The
sculpture of
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
is the main surviving type of fine
ancient Greek art
Ancient Greek art stands out among that of other ancient cultures for its development of naturalistic but idealized depictions of the human body, in which largely nude male figures were generally the focus of innovation. The rate of stylistic d ...
as, with the exception of painted
ancient Greek pottery, almost no
ancient Greek painting survives. Modern scholarship identifies three major stages in
monumental sculpture
The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism, but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used for ...
in
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloi ...
and stone: the Archaic (from about 650 to 480 BC), Classical (480–323) and Hellenistic. At all periods there were great numbers of
Greek terracotta figurines
Terracotta figurines are a mode of artistic and religious expression frequently found in ancient Greece. These figurines abound and provide an invaluable testimony to the everyday life and religion of the ancient Greeks. The so-called Tanagra figu ...
and small sculptures in metal and other materials.
The Greeks decided very early on that the human form was the most important subject for artistic endeavour. Seeing their gods as having human form, there was little distinction between the sacred and the secular in art—the human body was both secular and sacred. A male
nude
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing.
The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...
of
Apollo or
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...
had only slight differences in treatment to one of that year's Olympic boxing champion. The statue, originally single but by the
Hellenistic period often in groups was the dominant form, though
reliefs, often so "high" that they were almost free-standing, were also important.
Materials
By the
classical period, roughly the 5th and 4th centuries, monumental sculpture was composed almost entirely of
marble or
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloi ...
; with cast bronze becoming the favoured medium for major works by the early 5th century; many pieces of sculpture known only in marble copies made for the Roman market were originally made in bronze. Smaller works were in a great variety of materials, many of them precious, with a very large production of
terracotta figurines. The territories of ancient Greece, except for
Sicily and southern Italy, contained abundant supplies of fine marble, with
Pentelic
Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon (, or ) is a mountain in Attica, Greece, situated northeast of Athens and southwest of Marathon. Its highest point is the peak ''Pyrgari'', with an elevation of 1,109 m. The mountain is covered in large part ...
and
Parian marble the most highly prized. The ores for bronze were also relatively easy to obtain.
Both marble and bronze are easy to form and very durable; as in most ancient cultures there were no doubt also traditions of sculpture in wood about which we know very little, other than
acrolithic sculptures, usually large, with the head and exposed flesh parts in marble but the clothed parts in wood. As bronze always had a significant scrap value very few original bronzes have survived, though in recent years
marine archaeology or
trawling has added a few spectacular finds, such as the
Artemision Bronze and
Riace bronzes, which have significantly extended modern understanding. Many copies of the Roman period are marble versions of works originally in bronze. Ordinary
limestone was used in the Archaic period, but thereafter, except in areas of modern Italy with no local marble, only for
architectural sculpture and decoration. Plaster or
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
was sometimes used for the hair only.
Chryselephantine sculptures, used for temple
cult image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome ...
s and luxury works, used
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
, most often in
leaf form and
ivory for all or parts (faces and hands) of the figure, and probably gems and other materials, but were much less common, and only fragments have survived. Many statues were given jewellery, as can be seen from the holes for attaching it, and held weapons or other objects in different materials.
Painting of sculpture
Ancient Greek sculptures were originally painted bright colors;
they only appear white today because the original pigments have deteriorated.
References to painted sculptures are found throughout classical literature,
including in
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
's ''
Helen'' in which the
eponymous character laments, "If only I could shed my beauty and assume an uglier aspect/The way you would wipe color off a statue."
Some well-preserved statues still bear traces of their original coloration
and archaeologists can reconstruct what they would have originally looked like.
Development of Greek sculptures
Geometric
It is commonly thought that the earliest incarnation of Greek sculpture was in the form of wooden or ivory
cult statues, first described by
Pausanias as
xoana. No such statues survive, and the descriptions of them are vague, despite the fact that they were probably objects of
veneration for hundreds of years. The first piece of Greek statuary to be reassembled since is probably the Lefkandi Centaur, a
terracotta sculpture found on the island of Euboea, dated . The statue was constructed in parts, before being dismembered and buried in two separate graves. The centaur has an intentional mark on its knee, which has led researchers to postulate that the statue might portray
Cheiron, presumably kneeling wounded from
Herakles' arrow. If so, it would be the earliest known depiction of myth in the history of Greek sculpture.
