Even though this period is so brief, when you think of ancient Greek art, you likely think of the art produced during this period: the Parthenon, the noble caryatids on the Erechtheion, and the perfect proportions of the Doryphoros.
c. 450–400 B.C.E.
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Originally part of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, this metope tells an important story from the life of Herakles.
The Temple of Zeus and its decorations encouraged visitors to consider the heroism and artistic prowess of the Greeks.
For the ancient Greeks, the human body was perfect. Explore this example of the mathematical source of ideal beauty.
Ancient Greeks made them, Ottomans captured them, Venetians blew them up, and the British took them away.
Don’t overlook this stunning, little temple, often called the pearl of the Acropolis.
Perched on a cliff high above Athens, this complex temple is very different from its neighbor, the Parthenon.
Bits of the Parthenon have been spirited all over the world—in Paris, a fragment shows religious life in Athens.
We recognize ancient Greece as the birthplace of democracy, but what did democracy really mean to the Greeks?
Compare this off-balance image of the goddess of victory to earlier classical sculpture.
Athena's great temple has inspired for 2,500 years, and only became a ruin fairly recently.
See the mastery of form developed in the Classical period translated to private art on this solemn gravestone.
Coiled with athletic energy, balance, and the promise of movement, see the potential of an idealized human body.
