c. 480-430 B.C.E

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

Plaque of the Ergastines

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 ...

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

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

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)

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

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)

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)