The forms from the
Geometric period
Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages, . Its center was in Athens, and from there the style spread among the trading cities of th ...
() were chiefly terracotta
figurines,
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloi ...
s, and
ivories. The bronzes are chiefly tripod
cauldrons, and freestanding figures or groups. Such bronzes were made using the lost-wax technique probably introduced from Syria, and are almost entirely votive offerings left at the Hellenistic
civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
C ...
Panhellenic sanctuaries of
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
,
Delos
The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...
, and
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
, though these were likely manufactured elsewhere, as a number of local styles may be identified by finds from
Athens,
Argos, and
Sparta. Typical works of the era include the Karditsa warrior (Athens Br. 12831) and the many examples of the
equestrian statuette (for example, NY Met. 21.88.2
online. The repertory of this bronze work is not confined to standing men and horses, however, as vase paintings of the time also depict imagery of stags, birds, beetles, hares, griffins and lions. There are no
inscriptions on early-to-middle geometric sculpture, until the appearance of the Mantiklos "Apollo" (Boston 03.997) of the early 7th century BC found in Thebes. The figure is that of a standing man with a pseudo-
daedalic form, underneath which lies the
hexameter inscription reading "Mantiklos offered me as a tithe to Apollo of the silver bow; do you, Phoibos
pollo
Pollo (Spanish and Italian for chicken) may refer to:
Food Dishes
*Arroz con pollo, Spanish and Latin American traditional dish
* Pollo adobo, Spanish dish
* Parmigiana di pollo, Italian dish
* Pollo al disco, Argentine dish
* Pollo a la Brasa, Pe ...
give some pleasing favour in return". Apart from the novelty of recording its own purpose, this sculpture adapts the formulae of
oriental
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...
bronzes, as seen in the shorter more triangular face and slightly advancing left leg. This is sometimes seen as anticipating the greater expressive freedom of the 7th century BC and, as such, the Mantiklos figure is referred to in some quarters as proto-Daedalic.
Archaic
Inspired by the monumental stone
sculpture of ancient Egypt and
Mesopotamia, the Greeks began again to carve in stone. Free-standing figures share the solidity and frontal stance characteristic of Eastern models, but their forms are more dynamic than those of Egyptian sculpture, as for example the
Lady of Auxerre
The relatively small (75 cm high) limestone Cretan sculpture called the Lady of Auxerre (or Kore of Auxerre), at the Louvre Museum in Paris depicts an archaic Greek goddess of c. 650 - 625 BCE. It is a '' Kore'' ("maiden"), perhaps a ...
and Torso of Hera (Early Archaic period, , both in the Louvre, Paris). After about 575 BC, figures such as these, both male and female, began wearing the so-called
archaic smile
The archaic smile was used by sculptors in Archaic Greece, especially in the second quarter of the 6th century BCE, possibly to suggest that their subject was alive and infused with a sense of well-being. One of the most famous examples of the ar ...
. This expression, which has no specific appropriateness to the person or situation depicted, may have been a device to give the figures a distinctive human characteristic.
Three types of figures prevailed—the standing nude male youth (
kouros, plural kouroi), the standing draped girl (
kore, plural korai), and the seated woman. All emphasize and generalize the essential features of the human figure and show an increasingly accurate comprehension of human anatomy. The youths were either sepulchral or votive statues. Examples are Apollo (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), an early work; the
Strangford Apollo
The Strangford Apollo is an Ancient Greek sculpture of a nude boy, with the arms and lower legs missing. It dates to around 490 BC, making it one of the latest examples of the kouros type of statue, and is made of Parian marble. The sculpture ...
from
Anafi (British Museum), a much later work; and the Anavyssos Kouros (
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
The National Archaeological Museum ( el, Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο) in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is ...
