Chances are, when you visualize "Greek Art" in your mind, you think of what is generally referred to as the Classical period. It was during this time that the artists and artisans portrayed perfectly proportioned bodies of young, buff men (and women). In fact, no human body - ever was - or ever will be, as well proportioned as the Greek statues. The statues at this time feature bodies which are 100% flawless - faces were created to look perfect too, in case you were wondering. The Greek ideal of beauty involved Gods looking like humans and humans looking like, well Gods. In addition to their sculpting ability, the Greeks were masters at painting. The most complete form of Greek painting that has survived throughout the ages is that of vase painting. The black and red figure vases each had an intricate story to share.

Shown above is the Attic Geometric krater from the Diplylon cemetary in Athens. It dates back to 740 B.C. and is forty and a half inches high. It is a narrative and is of monumental scale as well. It was used as a grave marker. Here the geometric ornament becomes secondary and the surface is dominated by two large figural bands. The sexes are heavily distinguished between and their anatomy is a tad exagerrated. On the top part of the band is the mourning scene while under it is represented a grand procession in honor of the deceased.

Above is the Corinthian black-figure amphora with animal friezes dating back to 625-600 B.C. It is approimately 14" high. The amphora was found on the island of Rhodes at the opposite side of the Agaean mainland CorinthIt is organized in the old Geometric style organized in a series of horizontal bands. On the neck has many animals and other composite creatures. It is a black-figure pot. The black stuff is neither a pigment nor a glaze, but engobe, a slip of finely sifted clay that originally is of the same color as the clay of the pot. It becomes black after being fired in three phases.

Pictured on the right is Lady of Auxere, statue of a goddess or kore. Her right hand is placed on her chest as a gesture of prayer. Despite its monumental quality, the statue is a little over two feet tall. It is dated back to 650-625 B.C. She is the masterpiece of a style which is usually referred to as Daedalic. Characteristic of the style is the triangular flat-topped head framed by long strands of hair that form complementary triangles to that of the face.Also characteristic is the small belted waist and a fondness for pattern: note the almost Geometric treatment of the long skirt with its incised concentric squares, once brightly painted.

Pictured above is the Calf-bearer (Moschophoros)dating back to 560 B.C. It is carved from marble and stands at roughly five feet and five inches. It was found in fragments at the Athenian Acropolis. He stands in the left-foot forward manner of the kouroi, but he is bearded so he is no longer a youth. He is Archaic, as evidenced by that infamous Archaic smile. The bodies of the man and the calf are also unified by a bold X that is formed by the calf's legs and the calf-bearer's arms.

Shown above is Kroisos. It is from Anavyos and dates back to 530 B.C. Carved from marble, it stands at approximately six feet and four inches tall. It too is Archaic but is also very rigid and frontal. Originally it was painted in the durable technique of encaustic, in which pigment is mixed with wax and applied to the surface while hot.

A stylistic "sister" to the Kroisos kouros is the Peplos Kore (shown above.) She wears a peplos, a simple long woolen belted garment that gives the female figure a columnar appearance. It has traces of paint on it which means that it was once painted. A change did occur here though; her left arm is broken off because it was once extended out in front of her---a radical change from the once frontal stance of earlier Archaic statues.

Shown above is the plan of the Temple of Hera I. One of its most unusual features is the central row of columns which separates the naos into two aisles. Also, the columns are cigar-shaped.It is very thick and heavy looking too.

Above is "Ajax and Achilles playing a game" a.k.a. "Attic bilingual amphora." It is a copy made by the Andokides Painter from an original pot created by Exekias. It is a very important piece because it is the first to unite both the red-figure and black-figure styles. For this reason the amphora is referred to as being "bilingual."

Above is "Herakles wrestling Antaios" by Euphronios which dates back to 510 B.C. and stands at approximately nineteen inches tall. It is an attic red-figure calyx-krater from Cervereteri. The artist used thinned glaze to delineate the muscles of both figures. Euphronios not only wished for his figures to render human anatomy convincingly, but he also wanted to show that these figures take up a lot of space.

Pictured above is "Three Revelers" by Euthymides. It too is a red-figure amphora. It is from Vulci and dates back to 510 B.C. Because Euthymides disagreed with old conventions of formality and frontality, he has drawn the three tipsy revelers with overlap. They are foreshortened, that is, shown in a 3/4 view.

This is the Dying Warrior from the West pediment of the Temple of Aphaia dating back to 500-490 B.C. It is 62 1/2 inches long. It is interesting because although this man is dying, he is smiling. This shows that he is also from the Archaic period. His torso is rigidly frontal too.

This is the Kritios Boy from the Acropolis, Athens. He is 34" tall and dates back to 480 B.C., the Classical period of Greece. He is the embodiment of the Greek idealization of the body. The body was very important to the Greeks. This is a transitional piece. It is the first with evidence of contrapposto, that is, the realistic shift in the hips when someone stands with their leg extended.

