Comparative Arts

Comparative Arts

Lecture 4September 13, 2010

Classical and Hellenistic Greece

-began with the Athenian defeat of the Persians in 479 BCE, ended 80 years later when Athens fell to Sparta-When Athens fell, the classical period continued across dynasties through what we call the ‘Hellenistic’ period (from the verb to ‘Hellenize’ or spread Greek culture)

According to the textbook, the so-called ‘Athenian Golden Age’ is considered a period of unsurpassed cultural

achievement. Why is this?• Forms the basis of many western traditions• First comprehensive code of laws – offered a single standard of justice to all Athenians,

rich or poor• Different classes of people had the right to participate in debates in the political

Assembly• Invention of jury duty (supposedly for all citizens)• Political representation and elections – beginnings of the concept of democracy

(although MUCH room for improvement as many were excluded)

What is problematic about called the Athenian Golden Age a period of ‘unsurpassed cultural achievement’?

What are some of the reasons as to why Athens emerged as a cultural center in the 5th century BCE?

• Political reform – first code of laws• Debt slavery ended• Many artists and artisans were employed by the state• Trade was promoted, particularly in pottery• Redistribution of large estates of some nobility to landless

farmers, who were then able to vote (as only land owners could vote)

• Beginnings of representative democracy

Hellenistic Greece

• Corresponds to the period between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and the annexation of Rome in 146 BCE, after which Greece became a province of the Roman Empire

• During the Hellenistic period, what is now the country of Greece was not the key region – the great centers of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria (Egypt), Ephesus (Turkey) and Antioch (Syria)

• Alexander secured vast territories to which many ambitious young Greeks moved (Alexandria and other Mediterranean cities, but even as far as Afghanistan and Pakistan)

Architecture of the Golden Age of Athens

• Athens was a major city in ancient times, centered around an acropolis (akros = high, polis = city)– An acropolis is a citadel built on high land for strategic purposes and are

found throughout the ancient Mediterranean • On the acropolis, there were temples, law courts, shrines,

athletic facilities – all of which were destroyed by Persians in 480 BCE and later rebuilt

• As part of the rebuilding process, the people of Athens built a temple to the goddess Athena, who they believed helped the Romans defeat the Persians

• The state hired the best artists and artisans – over 22,000 tons of marble used

Acropolis, Athens

• The Parthenon itself replaced an older temple of Athena, which historians call the Pre-Parthenon or Older Parthenon – destroyed in the Persian invasion of 480 BCE

• Like most Greek temples, the Parthenon was used as a treasury• Converted to a Christian church in the 6th century CE dedicated to the Virgin Mary. • After the conquest of the Ottoman Turks, it was turned into a mosque in the early 1460s,and

had a minaret built in it. The structure and sculptures were badly destroyed when the Ottomans stored ammunition in it, which was ignited by Venetians.

• Lord Elgin, a British earl, removed most of the surviving sculptures In 1806, with the Ottoman Turks' permission. These are now called the ‘Elgin marbles’, which Greece is fighting to get back.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzhA3yiEofI (Optical Tricks of the Parthenon)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdYVEIDXnM&feature=related (3D Acropolis)

Lapith and Centaur, Parthenon, 440 BCE

The struggle of the Lapiths against the Centaurs served the Greeks as a metaphor for the conflict between the civilized and barbaric.

Procession of Women, Parthenon, 440 BC

Kritios Boy, 480 BCE-transitional piece, from stiff earlier sculpture to a more naturalistic style-’engaged’ leg

Aphrodite of Knidos

The Scraper-ideal male nude: slender proportions-intended to be seen from all sides

Ancient Greek theatres-built into hillsides, unlike free-standing Roman theatres-could seat up to 15,000 people