). More of the musculature and skeletal structure is visible in this statue than in earlier works. The standing, draped girls have a wide range of expression, as in the sculptures in the
Acropolis Museum of Athens
The Old Acropolis Museum ( el, (Παλαιό) Μουσείο Ακρόπολης ''(Palaio) Mouseio Akropolis'') was an archaeological museum located in Athens, Greece on the archeological site of Acropolis. It is built in a niche at the eastern ...
. Their drapery is carved and painted with the delicacy and meticulousness common in the details of sculpture of this period.
The Greeks thus decided very early on that the human form was the most important subject for artistic endeavour. Seeing their gods as having human form, there was no distinction between the sacred and the secular in art—the human body was both secular and sacred. A male nude without any attachments such as a bow or a club, could just as easily be
Apollo or
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adopt ...
as that year's Olympic boxing champion. In the Archaic Period the most important sculptural form was the kouros (See for example
Biton and Kleobis). The kore was also common; Greek art did not present female nudity (unless the intention was pornographic) until the 4th century BC, although the development of techniques to represent drapery is obviously important.
As with pottery, the Greeks did not produce sculpture merely for artistic display. Statues were commissioned either by aristocratic individuals or by the state, and used for public memorials, as offerings to temples,
oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
s and sanctuaries (as is frequently shown by inscriptions on the statues), or as markers for graves. Statues in the Archaic period were not all intended to represent specific individuals. They were depictions of an ideal—beauty, piety, honor or sacrifice. These were always depictions of young men, ranging in age from adolescence to early maturity, even when placed on the graves of (presumably) elderly citizens. ''Kouroi'' were all stylistically similar. Graduations in the social stature of the person commissioning the statue were indicated by size rather than artistic innovations.
Image:KAMA Kouros Porte Sacrée.jpg, Dipylon Kouros, c. 600 BC, Athens, Kerameikos Museum.
Image:ACMA Moschophoros.jpg, The Moschophoros or calf-bearer, c. 570 BC, Athens, Acropolis Museum.
Image:Korai 01.JPG, Phrasikleia Kore, c. 550 BC, Athens, National Archaeological Museum of Athens
The National Archaeological Museum ( el, Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο) in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is ...
.
Image:ACMA 679 Kore 1.JPG, Peplos Kore, c. 530 BC, Athens, Acropolis Museum.
Image:006MAD Frieze.jpg, Frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
, depicting a Gigantomachy, c. 525 BC, Delphi Archaeological Museum.
Image:Euthydikos Kore.JPG, Euthydikos Kore. c. 490 BC, Athens, authorized replica, original in National Archaeological Museum of Athens
The National Archaeological Museum ( el, Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο) in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is ...
File:Janiform aryballos Louvre CA987.jpg, An Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
n's head and female head, with a kalos inscription. Attic Greek janiform red-figure aryballos, c. 520–510 BC.
Classical
The Classical period saw a revolution of Greek sculpture, sometimes associated by historians with the popular culture surrounding the introduction of
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...
and the end of the aristocratic culture associated with the ''kouroi''. The Classical period saw changes in the style and function of sculpture, along with a dramatic increase in the technical skill of Greek sculptors in depicting realistic human forms. Poses also became more naturalistic, notably during the beginning of the period. This is embodied in works such as the ''
Kritios Boy'' (480 BC), sculpted with the earliest known use of ''
contrapposto'' ('counterpose'), and the ''
Charioteer of Delphi'' (474 BC), which demonstrates a transition to more naturalistic sculpture. From about 500 BC, Greek statues began increasingly to depict real people, as opposed to vague interpretations of myth or entirely fictional
votive statues, although the style in which they were represented had not yet developed into a realistic form of portraiture. The statues of
Harmodius and Aristogeiton, set up in Athens mark the overthrow of the aristocratic
tyranny, and have been said to be the first public monuments to show actual individuals.
