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Ancient Greece: Classical period

Iktinos and Kallikrates, The Parthenon, 447–432 B.C.E., Athens (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) — The Parthenon has echoed through history, but what part of that history do we prize, and which do we ignore?

Destruction, Memory, and Monuments: The Many Lives ...

by Dr. Rachel Kousser

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

Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?

by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

https://flic.kr/p/kDiKKF — Don’t overlook this stunning, little temple, often called the pearl of the Acropolis.

Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian ...

by Katarzyna Minollari

Phidias(?), Parthenon sculptures frieze: 438-432 B.C.E. pediment: c. 438-432 B.C.E. metopes: c. 447-32 B.C.E. — Discover ancient sculptures as they were meant to be seen: in vibrant color.

Egyptian blue on the Parthenon sculptures

by The British Museum

The Erechtheion, 421-405 B.C.E., Classical period, Acropolis, Athens — Perched on a cliff high above Athens, this complex temple is very different from its neighbor, the Parthenon.

The Erechtheion

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

Bits of the Parthenon have been spirited all over the world—in Paris, a fragment shows religious life in Athens.

Plaque of the Ergastines

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

View of the Athenian Agora from the Acropolis — We recognize ancient Greece as the birthplace of democracy, but what did democracy really mean to the Greeks?

The Athenian Agora and the experiment in ...

by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

Nike adjusting her Sandal — Compare this off-balance image of the goddess of victory to earlier classical sculpture.

Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, Temple of Athena ...

by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

Iktinos and Kallikrates (sculptural program directed by Phidias), Parthenon, Athens, 447 - 432 B.C.E. — Athena's great temple has inspired for 2,500 years, and only became a ruin fairly recently.

The Parthenon, Athens

by The British Museum

Grave stele of Hegeso, c. 410 B.C.E., marble and paint, from the Dipylon Cemetary, Athens, 5' 2" (National Archaeological Museum, Athens) — See the mastery of form developed in the Classical period translated to private art on this solemn gravestone.

Grave stele of Hegeso

by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower), Roman copy of an ancient Greek bronze from c. 450 B.C.E., Classical Period (Palazzo Massimo alle Terme) — Coiled with athletic energy, balance, and the promise of movement, see the potential of an idealized human body.

Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower)

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

Caryatid, Erechtheion (detail) — These graceful female figures replace columns—how did human form and architecture relate in ancient Greece?

Caryatid and Ionic Column from the Erechtheion

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

Phidias(?), Parthenon sculptures — Discover stunning depictions of gods, heroes, and mythical beasts in the most influential sculptures in history.

Phidias, Parthenon sculpture (pediments, metopes and frieze)

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

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

Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)

by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker