1. Ancient Greek Art and Literature
CHW 3M

2. Ancient Greek Art
Three distinct time periods.
Archaic (600BC-480BC)
strongly influenced by Egypt
stiff in appearance
2. Classical (480BC-323BC)
art was a product
meant to show “ideal beauty”
3. Hellenistic (323BC-30BC)
art was an expression
realism
Early statues were done in wood. Later sculptors used stone and bronze.

3. What do you think “Ideal Beauty” is

4. Ancient Greek Pottery Black-Figure Pottery Red-Figure Pottery
Very few paintings have survived from the days of Ancient Greece
must of what we know comes from pottery paintings.
Black-Figure Pottery
Red-Figure Pottery

5. Architecture Doric Ionic Corinthian
Most building were built with vertical colours. Architects of Ancient Greece built according to strict mathematical rules and careful proportions . This gave a:
felling of balance
simplicity
beauty
There were three main styles:
Doric
Ionic
Corinthian

6. Temples were the most important building is Ancient Greece
Temples were the most important building is Ancient Greece. They focused on
religious feeling
local pride
The most famous temple is the Parthenon, which sits atop the Acropolis in Athens

7. Ancient Greek Literature
The Greeks wrote a great deal, and a surprising amount of what they wrote is still available to us today. Their writing is traditionally divided into types:
1. The Epic
Two connected works written by Homer around 700BC. Major sources of inspiration and widely quoted in ancient world.
The Odyssey: Odysseus journey home after the war
The Iliad: The story of the Trojan war

8. 2. Poems 3. Philosophy 4. History Thucydides: Peloponnesian Wars
Usually very short and poked fun and government or rival state. Often lyrically and meant to entertain guest at a dinner party. Ex. Archilochus and the Spartans
3. Philosophy
First written as a dialogue between two people. Aristotle later wrote volumes of books in prose.
4. History
Documented historically events written in prose. The two most famous Ancient Greek historians were
Thucydides: Peloponnesian Wars
Herodotus: Persian Wars

9. 5. The Plays Tragedy Comedy
Plays originated out of the festival for Dionysus and became immensely popular with the Greeks. There were two main types of plays.
Tragedy
Tragedies often were based around mythical stories and never ended well for the hero. Their purpose was to bring the audience member to a spiritual awakening that would help them be fuller, more useful and responsible citizens.
Comedy
Comedy was supposed to be a mockery of people and situations, a criticism against immorality, greed and corruption. The language used in comedy’s are very vulgar by today’s standards.