to a tomb.

Learn more about clothing in the ancient Mediterranean world on our blog .

This footed plate, which was made to serve morsels of grilled seafood, is decorated with marine creatures that are depicted in such detail it is possible to identify most of them by species. Look closely at the decorative pattern in the center, and you’ll see a small scallop attached to the outer band. This scallop separates two large fish: a gilt-head bream (on the left) and a red mullet (on the right). Opposite them, a lettered perch confronts a spiny scorpion fish. These larger fish are surrounded by spiral murex shells, a small fish, and a mollusk or crustacean. A wave pattern around the central concavity, which has a gently sloped surface for collecting juices or serving sauces, recalls the sea, the source of this aquatic bounty. Similarly decorated fish plates were also created by Greek colonists in southern Italy, but this example can be identified as Athenian because of a distinctively Athenian characteristic: the bellies of the fish face outwards.

Syracuse was one of the earliest, and ultimately most powerful, cities founded by Greeks who colonized Sicily. Established in 734 BCE by Corinthian settlers, the city was located around the bays of a natural double harbor and at its height in the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, was second only to Athens itself in the Greek world. Due to its maritime strengths and coastal landscape, its coinage features an abundance of maritime motifs. On the front (obverse) of this coin is the profile of the sea-nymph Arethusa, circled by four dolphins. It is fitting that Arethusa is the subject of this coin, as she escaped the unwanted attention of the river god Alpheus by swimming under the sea to the island of Sicily, where she found sanctuary and transformed into the freshwater spring that bears her name and still exists today. The Greek inscription around her face, starting at her forehead, identifies “the Syracusans” as the issuing authority of the coin.

This type of tall, cylindrical vessel with spiraling handles was distinctive of the region of Apulia in southern Italy. Since this vase was created while Greek influence was expanding in the region, its surface decoration shows the influence of Athenian artists in the use of black glaze and the red-figure technique, and that of the local style in the elaborate decoration and white and yellow details. The scenes on this vessel feature beautifully clothed, coiffed, and bejeweled women—appropriate imagery given that vessels like this one were traditionally used to hold the water for bathing a bride before her wedding ceremony, an important ritual signaling her transition from childhood to adulthood. Such vases were also sometimes placed in the tombs of young girls who passed away before they reached a marriageable age, which might have been the case with this example since the reverse depicts a woman within a funerary naiskos , or temple-like structure.

Learn more about this piece and clothing in the ancient Mediterranean world on our blog .

• Arts of Ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Worlds
• Ancient Art

Explore Further

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• Stela of Amenemhat and Hemet, Middle Kingdom, early Dynasty 12, about 1956–1877 BCE Ancient Egyptian
• Portrait Bust of a Woman, Mid–2nd century Ancient Roman
• Oinochoe (Pitcher), end of 4th century BCE Mattinata Painter
• Kylix (Drinking Cup), about 460 BCE Penthesilea Painter
• Statuette of a Seated Girl, 330-320 BCE Ancient Greek
• Ring with a Scarab Bezel, Second Intermediate Period, Dynasty 15 (about 1650–1550 BCE) Ancient Egyptian
• Pelike (Storage Jar), about 510-500 BCE Ancient Greek
• Amphoriskos (Container for Oil), 600-575 BCE Ancient Greek
• Pyxis (Container for Personal Objects), 430-420 BCE Ancient Greek
• Column-Krater (Mixing Bowl), about 460 BCE Ancient Greek
• Amphora (Storage Jar), 340-330 BCE Ixion Painter
• Mug, about 460 BCE Ancient Greek

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Module 5: The Art of Ancient Greece—Part I

Module 5 overview, what you’ll learn to do: examine and identify early greek art..

In Module 5 we will examine Ancient Greek art. We will look at how this art contributed to the larger development of Western art. It is imperative to understand Ancient Greek art in order to see how it impacted later artistic developments.

