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A Look at Greek Art: Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Era

I have always been interested in art, but never took the time to learn much about it. I did not know a great deal about where it all started. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact birth of Art, but I have learned that the Greeks were definite pioneers in the field. Through their art the Greeks have influenced empires including the Egyptians and especially the Romans. Through trade and other cultural crossovers the Greeks spread their art and other powerful influences. I had the privilege of learning about ancient art first hand, a wonderful and intriguing experience. As anything will with time, Greek art evolved over many eras and it has shaped the future of art. The Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic eras are the three eras of art I will be discussing

Each era has it’s own distinct characteristics. When I think of the Archaic era the artifacts or pieces that stick out in my mind most are the different Kouros, which we saw many of on our trip. We saw some at the Acropolis museum and some at the National archaeological museum of Athens. When looking at these sculptures you can see the effort put into forming them. Although they are said to be less detailed then the Classical and Hellenistic styles, they are still stunning in their own way. The Archaic era was the beginning of a breakthrough of art. All of the Kouros have similarities, but they also have their slight differences whether it be the height, the way their hair is or a faintly different position. When looking at each of them it’s as almost if the artist was scared to show what they were truly feeling, like they hide to keep their feelings inside. The tiny variabilities between the statues are the only things that show the diverse emotions of the artist.

As we go on to the Classical era things begin to become a little more complicated and not just when talking about in art. The struggles and tension throughout Greece produced more real life ideas, but idealistic art and sculptures. Facial expressions became what they should be, expressive of feelings. Some of the most beautiful sculptures ever came from this time period. We saw so much from this period during our trip that it’s hard to pinpoint only two to talk about. The bronze statue of Zeus and the Youth of Antikythera really impressed me. Both of us these statues show emotion in their body language. The eyes of the Youth of Antikythera capture you even more in person and really pull you in. We saw both of these statues at National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Lastly, I will mention the Hellenistic Era. At this time, Greek art was flourishing and becoming more intricate than ever before. It advanced on top of the Hellenistic style works and brought more realism to the forefront. Laocoon and his sons, which we saw at the Vatican, possesses emotion in every inch of the statue from the distress in each of their facial expressions, to the tension in all of their muscles. The time, concentration and detail put into this work is unimaginable and was truly amazing to see such artistry in person. Another work from this period that caught my eye was the Horse and Young Jockey. The way the horse looks scared as he pushed onward and how the little boy riding him looks so stern makes you think about what was going on in this seen. It makes you think how the little boy is so calm when it’s horse is showing so much reluctance. The way that this statue is perceived has all to do with the emotions expressed. Seeing these pieces up close had a much greater impact on me than seeing a picture. The larger than life size plays a big role in how you perceive them.

Art is all objective. It’s not just one way or one idea that makes art. It depends on the creator and the audience to make it what it is. Perception can skew any idea of art. Through time, the Greeks learned to express their ideas in a more real way and in doing so have given their audience a way to relate more to the works regardless if they intended to do so. It is harder to relate with the Kouros in the Archaic times because so much of their emotion seemed to be bottled up. By the time the Hellenistic styles came about it is much easier to relate to.

Now, thousands of years later, even if you cannot relate to the culture or lifestyle of the Ancient Greeks you can still relate to the emotions they were feeling because that is what they expressed through their art. The various emotions are something any individual can feel and have been preserved through the careful hands of the Greek artists over many years.

My Blog

I created this blog to accomodate for my art classes I am taking in Italy/Greece this summer.

Trip Journal

Day 1:

A long and drawn out journey, but too excited to care! A five-hour layover at Heathrow was hard to handle but Derek, Liesl and I managed. I just wish we could have flown in with everyone else.

Day 2:

We arrived in Rome just in time to meet everyone else for an included dinner. I was quite disappointed I missed most of the first day, but relieved to finally be with the group. Everyone else got to see the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain. I was a little intimidated because the group had the flight and the whole day to get comfortable with each other, but within the next day we were all pretty used to one another. After dinner we went to settle in our hotel. Hotel Madison was right across the street from the Terminae, which was turned out to be very convenient.

Day 3:

Today was an extremely busy day. We started off with a nice breakfast at the hotel and met everyone in the lobby around 7:30. We then head to wait on line at the Vatican. I really had no idea what to expect. I had no clue there would be so many Egyptian artifacts! One of the most interesting was the mummy that was still well preserved. Photobucket)

The Sistine chapel was gorgeous, but hard to enjoy because of how overcrowded it was and the guards yelling at you to move along. After the Vatican we had about an hour of free time to get lunch. Derek, Jon, James, Leeanna, and I all got lunch at a small outdoor pizzeria. Then we went to see some of the Roman ruins including the Colloseum. Photobucket It was interesting to learn that humans did not fight the animals which many current movies had lead you to believe. Gladiators only fought gladiators and animals fought animals. Later on we went back to walk through Peter’s Basillica. It was HUGE. The amount of art and religious history in that one church was unbelievable.

From the Basillica we walked to Trastevere to eat dinner. We finally found a restaurant that Tyson had suggested and it turned out to be a really fun dinner. By the time we got back it was relatively late, but we still decided to go out for a little while. We went to a club not far from the hotel. We were a slightly out of place due to the fact that it was Latin night!

