Ancient Greece has had a good deal of influence on art, architecture and philosophy

throughout history. Much of its influence is still seen in various cultures today. The various
cultures of ancient Greece built upon one another and they share many cultural similarities.
Though similarities abound, there were also many distinctions.
The two earliest Greek cultures, the Minoan and Mycenaean, had many similarities. The
Minoans were the first to live in Greece on the island of Crete and the Mycenaean would come
after them inhabiting the mainland of Greece (Stokstad and Cothren, 2012). Both the Minoans
and Mycenaean developed sophisticated art and architecture and this was seen in the impressive
palaces they built. Despite the many similarities between the Minoan and Mycenaean, there were
some distinctions between the two. The art of the Minoans seems to depict a peaceful existence
and suggests a passive nature. Conversely, Mycenaean art portrays more warfare and aggression
(Stokstad and Cothren, 2012). Whatever their differences or similarity, the Mycenaean and
Minoan cultures had great influence on subsequent Greek culture and there were some
commonalities between the assorted Greek cultures.
Some similarities between the various Greek cultures seem to be that, in general, they
were accomplished seafaring people. Consequently, it seems they controlled the area around the
Aegean Sea where they were active traders. Another similarity seems to be that the belief in a
goddess was preferred or more significant over the belief in a god. Interestingly, while the
worship of a goddess was given priority over a god, women appear to be of less importance in
the culture and in the art (Stokstad and Cothren, 2012).
Ancient Greek art began to focus on the human body and has changed a great deal over
time. Earlier art lacked detail, but later took on a more detailed, natural and lifelike appearance

especially concerning musculature and joints of the legs and arms. The beginning of realistic
depictions of humans in Greek art began in the Archaic period (Stokstad and Cothran 2012).
Even facial expressions went from stiff and unnatural to relaxed and lifelike. This is evident in
comparing Anavysos Kouros to Kritos Boy (Stokstad and Cothran, 2012). Over time ancient
Greeks artistic ability evolved and their depictions of the human body were much more
impressive. In viewing pictures of Greek art it seems that depictions of the male figure were of
muscular and powerful men in contrast to the softer more fragile looking female depictions.
Females were not portrayed nude as often as males this suggests that, to the Greeks, female
modesty was important.
Not only did the art concerning human depiction in ancient Greece develop and evolve
over time, so did the architecture. Greek architecture begins with simple houses of the Dark Age
and culminates in the monumental temples of the classical perion and the elaborately planned
cities and sanctuaries of the Hellenistic period. (Hemmingway and Hemmingway, 2008). The
general trend in development of Greek architecture seems to have moved toward community
structures focusing on temples. Architecture of ancient Greece can be separated into the three
architectural orders, the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian order. The orders are arranged based on
mathematical ratios, so that no single aspect of an order could be altered without causing a
change in other parts of the order.(Stokstad and Cothren, 2012).With the Doric order the column
shaft of the can be fluted or smooth-surfaced and has no base. The Doric capital consists of an
undecorated echinus and abacus. The Doric entablature has a plain architrave, a frieze with
metopes and triglyphs, and a simple cornice. (Stokstad and Cothren, 2012). The Ionic order
has a base, a fluted shaft, and a capital decorated with volutes. The ionic entablature consists of
an architrave or three panels and moldings, a frieze usually containing sculpted relief ornament,

and a cornice with dentils. (Stokstad and Cothren, 2012). The Corinthian order includes a base,
a fluted column shaft with a capital elaborately decorated with acanthus-leaf carvings. Its
entablature consists of an architrave decorated with moldings, a frieze often containing
sculptured reliefs, and a cornice with dentils. (Stokstad and Cothren, 2012). Romans would later
copy these orders and they are still a major influence today in western architecture. (Stokstad and
Cothren, 2012).
Painting on the pottery of ancient Greece varied and may have been dependant on its
intended use. Much of the pottery of ancient Greece was for commerce or simple utility, but a
great deal of pottery was created to honor events, people or deities. It seems common that pottery
was adorned with gods, goddesses, great warriors or other things of great importance or worthy
of celebration. For instance, the octopus flask from Palaikastro, Crete was adorned with a
dynamic arrangement of marine life, seemingly in celebration of Cretan maritime power
(Stokstad and Cothren, 2012). Post were also created as funerary vessels and could be found as
grave markers. The painting on these pots may contain renderings of things typically seen at a
funeral such as cultural rituals, the body of the deceased and people in mourning (Stockstad and
Cothren, 2012). Two main techniques for painting figures on pottery in ancient Greece were
black-figure and red-figure techniques. The black figure technique used a mixture of clay and
water to create a silhouette against an unpainted background. (Stokstad and Cothren, 2012). The
red-figure technique was given its name because the red figures were prominent against a black
background. (Stokstad and Cothren, 2012).

Work Cited

Hemingway, Colette and Sen Hemingway. "The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480323 B.C.)". In
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.
http://www.metmuseum.org (January 2008)
Stokstad, Marilyn and Cothren, Michael W. Art a brief history. Upper Saddle River: Pearson,
2012.