Learning Activities

The learning activities for this module include:

• Review: Key Learning Items
• Read: Aegean Prehistoric Archaeology
• Read: The Early Aegean (3000–700 BCE)

Geometric Period

• Watch: Geometric Greek Krater (4:26)

Archaic Period

• Watch: Black Figure Amphora (6:42)
• Watch: Niobid Painter, Attic Red Figure Calyx-Krater (6:04)
• Watch: New York Kouros (5:52)

Classical Period

• Watch: Spear Bearer (5:07)
• Watch: The Greek Temple (6:31)
• Watch: East and West Pediments, Temple of Aphaia (14:39)
• Watch: Myron, Discus Thrower (3:45)
• Watch:  The Parthenon (16:03)
• Watch: Parthenon’s East Pediment (4:58)
• Watch: Parthenon Frieze (5:21)
• Watch: Parthenon Metopes (6:42)
• Watch: Erechtheion (4:13)

Extra Review

• Review: External Resources
• Submit:  Module 5 Quiz (5 points)
• Art History I. Provided by : Extended Learning Institute of Northern Virginia Community College. Located at : http://eli.nvcc.edu/ . License : CC BY: Attribution
• Image of Finger. Authored by : geralt. Located at : https://pixabay.com/en/finger-touch-hand-structure-769300/ . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History Essays

Architecture in ancient greece.

Marble column from the Temple of Artemis at Sardis

Marble akroterion of the grave monument of Timotheos and Nikon

Lion felling a bull, from a marble pediment

Terracotta architectural tile

Colette Hemingway Independent Scholar

October 2003

Ancient Greek architects strove for the precision and excellence of workmanship that are the hallmarks of Greek art in general. The formulas they invented as early as the sixth century B.C. have influenced the architecture of the past two millennia. The two principal orders in Archaic and Classical Greek architecture are the Doric and the Ionic. In the first, the Doric order, the columns are fluted and have no base. The capitals are composed of two parts consisting of a flat slab, the abacus, and a cushionlike slab known as the echinus. On the capital rests the entablature, which is made up of three parts: the architrave, the frieze, and the cornice. The architrave is typically undecorated except for a narrow band to which are attached pegs, known as guttae. On the frieze are alternating series of triglyphs (three bars) and metopes, stone slabs frequently decorated with relief sculpture. The pediment, the triangular space enclosed by the gables at either end of the building, was often adorned with sculpture, early on in relief and later in the round. Among the best-preserved examples of Archaic Doric architecture are the temple of Apollo at Corinth, built in the second quarter of the sixth century B.C., and the temple of Aphaia at Aegina, built around 500–480 B.C. To the latter belong at least three different groups of pedimental sculpture exemplary of stylistic development between the end of the sixth and beginning of the fifth century B.C. in Attica.

In the Ionic order of architecture, bases support the columns, which have more vertical flutes than those of the Doric order. Ionic capitals have two volutes that rest atop a band of palm-leaf ornaments. The abacus is narrow, and the entablature, unlike that of the Doric order, usually consists of three simple horizontal bands. The most important feature of the Ionic order is the frieze, which is usually carved with relief sculpture arranged in a continuous pattern around the building.

In general, the Doric order occurs more frequently on the Greek mainland and at sites on the Italian peninsula, where there were many Greek colonies. The Ionic order was more popular among Greeks in Asia Minor and in the Greek islands. A third order of Greek architecture, known as the Corinthian, first developed in the late Classical period, but was more common in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Corinthian capitals have a bell-shaped echinus decorated with acanthus leaves, spirals, and palmettes. There is also a pair of small volutes at each corner; thus, the capital provides the same view from all sides.