The Classical Period also saw an increase in the use of statues and sculptures as decorations of buildings. The characteristic temples of the Classical era, such as the
Parthenon in Athens, and the
Temple of Zeus
Temple of Zeus may refer to:
Greece
* Temple of Zeus, Olympia
* Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens
* Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus, Athens
Italy
* Temple of Olympian Zeus, Agrigento
* Temple G, Selinunte
Selinunte (; grc, Σελῑνοῦς, Sel ...
at Olympia, used relief sculpture for decorative
friezes, and sculpture in the round to fill the triangular fields of the
pediments. The difficult aesthetic and technical challenge stimulated much in the way of sculptural innovation. Most of these works survive only in fragments, for example the
Parthenon Marbles, roughly half of which are in the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...
.
Funeral statuary evolved during this period from the rigid and impersonal kouros of the Archaic period to the highly personal family groups of the Classical period. These monuments are commonly found in the suburbs of Athens, which in ancient times were cemeteries on the outskirts of the city. Although some of them depict "ideal" types—the mourning mother, the dutiful son—they increasingly depicted real people, typically showing the departed taking his dignified leave from his family. This is a notable increase in the level of emotion relative to the Archaic and Geometrical eras.
Another notable change is the burgeoning of artistic credit in sculpture. The entirety of information known about sculpture in the Archaic and Geometrical periods are centered upon the works themselves, and seldom, if ever, on the sculptors. Examples include
Phidias, known to have overseen the design and building of the
Parthenon, and
Praxiteles, whose nude female sculptures were the first to be considered artistically respectable. Praxiteles'
Aphrodite of Knidos, which survives in copies, was often referenced to and praised by
Pliny the Elder.
Lysistratus
Lysistratus ( el, Λυσίστρατος Σικυώνιος) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC, brother of Lysippos. We are told by Pliny the Elder that he followed a strongly realistic line, being the first sculptor to take impressions of ...
is said to have been the first to use plaster molds taken from living people to produce
lost-wax portraits, and to have also developed a technique of casting from existing statues. He came from a family of sculptors and his brother,
Lysippos
Lysippos (; grc-gre, Λύσιππος) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenisti ...
of
Sicyon
Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mona ...
, produced fifteen hundred statues in his career.
The
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure, about tall, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus there. Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Gr ...
and the
Statue of Athena Parthenos
The statue of Athena Parthenos ( grc, Παρθένος Ἀθηνᾶ, lit=Athena the Virgin) was a monumental chryselephantine sculpture of the goddess Athena. Attributed to Phidias and dated to the mid-fifth century BCE, it was an offering from ...
(both
chryselephantine and executed by Phidias or under his direction, and considered to be the greatest of the Classical Sculptures), are lost, although smaller copies (in other materials) and good descriptions of both still exist. Their size and magnificence prompted rivals to seize them in the
Byzantine period, and both were removed to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, where they were later destroyed.
Image:009MA Kritios.jpg, '' Kritios Boy''. Marble, c. 480 BC. ''Acropolis Museum'', Athens.
Image:Diadoumenos-Atenas.jpg, Copy of Polyclitus' Diadumenos, National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Image:Aphrodite Braschi Glyptothek Munich 258.jpg, So-called Venus Braschi by Praxiteles, type of the Knidian Aphrodite, Munich Glyptothek.
File:0025MAN-Relief2.jpg, Family group on a grave marker from Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Image:NAMA X15118 Marathon Boy 3.JPG, The Marathon Youth
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
, 4th century BC bronze statue, possibly by Praxiteles, National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Image:0002MAN-Hermes.jpg, Hermes, possibly by Lysippos
Lysippos (; grc-gre, Λύσιππος) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenisti ...
, National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
File:3326 - Athens - Stoà of Attalus Museum - Head of Dyonisos - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 9 2009.jpg, Terracotta vase in the shape of Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
' head, ca. 410 BC; on display in the Ancient Agora Museum in Athens, housed in the Stoa of Attalus
The Stoa of Attalos (also spelled Attalus) was a stoa (covered walkway or portico) in the Agora of Athens, Greece. It was built by and named after King Attalos II of Pergamon, who ruled between 159 BC and 138 BC. The current building was recons ...
