Greek Cultural Contributions

Greek Architecture and Sculpture

Chapter 11 Sec. 3

Background• The Greeks were very interested in

making beautiful temples and buildings

• They made these for the Gods and themselves

• They developed a certain type of architecture that is still seen in the world today

Greek Columns

(1) every column has 3 parts

(a) capital (top)

(b) shaft (middle)

(c) base (bottom)

(2) The Greeks invented 3 different types of columns

(a) Doric columns: most simple and most popular

• Capital: plain and undecorated; looks like a round cushion under a rectangular block

• Shaft: bulges slightly in middle to make column look straight

• Base: platform used, sometimes not used

(b) Ionic columns (fancier)•Capital: looks like ram’s horns

•Shaft: much thinner with more flutingfluting

•Base: decorated, stepped or layered, with a supporting block of stone

Ionic Columns

(c) Corinthian columns (fanciest)•Capital: highly decorated and ornate with leaves

•Shaft: Maximum fluting

•Base: stepped and decorated

Corinthian Columns

Corinthian columns at the Louvre

(3) The Greeks also used frieze to decorate their buildings(a) Frieze is a horizontal band of decoration at the top of a temple(b) External frieze- located above columns(c) Internal frieze- around upper portion of inner walls

frieze

• At the Parthenon, the frieze depicts the Panathenaic Procession, which was a procession that led citizens to a festival to celebrate Athena

(4) Pediment is another type of decoration(a) It is the triangular area above the external frieze

`• At the Parthenon, the sculpture’s

depict Athena’s birth• Also show Athena and Poseidon’s

battle over Athens (where Athena wins with the olive tree)

Parthenon– temple to Athena

Parthenon

(1) Information

• designed by Ictinus

• masterpiece of Greek architecture

• appears perfectly straight

• Doric columns

• made of marble

(2) notable parts of the Parthenon

(a) cella- inside room (only priests allowed)

• was the location of Phidias’ statue of Athena

Athena Parthenos

(3) Temple of Athena Nike

(a) means “Victorious Athena”

(b) porch of columns at both ends- Ionic columns

Greek Sculpture

(1) Six things to remember about Greek sculpture

(a) emphasis on body curves

(b) lots of muscles (ideal, perfect body)

(c) no pupils in the eyes

(d) nude or draped in thin, flowing clothes

(e) curly hair

(f) made of marble or bronze

The Olympic

Games

Greek Cultural Contributions Notes (page 2)

The Olympic Games

• First Olympic Games held in 776 BCE at Olympia, Greece

• Held every 4 years (a 4-year period is called an Olympiad)

• Started as a 5-day summer festival to honor the god Zeus

• All wars, battles, etc. stopped during the Olympics

• Only men competed

(1) women were not even allowed to watch!

(2) there was a separate Olympics for women - Heraea

Who might they have been named after?

• Each athlete swore to Zeus to honor the rules of the game

(1) punishment – athlete was fined

(2) made statues of cheaters so they could be mocked

• Events

(1) Day 1

(a) sacrifices to Zeus (bulls)

(2) Day 2

(a) chariot races at the hippodrome (oval track) (b) pentathlon (5 events)

(3) Day 3

(a) more sacrifices

(4) Day 4

(a) foot races (ran barefoot) (b) wrestling (c) boxing (d) pankration (free-for-all

fight)

(5) Day 5

(a) champions receive olive wreaths and have big banquet

• Ancient Olympics stopped being held in 394 CE

(1) Roman Emperor felt they were a pagan event

• 1896 CE – Olympic Games were restarted

(1) 1900 – women allowed to compete

(2) 1924 – Winter Olympics were added

(3) 1992 – last year that the Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year

When and where are the next Olympics?

• Every 2 years, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece and carried to the present site of the Olympics.

The Greek Theater

Chapter 11 Section 2

Greek Theater

General Information

• Drama is the art dealing with the writing and production of plays - created by the Greeks

• Theater is the presentation of drama – also created by the Greeks

• Greek theater grew out of festivals given to honor Dionysus (god of wine, theater, and revelry)

The Birth of Theater

Step #1 – It began as people telling stories about Dionysus at festivals

Step #2 – A chorus began chanting and dancing the stories to music

Step #3 – At certain points, the chorus fell silent - The chorus leader would give a soliloquy

Step #4 – Gradually, the chorus

became shorter and the soliloquies became longer

Step #5 – Stories were no longer just told about Dionysus – They began to be told about other gods and heroes

Step #6 – Eventually, a 2nd character was added, then a 3rd– acting was possible

Step #7 - The play was born!

Tragedies

• The first Greek plays were tragedies (1) stories about suffering (2) usually had an unhappy ending

3.) Relationships between Gods and men/FATE

4.) Serious matters

• During the Golden Age, there was a festival to honor Dionysus called the Dionysia

(1) the highlight was a drama competition between 3 tragic playwrights at the Theatre of Dionysus

• Three of the greatest writers of Greek tragedies

(1) Aeschylus – power and its effect on people

(2) Sophocles – how suffering can make you a better person

(3) Euripides – people suffer because they do bad things

Comedies

• Comedies developed after tragedies (1) had happy endings – hero triumphs (2) often poked fun at people

(3) Greatest writer of comedies - Aristophanes

More General Information

• All performers in Greek plays were males

(1) female parts played by men in costumes

• Costumes and masks were worn by actors (1) showed 3 things about the character

(a) gender(b) age(c) mood

• Amphitheaters – outdoor theaters where plays were viewed

(1) men and women allowed to watch

(2) poor people could go for free

Greek amphitheaters

“Oedipus Rex” cheat sheet• Thebes- city-state in Greece• Laius- King of Thebes• Jocasta- Queen of Thebes• Oracle at Delphi- most famous Greek

oracle• Oedipus- Son born to Laius and Jacosta but

given up at birth. He does not know he is adopted and lives with adoptive parents in Corinth

• The Sphinx- a Greek creature with the body of a lion, eagle’s wings, a serpent’s tail, and the head of a woman

• Teiresias- blind prophet