Early Greek Art

The Ancient Greeks and Romans form what we collectively call Classical Civilization. Historians consider these cultures to be the cornerstones of European civilization. In truth, both civilizations influenced a wide portion of the Mediterranean world, and not just Europe. However, the influence of ancient Greece and Rome on European art, culture, literature, philosophy, political thought and many other aspects of society cannot be overstated. The first era of Greek art we will be studying, the Geometric and Archaic periods, will see Greek artists' interest in conveying a realistic human form. Greek artist's ability to render more and more realistic depictions of the human body will continue through these early periods and culminate in the Classical period. This is a list of important vocabulary words. The definition of many of these words can be found in the glossary of your textbook, Gardner's Art through the Ages. Make sure you are familiar with the meaning of all these words by the end of the chapter. Acropolis Architrave Bilingual Pottery Blind porch Canon Cavea Cella Contrapposto Corinthian Cuneus Doric Entablature Entasis Frieze Geometric Humanism Ionic Kore, korai Kouros, kouroi Krater Lost Wax Megaron Metope Orchestra Orientalizing Pananthenaic Peristyle Phidias Skene Slip Stylobate Tholos Triglyph Volute White ground Zeuxis