Above is Diskobolos (Discus thrower.) It is actually a Roman marble copy. (We know because it has to be supported by that tree stump.) It was sculpted by Myron and dates back to 450 B.C.. It is 5'1". It is significantly different from all the previous sculptures because there is a lot of movement. A man is shown (in the nude, of course) getting ready to throw a discus. His body is very idealized too and he seems almost too perfect.

This is Doryphoros (Spear-bearer) sculpted by Polykleitos. The one shown here is a Roman marble copy. Polykleitos is famous for his so-called "canon of proportion." He used mathematical formulas to create ideal human bodies.

Above is an aerial view of the Acropolis of Athens. The centerpiece of Pericles's great building program on the Acropolis was the Parthenon.

The picture above is called "Three Goddesses" from the east pediment of the Parthenon. The three goddesses were probably Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite. It dates back to 438-432 B.C. and is carved from marble. It was important in that it solved the problem of dealing with the awkward triangular frame of the pediment. It was designed by Phidias. The reclining figures fill the space beneath the raking cornice beautifully. Also, they appear very realistically with the "wet" look. Their garments appear as though they are wet and there is great evidence of a body beneath them. Their garments cling to their bodies and their is the illusion of movement.

This thing above is a picture of the Procession of elders and maidens which can be found in the inner Ionic frieze in the east of the Parthenon. It dates back to 447-438 B.C. and is carved from marble. The subject of the frieze is debated, but most agree that it is the Panathenaic Festival procession that took place every four years in Athens. The procession begins in the marketplace and ends in the Acropolis, as shown in the picture above.

Pictures above is the South porch of the Erechteion. One of the most striking and famous features of the temple is its South porch because as you can see, caryatids replace Ionic columns. The role of the caryatids as architectural supports for the unusual flat roof above is underscored by the vertical flute-like folds of the drapery concealing their stiff weight-bearing legs.

This is the "Aphrodite of Knidos" by Praxiteles. The one shown here is actually a Roman marble copy after the original which dates back to 350-340 B.C. It stands at approximately 6'8" high. Aphrodite is shown engaged in a trivial act of everyday life. The goddess has removed her garments, modestly shielding her pelvis as she gets ready to step into the bath. It caused a sensation in its time because of the fact that Praxiteles had taken the unprecedented step of representing the goddess of love completely in the nude. Female nudity in early Greek art, shown here, is extremely rare.

Shown above is "Hermes and the infant Dionysos" by Praxiteles from Olympia. It was found in the Temple of Hera at Olympia. In this piece Hermes has stopped to rest in a forest. He leans on a tree trunk and his slender body forms a sinuous, shallow S-curve that is the hallmark of many of Praxiteles's statues. The one shown here is a Roman Marble copy though, as evidenced by the support of the tree trunk.

Shown here is "Apoxyomenos" (scraper.) This one is a Roman Marble copy. He is supported by a tree trunk as well and his, as Mr. Papciak would say, "tallywacker", is covered by a leaf. he original was created by Lysippos who created a new canon of proportion in which bodies were more slender than those of Polykleitos.

This is the "Battle of Issus" by Philoxenos of Ereteria dating back to about 310 B.C. It is one of the greatest tessera mosaics of antiquity and it decorated the floor of a lavishly appointed Roman house at Pompeii. Its subject is a great battle between Alexander the Great and the Persian king Darius III. It is notable for the horse which is shown in a 3/4 rear view and the reflection of the face of a terrified man who has fallen off of his horse. It makes very good use of light.

This is the beautiful and innovative "Nike of Samothrace", dating back to 190 B.C. It comes from the Hellenistic period which is characterized by emotional intensity. The marble statue was set up in the Sanctuary of the Great Gods on the island of Samothrace. Her wings are still beating and her drapery is swept by the wind. It also has that wet look and there is evidence of a body under those clothes. She was at the center of a fountain.

This is the famous "Venus de Milo", an over-life-size marble statue of Aphrodite found on Melos. It was sculpted by Alexandros of Antioch-on-the-Meander. The goddess of love is more modestly draped, but also more overtly sexual. The sculptor meant to tease the spectator. It is far more sexual than Praxiteles's entirely nude image of the goddess (Aphrodite of Knidos.)

Also from the Hellenistic period is this sculpture shown here. It is called "Laocoon and his sons" by Athanadoros, Hagesandros and Polydoros of Rhodes. Characteristic of the Hellenistic style, this piece explodes with emotional intensity as Laocoon and his sons are attacked by sea serpents. The serpents had been sent by the gods who favored the Greeks in the war against Troy tp punish Laocoon who tried to warn his countrymen about the danger of bringing the Greeks' Wooden Horse into the walls of their city.