Peripteral Greek Temple Plan of a typical peripteral

Peripteral Greek Temple Plan of a typical peripteral temple 1

• Cella(naos)-room inside temple that housed the cult statue of deity • Pronaos-front porch that came before the cella, open • Opisthodomos-rear porch, decorative, for symmetry purposes • Anta-extended walls coming off the Pronaos and Opisthodomos/have columns attached

• Design of temple could be…. – Prostyle-colonnade across front of temple – Amphiprostyle-colonnade across front and back of temple – Peristyle-colonnade across all 4 sides of temple • Also could choose from type of colonnade rows: – Peripteral-Single rows of columns – Dipteral-Double rows of columns (usually more elaborate temples) Colonnade options for peripteral temple

Orders included (from bottom): 1. Stepped platform-base 2. Colonnade-columns 3. Entablature-Everything above the columns • Style of the above 3 units on exterior of temple was known as an order Two main types of orders-Doric and Ionic What is an order?

Compare Doric and Ionic Orders Notice…What basic architectural system is being used? 7

• Massive, plain • Edges of column flutes come out to point • Small capital • Decorative sculpture in metope and pediment Doric Order

• Light, airy, ornamental-sculpture friendly • Entire frieze for decorative sculpture • Sometimes replaced columns with caryatids(female figures) • Note-atlantids were male figures used as columns Ionic Order

• Origins of Greek architectural sculpture…. Lion Gates! Greek Pediments…. The Beginning

� West Pediment of the Temple of Artemis � Archaic � 600 BCE

• Temple of Artemis-one of earliest Doric peripteral temples in Greece • 2 Pediments filled with huge relief sculptures – sculptures trying to escape architectural confines – Heads projecting out, brightly painted • Gorgon, sister of Medusa • Heraldic Composition • Archaic pinwheel pose-bent arms and legs, represents motion

• Battle of the Greeks and Giants, Siphnian Treasury at Delphi • Archaic 530 BCE

• Greatest Archaic period Ionic treasury example • Treasury– Small, separate building to house valuables offered to deity – OR – Smaller room inside temple (sometimes the opisthodomos) used for same purpose • How is it Ionic? – Caryatids – Continuous frieze of relief sculpture around building • Gigantomachy-battle of gods and giants – Apollo and Artemis pursue fleeing giant

� Dying Warrior, West Pediment of the Temple of Aphaia � Archaic � 500 BCE

• Pediment statue for local goddess’ temple • Torso is rigidly frontal, awkward pose • Looks out at the spectator like a mannequin on display and not as a thinking and feeling human being. • Archaic smile-inappropriate

• Dying warrior, East Pediment of the Temple of Aphaia • Archaic • 480 BCE

• Created about 20 years later than the west pediment Notice the differences. • Posture is more natural. • He is reacting to his wound as a human would. He is concerned with his pain, not the spectator. • Still an archaic smile but toned down, transitioning to Early Classical period

Can you recognize Archaic sculpture?

• Measured from historical defeat of Persians by Greeks in 480 • Early Classical AKA Severe Style • Drapery is simpler and more severe – Eyelids and chins are heavier – Serious, thoughtful expressions – No archaic smile – Interest in motion Early Classical • Contrapposto • Athletic stances Period

• Kritios Boy • Early Classical • 480 BCE

• One of most important works of Greek sculpture • First time sculptor is really trying to portray how humans stand – Left straight leg bears the weight of his body, while the right leg is bent and relaxed. • This weight shift (contrapposto or counterbalance) defines Classical style • MORE RELAXED and NATURAL

• A calm, serene expression replaces the artificial archaic smile. • Muscles are well defined. • Smooth flesh seems soft and natural. • He is a youthful athlete, appears calm and confident. Greek quest for perfect form.

• Riace Warriors • Early Classical • 460 BCE

• Transitional piece • Lost wax bronze castings-process allowed for more flexibility and creativity in composition • Remarkably lifelike. • Eyes-bone and glass paste. Silver teeth and copper eyelashes. • Realistic contrapposto stance-natural

�Zeus or Poseidon �Early Classical � 460 BCE

• Held a thunderbolt or a trident…unsure of who it is • Lost-wax

• • • Myron's Discobolos Early Classical 450 BCE

• This is actually a Roman copy after a bronze original • Action pose, but Archaic influence with profile limbs and a nearly frontal chest. • Expression on face doesn’t show the tension of the moment.

Charioteer Early Classical, 470 BC

• Commemorates victory of a chariot race • Stands in an archaic pose, except for the turned head and feet • Pose is rigid and severe, but expression is calm and shows self-control • The cloth folds, muscles and facial features are more natural.