Day 4:

Today there was a choice between going to Florence and having a free day in Rome. Leigh, Lee, Leanna, Jolie, Mike, Liesl, Derek and I decided to take the free day and spend it in Ostia, a beach on the outskirts of Rome. It only took us one Euro to get there and one to get back by train. The sand was so dark it was almost black. You could tell right away this was a more residential beach. Hardly anyone spoke English and we immediately targeted by the different vendors walking around. Leanna and Lee decided to rent lounge chairs for the day. After our relaxing day at the beach we met back up with the group to freshen up and go out to Campo de Fiore, which is a square containing many bars and restaurants. This square had a very diverse feel and many people there spoke English. We ate at a restaurant called the Mercato and everyone seemed to enjoy it. We wandered for a little while longer after our meal and then headed back on a bus to go get some sleep.

Day 5:

Today we had our excursion to Mt. Vesuvius. This was one of the sites I was most excited for. On the way to the hike we stopped for lunch at one of the few Tavernas so close to the top. After we ate we hiked part of the way up the mountain and then had a very funny tour guide for the rest of the way. He kept cracking jokes about his alligator wife and what would happen if the volcano exploded today. The view from the top was unreal. You could see for miles. Some fun facts I learned today were what the colors of the Italian flag stand for. Red is for tomatoes, white is for mozzarella and green is for basil. I also learned that heir mozzarella tastes so good because it’s made with buffalo milk.

We arrived at Hotel Rivage in Sorrento and I was really amazed. Right away I knew that one night here would not be enough. What’s different about many of the hotels here is that you come in on 1st floor(top) and go down to 2, 3 and 4. We had an awesome balcony that overlooked the valley. We had dinner in the hotel, which was actually very good. After that everyone walked around and did some shopping. This is where I bought a few of my souvenirs including some Limoncello for my parents. Later on a bunch of us hung out at an Irish pub not far from the hotel.

Day 6:

I was very excited to wake up today because I knew we were going to visit Pompeii. The city was so much larger that I expected! I couldn’t believe how advanced the construction and ideas of the city were. After Pompeii we went to our ferry at Brindisi, which we took overnight to Patras. The ferry was much nicer than I had anticipated. We had dinner at the ship’s cafeteria and explored the boat for a short time. Most of us took advantage of this night to catch up on sleep. I’m so glad I did because I really needed it.

Day 7:

From the ferry port we drove to Delphi. On the way there we stopped for lunch at a great Taverna and had our first meal in Greece along with a swim and some relaxation time. PhotobucketThis was probably my favorite meal of the trip. Our Delphi hotel was just as beautiful as Sorrento and also overlooked a valley. Shortly after we arrived, Derek and I had a frappe at a café across the street. Next, it was time for dinner at a restaurant right next to the café we had been to. Dinner was nice and, after the group wandered, we then went to a club neighboring the hotel. Everything in Delphi was on 2 main roads, which was very convenient and gave it a safe feel.

Day 8:

Today we took a short ride to the Delphi ruins. It was known for bringing people of all different religions together. People did not discriminate against other gods if they knew it could help them out. Many people brought gifts and trader with one another. The Delphi museum had some famous artifacts including the Charioteer. We then continued out journey to Athens. When arriving in Athens I wasn’t expecting much. I knew it was a city and in general, cities are all fairly similar. The location of our hotel wasn’t the best, but it didn’t matter much because our group took the metro just one stop down for dinner and shopping. We went to Plaka which was very nice and a lot of fun.

Day 9:

This morning we took a bus tour through Athens. I learned that Athens was the first democracy in the world. We stopped to take pictures at the first Olympic stadium. Next stop was the Acropolis and the Parthenon, which were both so magnificent. We visited the Acropolis museum and the National Archaeological museum of Art. We visited Plaka again at night for some free time.

Day 10:

This had to be the most exciting morning of the trip. Everyone couldn’t wait to be on the cruise because actually getting on the ship and getting settled took way too long. We were so relieved to finally be on board that a few of us took advantage of our drink packages with a cosmo toast. We relaxed for most of the day while we awaited our arrival in Mykonos. We were in Mykonos form 6:00-11:00, not nearly enough time to enjoy the town. Most of my time was spent trying to capture the beauty of the quaint town. Derek and I also grabbed a gyro, the most delicious one I had on the entire trip. The seafood looked so tempting, but there unfortunately just wasn’t enough time for a sit down dinner. Back on the ship everyone grabbed their own food and met back up at one of the various bars for a fun night.

Day 11:

For the second day of the cruise we were lined up to dock at Kusadasi in the morning and Patmos in the evening. There wasn’t much to see in Kusadasi if you didn’t go on the optional excursion to Ephesus. It was mostly just “fake genuine” everything. We didn’t stay long. It was slightly uncomfortable to have everyone looking at you and hounding you to come into his or her store. In Patmos a few of us went for a swim and then walked around to take some pictures.(Photobucket) It was a much nicer shore excursion than earlier in the day. We had a group dinner tonight at the restaurant and then hung out in many places on the ship.

Day 12:

Today on the cruise schedule was Crete and then the island we had all been waiting for, Santorini. A perfect finally to an amazing trip. Thomas decided to take us to a museum in Crete, which had many famous artifacts in a relatively small room. I headed straight back for the boat when we were done to complete my cruise disembarkment tasks. I planned on having as much time as possible to relax on the last day of the cruise. I was so anxious for Santorini, but also knew that this meant the trip was almost over. Our last group dinner took place tonight. We toasted to Thomas and all the hard work he has done. We hung out in the moonlight lounge for our final night.

Day 13:

This was a day full of mixed feelings for me. I was sad that the group part of the trip was coming to end, but excited for the week that lay ahead for Derek and me. I was slightly nervous to be traveling on our own, but knew it would be a good experience.

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Countdown

44 days until departure to Italy/Greece! (If the volcano allows)
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