Jack Li, Period 7, 2/28/24

Jack Li
Period 7
2/28/2024

What comes to mind when talking about the Ancient Greeks? Many would answer Greek Mythology but, another common answer is their Art. The Ancient Greeks were well known for their architecture and sculptures to this very day, with many of them well preserved and showcased in museums. Sculptures and temples created to worship the gods and various heroes in Greek mythology such as Perseus. While white marble columns and sculptures are the first examples to come to mind, the art in the earlier periods weren’t like this. Let's start with the earlier periods, the Geometric Period.

The Geometric period can be divided into three segments Early Geometric (900-850 B.C.E.), Middle Geometric (850-760 B.C.E.), and Late Geometric (760-700 B.C.E.) (Geometric Period Pottery and its Decoration). It was a period where pottery was the predominant form of art with many uses of its creation. Vases especially had many uses whether it was to hold ashes from cremation or as grave markers (Amphorae and Kraters). In the early period, its decorations consisted of simple geometric shapes with semicircles and concentric circles (Geometric Period Pottery and its Decoration). However, as time progressed, the decorations began to include more figural representations. While they were still more conceptual due to the use of geometric shapes, it was beginning to show an interest in figural representations in art. Pottery may have been predominant in the Geometric period but, there were still some sculptures that were created with bronze that represented animals with simple shapes and designs.

Then comes the Archaic Period (700-480 B.C.) where there is an increased interaction between Ancient Greek and its surrounding neighbors in the Mediterranean due to trade and communication (Timeline of Ancient Greek Art & Architecture). The increased interactions demonstrated an influence of other cultures, advancing technologies, and iconology through its art. The pottery in this period illustrates war scenes from the Iliad and the Odyssey with detailed human imagery, they also had more usage for the pottery they made as most were created to be drinking vessels. However, it wasn’t just the pottery that had some upgrades, but the sculptures as well. Sculptures called Kouroi (The Male) and Kore (The Females) were made to represent the young men and women in their prime, the style displays an influence from Egyptian sculptures with it’s pose and character build.

Further continuation brings us to the Classical Period (480-323 B.C.) where the temples with popular white marble pillars and sculptures near perfect depictions of humans are being introduced. It introduced three architectural styles called Doric Order, Ionic Order, and Corinthian Order with Doric being the simplest, Ionic being more ornamented, and Corinthian being the most detailed out of the three (Timeline of Ancient Greek Art & Architecture). In terms of sculpture, the Greeks became more into the focus of human anatomy thus introducing sculptures that were a near perfect image of humans with more realistic physical features.

Finally, we come to the Hellenistic Period (323-31 B.C.) where sculptures really took a turn. In this period, Greek artists were no longer restricted to physical perfection but, instead they were more focused on expression. Greek artists began to dive into topics like illness, death, and old age, creating sculptures that display more emotions. A pleasant surprise was the usage of mold making where drinking vessels and votive terracotta figurines were produced more frequently, highlighting their importance in the Hellenistic Period (Timeline of Ancient Greek Art & Architecture).

With our exploration through the evolution of Ancient Greek Art, We can reflect on our learning with a common figure in Greek Myths, Medusa. There are many depictions of Medusa showcased in museums, and by analyzing the depiction, we can take educated guess and learn which period they’re from. While earlier periods depict Medusa as a terrifying monster with tusks and other animal-like features, yet as we continue to more later periods, they begin to depict Medusa with more human-like features. We can see throughout these preserved artworks that Ancient Greek art has gone through many changes that contribute to the image of Ancient Greek Art we have today in modern times.

Sources:
Davis, Charlotte. “Timeline of Ancient Greek Art & Architecture.” TheCollector, 30 Nov. 2023, www.thecollector.com/ancient-greek-art-architecture/.

Akmenkalns, Jessika, and Debby Sneed. “Geometric Period Pottery and Its Decoration.” Department of Classics, 16 Apr. 2019, www.colorado.edu/classics/2018/06/14/geometric-period-pottery-and-its-decoration#:~:text=Scholars%20subdivide%20the%20Geometric%20Period,Geometric%20(760%2D700%20B.C.E.).

Glennon, Madeleine. “Medusa in Ancient Greek Art: Essay: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.” The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, 1 Jan. 2017, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/medu/hd_medu.htm.