File:Atuell en forma d'Afrodita en una petxina, Àtica, necròpolis de Fanagoria, pinínsula de Taman. Primer quart del segle IV aC, ceràmica.JPG, Pottery vessel, Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion (emotion), passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman god ...
inside a shell; from Attica, Classical Greece
Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in Ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Marti ...
, discovered in the Phanagoria cemetery, Taman Peninsula ( Bosporan Kingdom, southern Russia), early 4th century BC, Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.
Grave relief of Dexileos, son of Lysanias, of Thorikos (Ca. 390 BC) (4454389225).jpg, Athenian cavalryman Dexileos fighting a naked hoplite in the Corinthian War
The Corinthian War (395–387 BC) was a conflict in ancient Greece which pitted Sparta against a coalition of city-states comprising Thebes, Athens, Corinth and Argos, backed by the Achaemenid Empire. The war was caused by dissatisfaction with ...
. Dexileos was killed in action near Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...
in the summer of 394 BC, probably in the Battle of Nemea, or in a proximate engagement. Grave Stele of Dexileos
The Grave Stele of Dexileos, is the stele of the tomb of an Athenian cavalryman named Dexileos (Greek: Δεξίλεως) who died in the Corinthian War against Sparta in 394 BC. The stele is attributed to “The Dexileos Sculptor”. Its creation c ...
, 394-393 BC.
Hellenistic
The transition from the Classical to the Hellenistic period occurred during the 4th century BC. Greek art became increasingly diverse, influenced by the cultures of the peoples drawn into the Greek orbit, by the conquests of
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
(336 to 323 BC). In the view of some art historians, this is described as a decline in quality and originality; however, individuals of the time may not have shared this outlook. Many sculptures previously considered classical masterpieces are now known to be of the Hellenistic age. The technical ability of the Hellenistic sculptors are clearly in evidence in such major works as the ''
Winged Victory of Samothrace'', and the
Pergamon Altar
The Pergamon Altar () was a monumental construction built during the reign of the Ancient Greek King Eumenes II in the first half of the 2nd century BC on one of the terraces of the acropolis of Pergamon in Anatolia, Asia Minor.
The structure wa ...
. New centres of Greek culture, particularly in sculpture, developed in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...
,
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
,
Pergamum, and other cities. By the 2nd century BC, the rising power of
Rome had also absorbed much of the Greek tradition—and an increasing proportion of its products as well.
During this period, sculpture again experienced a shift towards increasing naturalism. Common people, women, children, animals, and domestic scenes became acceptable subjects for sculpture, which was commissioned by wealthy families for the adornment of their homes and gardens. Realistic figures of men and women of all ages were produced, and sculptors no longer felt obliged to depict people as ideals of beauty or physical perfection. At the same time, new Hellenistic cities springing up in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
,
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, and
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...
required statues depicting the gods and heroes of Greece for their temples and public places. This made sculpture, like pottery, an industry, with the consequent standardisation and (some) lowering of quality. For these reasons, quite a few more Hellenistic statues survive to the present than those of the Classical period.
Alongside the natural shift towards naturalism, there was a shift in expression of the sculptures as well. Sculptures began expressing more power and energy during this time period. An easy way to see the shift in expressions during the Hellenistic period would be to compare it to the sculptures of the Classical period. The classical period had sculptures such as the ''
Charioteer of Delphi'' expressing humility. The sculptures of the Hellenistic period however saw greater expressions of power and energy as demonstrated in the
Jockey of Artemision.
Some of the best known Hellenistic sculptures are the Winged Victory of Samothrace (2nd or 1st century BC), the statue of
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion (emotion), passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman god ...
from the island of
Melos
Milos or Melos (; el, label=Modern Greek, Μήλος, Mílos, ; grc, Μῆλος, Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group.
