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Ancient Greek Art and Literature
- Greek authority over ancient art and literature lasted from around 900 B.C. to 31 B.C. This time frame splits into four distinct periods that represent different artistic eras--the geometric period (900-700 B.C.), the archaic period (700-480 B.C.), the classical period (480-323 B.C.) and the Hellenistic period (323-31 B.C). The Roman empire ruled Greece from 146 B.C. to 330 A.D. During this time, the art and literature of these two societies influenced each other and blended.
- Early Greek artwork depicted stories of the gods on pottery. Frescoes that illustrate scenes of humans interacting with nature adorned ancient Greek walls. The focus of Greek artwork moved from pottery and painting to sculpture during the archaic and classical periods. Two great epic poems, "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," were attributed to the blind poet Homer. Historians aren’t sure whether such a person in fact existed but tradition dictates the poems were written down around 700 B.C. The Greeks invented drama, both tragedy and comedy, which grew out of religious festivals, and philosophy.
- Highly revered and replicated throughout the ancient world, Greek culture spread like wildfire. Their art and literature influenced society across both the Mediterranean and Black seas. Between 334 and 323 B.C., Alexander the Great’s armies took over much of the known world, spreading Greek traditions everywhere they went. Greek dedication to the advancement of culture inspired the rest of the world for generations, while creating new genres of art and literature that survived to modern day.
- Nude, freestanding male statues called "kouroi" depicted the ideal male form of a young man, or "kouros," with attention paid to the exact replication of anatomy. Unlike the kouroi, statues of women, called "korai," usually appeared clothed and represented a young woman or "kore." Famous examples of korai include the "Venus de Milo" and the "Peplos Kore." Ancient Greece had several types of literature. Philosophical pieces delved into areas such as mathematics, government and even the nature of reality. We also have examples of histories and legal and political speeches. Besides the epic, another branch of poetry was developed referred to as lyric poetry, so-called because it was meant to be accompanied by the lyre, a small harp-like instrument. The poems of Sappho are unique, as they are the sole literature written by a woman in ancient Greece. The earliest surviving tragedies are by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, while the oldest comedies are by Aristophanes.
- Ancient Greek philosophy and treatises became the basis for modern democracy, scientific process and mathematics. The Socratic method, a set of theories created by Socrates, founded the basis for philosophy. Plato’s theory of form gave unique insight into metaphysics. Aristotle’s ideas on political theory aided the foundations of democracy. Sophocles’ dissertations on the nature of humanity in his plays evolved into psychological theory.
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