The architectural order governed not only the column, but also the relationships among all the components of architecture. As a result, every piece of a Greek building is integral to its overall structure; a fragment of molding often can be used to reconstruct an entire building. Although the ancient Greeks erected buildings of many types, the Greek temple best exemplifies the aims and methods of Greek architecture. The temple typically incorporated an oblong plan, and one or more rows of columns surrounding all four sides. The vertical structure of the temple conformed to an order, a fixed arrangement of forms unified by principles of symmetry and harmony. There was usually a pronaos (front porch) and an opisthodomos (back porch). The upper elements of the temple were usually made of mud brick and timber, and the platform of the building was of cut masonry. Columns were carved of local stone, usually limestone or tufa; in much earlier temples, columns would have been made of wood. Marble was used in many temples, such as the Parthenon in Athens, which is decorated with Pentelic marble and marble from the Cycladic island of Paros. The interior of the Greek temple characteristically consisted of a cella, the inner shrine in which stood the cult statue, and sometimes one or two antechambers, in which were stored the treasury with votive offerings.

The quarrying and transport of marble and limestone were costly and labor-intensive, and often constituted the primary cost of erecting a temple. For example, the wealth Athens accumulated after the Persian Wars enabled Perikles to embark on his extensive building program, which included the Parthenon (447–432 B.C.) and other monuments on the Athenian Akropolis. Typically, a Greek civic or religious body engaged the architect, who participated in every aspect of construction. He usually chose the stone, oversaw its extraction, and supervised the craftsmen who roughly shaped each piece in the quarry. At the building site, expert carvers gave the blocks their final form, and workmen hoisted each one into place. The tight fit of the stones was enough to hold them in place without the use of mortar; metal clamps embedded in the stone reinforced the structure against earthquakes. A variety of skilled labor collaborated in the raising of a temple. Workmen were hired to construct the wooden scaffolding needed for hoisting stone blocks and sculpture, and to make the ceramic tiles for the roofs. Metalworkers were employed to make the metal fittings used for reinforcing the stone blocks and to fashion the necessary bronze accoutrements for sculpted scenes on the frieze, metopes, and pediments. Sculptors from the Greek mainland and abroad carved freestanding and relief sculpture for the eaves of the temple building. Painters were engaged to decorate sculptural and architectural elements with painted details.

Hemingway, Colette. “Architecture in Ancient Greece.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/grarc/hd_grarc.htm (October 2003)

Further Reading

Avery, Catherine B., ed. The New Century Handbook of Greek Art and Architecture . New York: Appleton–Century–Crofts, 1972.

Hornblower, Simon, and Antony Spawforth, eds. The Oxford Classical Dictionary . 3d ed., rev. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Lawrence, A. W. Greek Architecture . 4th ed., rev. by R. A. Tomlinson. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1983.

Pedley, John Griffiths, Greek Art and Archaeology . 2d ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1998.

Pomeroy, Sarah B., et al. Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History . New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Robertson, Martin. A History of Greek Art . 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975.

Additional Essays by Colette Hemingway

• Hemingway, Colette. “ Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Greek Hydriai (Water Jars) and Their Artistic Decoration .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Hellenistic Jewelry .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Intellectual Pursuits of the Hellenistic Age .” (April 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Mycenaean Civilization .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Retrospective Styles in Greek and Roman Sculpture .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Africans in Ancient Greek Art .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Ancient Greek Colonization and Trade and their Influence on Greek Art .” (July 2007)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Greek Gods and Religious Practices .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480–323 B.C.) .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Labors of Herakles .” (January 2008)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Athletics in Ancient Greece .” (October 2002)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Rise of Macedon and the Conquests of Alexander the Great .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Technique of Bronze Statuary in Ancient Greece .” (October 2003)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Women in Classical Greece .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Cyprus—Island of Copper .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Music in Ancient Greece .” (October 2001)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) and Art .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Etruscan Art .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Prehistoric Cypriot Art and Culture .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Sardis .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Medicine in Classical Antiquity .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Southern Italian Vase Painting .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Theater in Ancient Greece .” (October 2004)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ The Kithara in Ancient Greece .” (October 2002)
• Hemingway, Colette. “ Minoan Crete .” (October 2002)

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• 1st Century B.C.
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• Ancient Greek Art
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• Archaic Period
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