Ancient Greece: c. 800 – 31 B.C.E.

Ancient Greek art was collected in ancient Rome, studied during the Renaissance and formalized in the 19th century. It is the most influential art ever made.

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

Who owns the Parthenon sculptures?

Euphronios, Sarpedon Krater — Gods carry away the dead on a pot looted from a tomb, trafficked out of Italy, bought by the Met, and finally returned.

Euphronios, Sarpedon Krater

This pot stood above a grave, and the female mourners depicted on it tear out their hair in grief.

Terracotta Krater

Through interactions with other Mediterranean cultures, ancient Greek potters developed new techniques.

Sophilos: a new direction in Greek pottery

Achilles killing the Amazon Queen Penthesilea, 540-530 B.C.E., black-figured amphora (wine-jar), signed by Exekias as potter and attributed to him as painter, 46 cm tall, Athens, Greece © Trustees of the British Museum. — Explore ancient Greece as it evolved from small city-states to an empire spanning the Mediterranean world.

Ancient Greece, an introduction

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 ...

Attributed to the Villa Giulia Painter. Terra-cotta Kylix (drinking cup), c. 470 B.C.E., terra-cotta, red figure, white ground, 6.2 x 16.2 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) — Greek potters developed a remarkable variety of shapes, sizes, and styles that offer insights into ancient culture.

Greek Vase-Painting, an introduction

Exterior side A (detail), Panathenaic prize amphora of a chariot race, 490-80 B.C.E., red-figured cup, attributed to the Foundry Painter, Attica, Greece © The Trustees of the British Museum. — Running, wrestling, and boxing: like today, athletic victory would bring you fame and prestige in ancient Greece.

Olympic games

East porch column capital, the Erechtheion, 421-405 B.C.E. (Classical Greek), Acropolis, Athens — Learn how ancient Greeks mastered the human form and built soaring temples.

Introduction to ancient Greek art

Capitoline Venus, Venus Pudica — Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, emerges from her bath, but what did her nudity mean to the Greeks?

Capitoline Venus (copy of the Aphrodite of ...

Eleusis Amphora — This ancient pot depicts not one, but two myths: Perseus slaying Medusa and Odysseus blinding the cyclops.

Eleusis Amphora

The island of Siphnos used its great wealth to earn the favor of the gods through art, architecture, and offerings.

Siphnian Treasury, Delphi

The god Apollo spoke through his priestess at Delphi, and Greek cities competed for his favor with offerings.

Sanctuary of Apollo, Delphi

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

Bronze statue of Eros sleeping, 3rd–2nd century B.C.E., bronze, 16 1/2 × 14 × 33 9/16″ / 41.9 × 35.6 × 85.2 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). — Cupid, chubby and quietly sleeping, is a common symbol today … but what did this sculpture mean to ancient Greeks?

Bronze statue of Eros sleeping

Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure technique — From heroes and gods to everyday life, ancient Greek pottery depicted a variety of subjects.

Ancient Greek vase production and the black-figure ...

How did ancient Greek potters make and decorate their pottery?

Making Greek vases

Marble Statue of a Kouros — This early Greek depiction of the idealized male form displays power and poise in his nudity and steadfast gaze.

Marble statue of a kouros (New York ...

Contrapposto — The ancient Greeks mastered the naturalistic representation of the human body, and the Renaissance revived it.

Contrapposto

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