The ''Venus d ...
known as the ''
Venus de Milo'' (mid-2nd century BC), the ''
Dying Gaul
Dying is the final stage of life which will eventually lead to death. Diagnosing dying is a complex process of clinical decision-making, and most practice checklists facilitating this diagnosis are based on cancer diagnoses.
Signs of dying ...
'' (about 230 BC), and the monumental group ''
Laocoön and His Sons'' (late 1st century BC). All these statues depict Classical themes, but their treatment is far more sensuous and emotional than the austere taste of the Classical period would have allowed or its technical skills permitted. Hellenistic sculpture was also marked by an increase in scale, which culminated in the
Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes ( grc, ὁ Κολοσσὸς Ῥόδιος, ho Kolossòs Rhódios gr, Κολοσσός της Ρόδου, Kolossós tes Rhódou) was a statue of the Greek sun-god Helios, erected in the city of Rhodes (city), Rhodes, on ...
(late 3rd century), thought to have been roughly the same size as the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
. The combined effect of earthquakes and looting have destroyed this as well as any other very large works of this period that might have existed.
Following the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek culture spread as far as India, as revealed by the excavations of
Ai-Khanoum in eastern Afghanistan, and the civilization of the
Greco-Bactrians and the
Indo-Greeks.
Greco-Buddhist art
The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art of the north Indian subcontinent is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara.
The s ...
represented a syncretism between Greek art and the visual expression of Buddhism. Discoveries made since the end of the 19th century surrounding the (now submerged)
ancient Egyptian city of
Heracleum include a 4th-century BC depiction of
Isis. The depiction is unusually sensual for depictions of the Egyptian goddess, as well as being uncharacteristically detailed and feminine, marking a combination of Egyptian and Hellenistic forms around the time of Alexander the Great's conquest of Egypt.
In
Goa, India, were found
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...
statues in Greek styles. These are attributed to Greek converts to Buddhism, many of whom are known to have settled in Goa during Hellenistic times.
[(see Pius Melkandathil,''Martitime activities of Goa and the Indian ocean''.)]
File:Seleucid prince Massimo Inv1049.jpg, The '' Hellenistic Prince'', a bronze statue originally thought to be a Seleucid, or Attalus II of Pergamon, now considered a portrait of a Roman general, made by a Greek artist working in Rome in the 2nd century BC.
File:Ac.nike.jpg, The Winged Victory of Samothrace (Hellenistic), The Louvre, Paris
File:0 Monument funéraire - Adonis mourant - Museu Gregoriano Etrusco.JPG, Sepulchral monument of a dying Adonis, polychrome terracotta, Etruscan art from Tuscana, 250-100 BC
File:Fragment of a marble relief depicting a Kore, 3rd century BC, from Panticapaeum, Taurica (Crimea) (12853680765).jpg, Fragment of a marble relief depicting a Kore, 3rd century BC, from Panticapaeum, Taurica (Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...
), Bosporan Kingdom
File:Antikensammlung Berlin 487.JPG, Ancient Greek terracotta head of a young man, found in Tarent
Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label=Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an important commerci ...
, c. 300 BC, Antikensammlung Berlin.
File:British Museum - GR 1859-2-16-4 (Terracotta D194).jpg, Female head incorporating a vase ( lekythos), c. 325-300 BC.
File:1415 - Archaeological Museum, Athens - Bronze portrait - Photo by Giovanni Dall'Orto, Nov 11 2009.jpg, Bronze portrait of an unknown sitter, with inlaid eyes, Hellenistic period, 1st century BC, found in Lake Palestra of the Island of Delos
The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...
.
File:GandharaDonorFrieze2.JPG, Greco-Buddhist frieze of Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
with devotees, holding plantain leaves, in Hellenistic style, inside Corinthian column
The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...
s, 1st–2nd century CE. Buner, Swat, Pakistan. Victoria and Albert Museum.
File:Arte greca, pietra tombale di donna con la sua assistente, 100 ac. circa.JPG, Gravestone of a woman with her child slave attending to her, c. 100 BC (early period of Roman Greece)
Cult images
All
ancient Greek temples and
Roman temples normally contained a
cult image
In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome ...
in the
cella. Access to the cella varied, but apart from the priests, at the least some of the general worshippers could access the cella some of the time, though sacrifices to the deity were normally made on altars outside in the temple precinct (
temenos in Greek). Some cult images were easy to see, and were what we would call major tourist attractions. The image normally took the form of a statue of the deity, originally less than life-size, then typically roughly life-size, but in some cases many times life-size, in marble or bronze, or in the specially prestigious form of a
Chryselephantine statue
Chryselephantine sculpture (from Greek grc, χρυσός, chrysós, gold, label=none, and grc, ελεφάντινος, elephántinos, ivory, label=none) is sculpture made with gold and ivory. Chryselephantine cult statues enjoyed high status ...
using ivory plaques for the visible parts of the body and gold for the clothes, around a wooden framework. The most famous Greek cult images were of this type, including the
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure, about tall, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus there. Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Gr ...
, and
Phidias's
Athena Parthenos
The statue of Athena Parthenos ( grc, Παρθένος Ἀθηνᾶ, lit=Athena the Virgin) was a monumental chryselephantine sculpture of the goddess Athena. Attributed to Phidias and dated to the mid-fifth century BCE, it was an offering f ...
in the
Parthenon in Athens, both colossal statues now completely lost. Fragments of two chryselephantine statues from
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
have been excavated. Cult images generally held or wore identifying attributes, which is one way of distinguishing them from the many other statues of deities in temples and other locations.
The
acrolith was another composite form, this time a cost-saving one with a wooden body. A
xoanon was a primitive and symbolic image, usually in wood, some perhaps comparable to the Hindu
lingam, although the oldest cult image from the Greek world, the
Minoan Palaikastro Kouros, is highly sophisticated. Many xoana were retained and revered for their antiquity in later periods; they were often light enough to be carried in processions. Many of the Greek statues well known from Roman marble copies were originally temple cult images, which in some cases, such as the
Apollo Barberini, can be credibly identified. A very few actual originals survive, for example the bronze
Piraeus Athena
The Piraeus Athena is a bronze statue dated to the fourth century BCE. It currently resides in the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus.
Discovery
The Piraeus Athena was discovered in 1959, by workers who were drilling underground to install pipes. Br ...
(2.35 metres high, including a helmet).
In
Greek and
Roman mythology, a "
palladium" was an image of great antiquity on which the safety of a city was said to depend, especially the wooden one that
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
and
Diomedes
Diomedes (Jones, Daniel; Roach, Peter, James Hartman and Jane Setter, eds. ''Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary''. 17th edition. Cambridge UP, 2006.) or Diomede (; grc-gre, Διομήδης, Diomēdēs, "god-like cunning" or "advised by ...
stole from the
citadel of
Troy and which was later taken to
Rome by
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both ...
. (The Roman story was related in
Virgil's ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'' and other works.)
Drapery
Female
Image:Diana of Gabies.jpg, dressing with a diplax
''Ehrharta'' is a genus of plants in the grass family.Thunberg, Carl Peter. 1779. Kongliga Vetenskaps Academiens Handlingar 40: 217, pl. 8
Most of the species are native to Africa, with a few from Southeast Asia and from various islands in the A ...
Image:Athena Giustiniani Musei Capitolini MC278.jpg, Pallas over a peplos.
Image:Woman chiton Musei Capitolini.jpg, Chiton
Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized.
They are also sometimes known as gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail s ...
File:Egastinai frieze Louvre MR825.jpg, Weavers on the Parthenon Frieze
Male
Image:Hermes Altemps Inv8583.jpg, Chlamys
The chlamys (Ancient Greek: χλαμύς : chlamýs, genitive: χλαμύδος : chlamydos) was a type of an ancient Greek cloak.
File:Parthenon-frieze-bb.jpg, Parthenon Frieze
See also
*
Meniskos
A meniskos ( el, μηνίσκος, plural Meniskoi: "crescent moon") is a bronze disk mounted above some Greek statues on an iron nail drilled through the statue's head.
Purpose
Since many Greek statues were displayed outside, the meniskos serv ...
, a device for protecting statues placed outside
Notes
References
*
Cook, R.M., ''Greek Art'', Penguin, 1986 (reprint of 1972),
*Gagarin, Michael, Elaine Fantham (contributor)
''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, Volume 1'' Oxford University Press, 2010,
*Stele, R. Web. 24 November 2013. http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Sculpture/
Bibliography
*Boardman, John. ''Greek Sculpture: The Archaic Period: A Handbook''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978.
*--. ''Greek Sculpture: The Classical Period: A Handbook''. London: Thames and Hudson, 1985.
*--. ''Greek Sculpture: The Late Classical Period and Sculpture In Colonies and Overseas''. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1995.
*Dafas, K. A., 2019. ''Greek Large-Scale Bronze Statuary: The Late Archaic and Classical Periods'', Institute of Classical Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Monograph, BICS Supplement 138 (London).
*Dillon, Sheila. ''Ancient Greek Portrait Sculpture: Contexts, Subjects, and Styles''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
*Furtwängler, Adolf. ''Masterpieces of Greek Sculpture: A Series of Essays On the History of Art''. London: W. Heinemann, 1895.
*Jenkins, Ian. ''Greek Architecture and Its Sculpture''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2006.
*Kousser, Rachel Meredith. ''The Afterlives of Greek Sculpture: Interaction, Transformation, and Destruction''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
*Marvin, Miranda. ''The Language of the Muses: The Dialogue Between Roman and Greek Sculpture''. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008.
*Mattusch, Carol C. ''Classical Bronzes: The Art and Craft of Greek and Roman Statuary''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1996.
*Muskett, G. M. ''Greek Sculpture''. London: Bristol Classical Press, 2012.
*Neer, Richard. ''The Emergence of the Classical Style In Greek Sculpture''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010.
*Neils, Jenifer. ''The Parthenon Frieze''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
*Palagia, Olga. ''Greek Sculpture: Function, Materials, and Techniques In the Archaic and Classical Periods''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
*Palagia, Olga, and J. J. Pollitt. ''Personal Styles In Greek Sculpture''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
*Pollitt, J. J. ''The Ancient View of Greek Art: Criticism, History, and Terminology''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974.
*--. ''Art In the Hellenistic Age''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
*Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo. ''The Archaic Style In Greek Sculpture''. 2nd ed. Chicago: Ares, 1993.
*--. ''Fourth-Century Styles In Greek Sculpture''. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997.
*Smith, R. R. R. ''Hellenistic Royal Portraits''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.
*--. ''Hellenistic Sculpture: A Handbook''. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1991.
*Spivey, Nigel Jonathan. ''Understanding Greek Sculpture: Ancient Meanings, Modern Readings''. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996.
*--. ''Greek Sculpture''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
*Stanwick, Paul Edmund. ''Portraits of the Ptolemies: Greek Kings As Egyptian Pharaohs''. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.
*Stewart, Andrew F. ''Greek Sculpture: An Exploration''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990.
*--. ''Faces of Power: Alexander's Image and Hellenistic Politics''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.
*von Mach, Edmund. ''Greek Sculpture: Its Spirit and Its Principles''. New York: Parkstone Press International, 2006.
*--. ''Greek Sculpture''. New York: Parkstone International, 2012.
*Winckelmann, Johann Joachim, and Alex Potts. ''History of the Art of Antiquity''. Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2006.
External links
Classic Greek Sculpture to Late Hellenistic Era lecture by professor Kenney Mencher, Ohlone College
Sideris A., Aegean Schools of Sculpture in Antiquity Cultural Gate of the Aegean Archipelago, Athens 2007 (a detailed per period and per island approach).
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