Art Of Ancient Greece Revisited

Ancient Greece lived on a time and place where religion & superstition come into play. Divine and semi-divine beings lived with the common people. Gods and goddesses were believed to have influenced how each day of their lives would go.

The art of ancient Greece greatly influenced the other nations around, even up to this present time. The areas of painting, pottery, sculpture and architecture proved to have been inspired by the ancient Greek’s art.

The art of ancient Greece can be categorized into the style it presents – we have the Geometric, the Archaic, the Classical and then the Hellenistic.

Epic poetry, visual arts, well designed figurines as the terra cotta, and some paintings were familiar during this Geometric period. The art of ancient Greece during this period showed designs inspired by the hoplites (or foot soldiers) and of anything involving warfare. It should be noted that being in the military service during this time was a distinction of one’s social standing. Also, the art works, especially the vases, were decorated with accurate geometric patterns, thus the time being called, the “Geometric” period.

Next is the Archaic art of ancient Greece, in which their art works were inspired by the Greek ideals, and with some influences of other cultures. In this period, images of young men and women that were sculpted became an obsession. Vase painting was made perfect during this period as well. A sample of such works was the Sarpedon Vase that depicted the image of the Sarpedon on his death. It is even considered one of the great works of art in Greek history.

Then came the period of the Classical art of ancient Greece, which elevated their works of sculpture, vase painting, and architecture to points of near perfection. Such an example of art works on this time was the temple of Parthenon often described as majestic and elegant. With the Doric columns applied, it was indeed a work of art that is both stylish and strong. The Doric architectural system is known to be robust but with a plain design especially on the top portion, thereby giving the temple its strong feature.

Lastly we have the Hellenistic art of ancient Greece, which was a time in which art forms were made with human expressions & emotions captured in their works. A sample of such art form is the Sleeping Eros, which showed the exhausted image of Eros sleeping peacefully.

The art of ancient Greece did develop to more better forms and designs. Influences of other cultures and the influence of the new Greek generations, with the consistent drive for innovations in their art, proved to have catapulted their art to levels, worthy for the artists of today to derive inspiration from.