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Ancient Mediterranean
Greece and Rome
ANCIENT GREECE
• Think of a sacred place in your community.
• How do the forms of the space relate to the beliefs and the
activities of the occupants?
• How do the forms of Greek architecture contribute to their
function?
Video in notes
*Athenian agora
Archaic through Hellenistic Greek
600 B.C.E.-150 C.E.
Plan
Video in notes
*Anavysos Kouros
Archaic Greek
c. 530 B.C.E.
Marble of remnants of paint
Video in notes
*Peplos Kore from the Acropolis
Archaic Greek
c. 530 B.C.E.
Marble, painted details
Video in notes
*Niobides Krater
Anonymous AKA Niobid Painter
c. 460-450 B.C.E.
Clay
Red-figure technique
Video in notes
*Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)
Polykleitos
450-440 B.C.E.
Roman copy (marble) of Greek original
(bronze)
• Many Greek works we look at today
are Roman copies of Greek originals.
• Romans valued Greek culture—arts,
leisure, and learning.
• Became popular when Romans began
to invade Greece in 211 B.C.E.
• The Spear Bearer was one of the
most popular, and widely copied
sculptures.
• Greek originals in bronze were
typically later melted down and used
for weapons.
• Many Roman copies were buried and
sustained damaged over centuries.
• This sculpture was found in Pompeii
and abides by the canon of
proportions established for the ideal
human in Greek culture.
Video in notes
• By around 500 B.C.E.
democracy, had emerged in the
city of Athens, and the golden
age of Greek history emerged.
• Far reaching empire=great
wealth
• The Acropolis in Athens was
commissioned by Pericles.
• Parthenon, on top the
Acropolis, is a temple dedicated
to Athena.
• Inside a large statue of Athena,
made of ivory and gold, stood
constructed by Pheidias.
Video in notes
*Acropolis
Athens, Greece
Iktinos and Kallikrates
c. 447-410 B.C.E.
Marble
*Acropolis plan
*Parthenon
Marble metope from the Parthenon, c. 447438 B.C.E., 172 cm tall, Acropolis, Athens ©
Trustees of the British Museum
The sculpted decoration of the Parthenon
included ninety-two metopes showing scenes
of mythical battle.
Iris, from the west pediment of the Parthenon,
c. 438-432 B.C.E., marble, 135 cm high,
Athens, Greece © Trustees of the British
Museum
The pediment sculptures (carved in the round)
filled the triangular gables at each end.
Horsemen from the west frieze of the
Parthenon, c. 438-432 B.C.E., 100cm tall,
Acropolis, Athens © Trustees of the British
Museum
The horsemen have been moving at some
speed, but are now reining back so as not to
appear to ride off the edge of the frieze.
Video in notes
*Plaque of the Ergastines
Video in notes
Figures of three goddesses from the east
pediment of the Parthenon,
c. 438-432 B.C.E., 233 cm long, Acropolis,
Athens
© Trustees of the British Museum
The east pediment of the Parthenon showed
the birth of goddess Athena from the head of
her father Zeus.
*Helios, horses, and Dionysus (Heracles?)
Video in notes
*Victory adjusting her sandal
*Grave stele of Hegeso
Attributed to Kallimachos
c. 410 B.C.E.
Marble and paint
Video in notes
*Winged Victory of Samothrace
Hellenistic Greece
c. 190 B.C.E.
Marble and paint
• Hellenistic art marked by
period of war between
Greeks and Romans.
• Forward momentum.
• 8’ high on the prow (most
forward part) of a stone
ship. Probably
commemorated a naval
victory.
• Originally stood above a
sanctuary in Samothrace.
• The best examples of
Hellenistic art come from
the Kingdom of Pergamon
(Turkey).
Video in notes
*Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon
Asia Minor (Present day Turkey)
Hellenistic Greek
c. 175 B.C.E.
Marble
• Frieze is sculpted in high relief.
• Hellenistic work seeks balance through the use of diagonals, whereas Classical Greek sculpture finds
balance through the use of vertical and horizontal lines.
• Some of the figure here crawl out beyond the architectural space.
• Hellenistic art gives way to heightened forms of expression.
Video in notes
* Seated Boxer
Hellenistic Greek
c. 100 B.C.E.
Bronze
Video in notes
ETRUSCAN
• Before Rome was Rome, it was
Etruria.
• Established famous cities such as
Florence, Pisa, and Siena.
• No history or literature survives.
• Taught Romans the alphabet and
spread literacy through the
Italian Peninsula.
• Gave Romans their cultural and
artistic traditions, engineering,
gladiatorial combat, temple
design, religious ritual.
*Sarcophagus of the Spouses
Etruscan
c. 520 B.C.E.
Terra Cotta
• Majority of our knowledge of
Etruscan art comes from burial
sites.
• Etruscans were cremated and put in
a tomb with all earthly items
needed for the afterlife.
