Ancient Greeks made them, Ottomans captured them, Venetians blew them up, and the British took them away.
Ancient Greece: Classical period
Don’t overlook this stunning, little temple, often called the pearl of the Acropolis.
Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian ...
Discover ancient sculptures as they were meant to be seen: in vibrant color.
Egyptian blue on the Parthenon sculptures
Perched on a cliff high above Athens, this complex temple is very different from its neighbor, the Parthenon.
The Erechtheion
Bits of the Parthenon have been spirited all over the world—in Paris, a fragment shows religious life in Athens.
Plaque of the Ergastines
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 ...
Compare this off-balance image of the goddess of victory to earlier classical sculpture.
Nike Adjusting Her Sandal, Temple of Athena ...
Athena's great temple has inspired for 2,500 years, and only became a ruin fairly recently.
The Parthenon, Athens
See the mastery of form developed in the Classical period translated to private art on this solemn gravestone.
Grave stele of Hegeso
Coiled with athletic energy, balance, and the promise of movement, see the potential of an idealized human body.
Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower)
These graceful female figures replace columns—how did human form and architecture relate in ancient Greece?
Caryatid and Ionic Column from the Erechtheion
Discover stunning depictions of gods, heroes, and mythical beasts in the most influential sculptures in history.
Phidias, Parthenon sculpture (pediments, metopes and frieze)
For the ancient Greeks, the human body was perfect. Explore this example of the mathematical source of ideal beauty.