Ancient Greece spanned from the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of c. 600 AD. Classical Greece is considered the time during the 5th to 4th centuries BC. After defeating the Persians, Athens dominated Greece. This victory catalyzed the solidification of Greek culture and societal undulation. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of the Mediterranean and Europe, for which reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture.
1.)
Geometric Bronze Warrior (8th Century BCE) This bronze statue is one of the nude pieces discovered, which had been rare or completely non-existent in other cultures around the Mediterranean at the time. The nude body expresses the beginnings of a move towards more humanistic art as past human representations had depicted clothing and/or symbolic markings that would represent class or political standing, whereas this man, bare, represents a person merely being a person.2.)
Hera of Samos (560 BCE) The vast majority or sculpture of this time was embedded into the stone it was carved from. This figure of Hera of Samos is "Monumental", meaning it is free-standing and alone, leaving it far more susceptible to damage and destruction. This piece, however, symbolizes the breaking away from a larger picture, and individual sanding alone.3.)
Polykleitos, Doryphoros (c. 450-440 BCE) This piece by Polykleitos is a very classical statue; a realistic, proportional man, having all of his weight on one leg and relaxing the other, expressing a play-off between the two. The artist wrote treaties, and wrote a piece about how he created this sculpture using the measure of one of the digits of a finger as the unit of measure for the proportions of the entire body. The accuracy of these proportions, while scientific, created stunningly realistic figures and beautiful art work, which would become associated with humanism and its natural beauty.4.)
Three Goddesses, from the east pediment of the Parthenon (c. 438-32 BCE) This sculpture, unlike Hera, synthesizes individuals into a group, intricately lain upon one another and connected physically. Other than a technical marvel, this statue represents a significant shift in Greek theism, an expression of immortality (Goddesses) in human form.5.)
Praxiteles, Aphrodite (c. 350 BCE) Praxiteles fabricated the first monumental nude of a female, paying respect to woman, not expressing it sexually. This piece culminates expressions of amazing technicality, as well as humanism and natural beauty.6.)
Niobi Chiaramonti (3rd Century BCE) Most early Greek sculpture was less advanced with regards to technique, ability, and ideas of how to express the human form. In the midst a progression into a more realistic form exposing the body, this piece of a young woman running expresses character and a sensual beauty that had begun to be explored.7.)
Battle of Alexander (250 BCE) There are very few examples of ancient Greek painting, we mainly see mosaic works. This piece clues us in on a mastery of two-dimensional composition that includes knowledge of proportion, perspective and movement. The latter is exemplified by the form of the horses; we are not looking at a simple silhouette or basic still shape, rather, intricate angles and perspectives.8.)
Nike (Or Winged Victory) of Samothrace (c. 190 BCE) This piece, whose sculptor is unknown, is another great example of movement. The ideology behind this piece is very congruent with typical Ancient Greece connotation; it expresses victory, strength, and tenacity. It is very interesting, too, that the artist chose to sculpt a female figure, expressing the greatness of the Greek culture via a symbol of strong femininity.9.)
Alexandros of Antioch, Aphrodite/Venus de Milo (150-125 BCE) Yet another thematic expression of female beauty and the Greek ideal of woman, because this statue is only half nude, it also incorporates a lush decorative accent, perhaps, in fact, stabilizing a changed ideal of femininity.10.)
Ulysses in the Land of the Laestrygonians (1 BCE) This piece also attests to a move towards more realistic painting as it plays with light and depth, most likely in attempt to make the depicted scene more visually accurate.All in all, whether it be a portrayal of an actual event, a thematic expression piece, or simply a very realistic nude statue, art of this ancient culture clues us in to the relatively vast appropriation of ideals, religion, daily-life, and expresses the development of culture and society in a growing civilization.
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