The Golden Age of Greece Classical Period aka High Classical

• Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)by Polykleitos • Classical • 450 BCE

• this work was embodiment of Classical period. • Polykleitos– Believed in proportion (accurate measurements) as the key to beauty. – Wrote THE CANON. – His name for this sculpture was “The Canon” because it represented his beliefs so perfectly

• The Doryphorous is carefully and precisely proportioned. • The statue’s head is 1/7 of the figure’s height, and the distance across the shoulders is ¼ of the figure’s height. • This figure once held a spear in his left hand stands like the Kritios boy, although this stance is even more pronounced.

• He has an “S” motion to his contrapposto stance. • There is a greater sense of the body’s underlying structure in this piece. – veins in the arms. – Knee caps. – Rib cage. – The hair is long and more 3 D

The Acropolis

• Famous site in Athens built after Persian war • Led by Pericles, Greek general and statesman • Wanted to honor goddess Athena and the citizens of Athens (Athenians). Very bold and self-important idea • Made up of 4 buildings: – Parthenon – Erechthion. The Acropolis – Propylaia – Temple of Athena Nike

• Iktinos and Kallikrates, Parthenon • Classical • 450 BCE

Phidias, Athena sculpture (inside Parthenon) 438 BC High Classical

• Temple to honor Athena and house her 38’ high ivory and gold cult statue made by Phidias – Known as “Athena Parthenos, ” The Virgin – Faced east for sun to reflect off gold – Holding statue of Nike (winged female “victory”) – Chryselephantine- Fashioned of gold and ivory • Unofficially, was also used to honor the Athenians

• Realized Greek’s long quest to build a perfectly proportioned temple – Used formula to determine # of columns • Made of marble, fitted together without mortar – Roof made of wood

• Perfect but Irregular! – Doric temple with Ionic influences • Outside of temple was Doric • Inside had Ionic frieze that ran around outside of cella walls and 4 Ionic columns inside treasury – Stylobate curves upward, Columns curve slightly inward • To assist in optical illusion of perfection • OR to make it more dynamic looking- “architectural contrapposto”

Plan of the Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, with diagram of sculptural program (after Andrew Stewart), 447– 432 BCE.

West Pediment-Contest between Poseidon and Athena East Pediment-Birth of Athena Pediments of the Parthenon

Parthenon

• Three Goddesses, East Pediment of the Parthenon • Classical

• Sculptors fully understood the mechanics of how muscles/bones beneath the flesh and garments move. • The drapery seems like its wet, so the artist could strongly convey the body underneath. • FYI: Goddesses- Hestia, Dione, and Aphrodite

• Horsemen on the Panathenaic Frieze • Classical • 440 BCE

• Ionic Frieze around cella • Narrative frieze that showed over 400 men and women/200 animals. Included horsemen, seated gods and goddesses, elders and maidens • Subject: Panathenaic Procession that took place every 4 years in Athens – Procession that ended at Acropolis where a new peplos was placed on wooden statue of Athena

Figure 5 -50 Details of the Panathenaic Festival procession frieze, from the Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece, ca. 447– 438 BCE. Marble, 3’ 6” high. Horsemen of north frieze (top), British Museum, London; seated gods and 55 goddesses (Poseidon, Apollo, and Artemis) of east frieze (center), Acropolis

• Temple of Athena Nike (within the Acropolis) by Kallikrates • Classical, • 420 BCE

• Small amphiprostyle temple at front of Acropolis complex • First completely Ionic temple at Acropolis – Note columns and frieze • Best preserved sculpture is the relief of Nike Adjusting Her Sandal

• Nike Adjusting Her Sandal • Classical • 410 BCE

• Garments cling tightly to her body • Transparent drapery folds form an elegant pattern • High relief carving produces pockets of shade • Awkward pose made graceful by artist

• Erechtheion, with Porch of Maidens • Classical • 420 BCE

Caryatid from Erechtheion

• Opposite Parthenon • Erechtheion built on destroyed temple of Athena • Incorporated the “sacred ground”, caused the temple layout to be very unusual • Asymmetrical Ionic temple with 6 Caryatids on side porch to support smaller architrave • Caryatids-showed embodiment of High Classical Period

• Propylaia • Classical • 437 -432 BC

• Entryway to Acropolis • Difficult to make-steep slope • Mixed orders again, but still kept one type for exterior(Doric) and one for interior(Ionic) • Pinakotheke (picture gallery)was the forerunner to modern day museum