• Kline-reclining couch.
• Couple reclining, eating.
• Social, not divine subject matter.
• Archaic, stylized, elongated figures.
• Men and women reclining and
eating together. Offensive?
Women’s status?
Terracotta was standard in sculpture and temple decoration. Marble had not yet been discovered as an available material.
Video in notes
*Temple of Minerva (Veii, near Rome, Italy) and sculpture of Apollo
Vulca
c. 510-500 B.C.E.
Original temple of wood, mud brick, or tufe (volcanic rock); terra cotta sculpture
• Early Etruscans worshiped in open spaces.
• This later changes as a result of influence from
the Greeks.
• Materials for temples were stone foundations
with wood and terra cotta upper structure.
• Ancient historian, Vitruvius wrote extensively
about Etruscan architecture which heavily
inspired the Italian Renaissance.
• Temple of Minerva would have had Tuscan
columns with a deep porch, and a triple cella (3
rooms) reflecting the divine triad, Minerva,
Tinia (Jupiter/Zeus), and Uni (Juno/Hera).
• Etruscan temples also had a high podium and
frontal entrance.
• Sculptures, like Apollo, would have been placed
on the roof.
Video in notes (2)
Apollo
*Tomb of the Triclinium
Tarquinia, Italy
Etruscan
c. 480-470 B.C.E.
Tufa and fresco
• Known for its painted tombs.
• Chamber tomb.
• Takes its name from the
three-couch dining room of
the ancient Greco-Roman
Mediterranean, known as
the triclinium.
• Banquet scene-festive
funerary art.
• Funeral games.
• Skin of females is lighter.
ROMAN
Video in notes
*House of the Vettii
Pompeii, Italy
Imperial Rome
c. 2nd century B.C.E.; rebuilt c. 62-79 C.E.
Cut stone and fresco
• A Roman townhouse (domus)
• Pompeii destroyed in 79 C.E.,
rediscovered in 18th century.
• The domus reinforced social status, as
patrons would receive clients in the
atrium of the home during the business
day.
• The patron-client relationship in the
Roman Republic (5th-1st centuries
B.C.E.) was important. Patrons provided
support, protection, and benefaction
and in turn clients would trust and be
dutiful to the patron.
• It was important for the patron to keep
an aesthetically pleasing and
fashionable house. Vitruvius even
wrote about this, which becomes a
canon for domestic dwellings.
*Frescos
• Owned by former slaves, one
brother held a top civic position.
• Showed signs of wealth in the
home, like a strongbox.
• Wall paintings are designed for
the viewer to have a gallery-like
experience.
• Fourth style wall painting.
• Offers insight to domestic
architecture and interior
decoration into the last days of
Pompeii.
*Alexander Mosaic from the House of the Faun
Pompeii
Republican Roman
c.100 B.C.E.
Mosaic
Video in notes
• From largest and most
elaborately decorated
mansion in Pompeii.
• Moment when
Alexander the Great is
defeating Darius and
the Persian army.
• Movement and frenzy.
• Based on Ancient
Greek painting?
• 1.5 million pieces of
glass
*Head of a Roman patrician
Republican Roman
c. 75-50 B.C.E.
Marble
• Veristic portrait/republican era
• Differs from Greek
idealism/imperial era
• Conveys seriousness and truth of
the responsibility of holding
public office.
• Characterized by furrowed brow,
deep wrinkles, sagging skin.
• Imagines-death masks
• Wealth/Importance
*Augustus of Prima Porta
Imperial Roman
Early first century C.E.
Marble
• 1st emperor of rome
• Political propaganda
• Portrays himself as political leader,
military leader, and supporter of Roman
religion all at the same time.
• Foreshadowing Pax Romana.
• Recalls Greek ideals of Doryphorus
sculpture, following canon-connecting
himself to Golden Age of Greece
• Cupid riding a dolphin-victory and
divinity
• Breastplate-gods on his side
Video in notes
*Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheater)
Rome, Italy
Imperial Rome
70-80 C.E.
Stone and concrete
Link and video in notes
• Roman Forum-place
where civic, sacred,
and monumental
buildings stood.
• 1st century-emperors
began to build their
own, 5 total.
• Over time buried
under antiquity.
• Massive excavation
under Mussolini.
*Forum of Trajan
Rome, Italy
Apollodorus of Damascus. Forum and markets: 106-112 C.E.
Column completed 113 C.E.
Brick and concrete (architecture)
marble (column)
Forum of Trajan (reconstruction)
Basilica Ulpia (reconstruction)
Video in notes
Trajan markets
Column of Trajan
Video in notes
Pontoon bridge with Roman soldiers (detail), Column of Trajan,
Carrara marble, completed 113 C.E., Rome
Video in notes
*Pantheon
Imperial Roman
118-125 C.E.
Concrete with stone facing
Video in notes
*Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus
Late Imperial Roman
c. 250 C.E.
Marble