ARTID111 Prehistoric Aegean

8/4/2019 ARTID111 Prehistoric Aegean

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Minos and the Heroes ofPrehistoric Aegean

ART ID 111 | Study of Ancient ArtsSlide concept by William V. Ganis, PhDNYIT Center for Teaching and Learning with Technology

With modifications by Arch. Edeliza V. Macalandag, UAP


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The Bronze Age civilization that developed in the

basin of the Aegean SeaHad three (3) major cultures:

1. Cycladic culture on the islands of the Cyclades2. Minoan culture on the island of Crete3. Mycenaean culture on the Greek mainland

The sea-dominated geography of the Aegeancontrasts sharply with that of the Near East, asdoes its temperate climate.

Prehistoric A egean


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Aegean art is noticeable for its naturalistic

vivid style, originated in Minoan Crete.Not much was known about the Aegeancivilization until the late 19th century,when archaeological excavations began atthe sites of the legendary cities of Troy,Mycenae, Knossos , and other centers ofthe Bronze Age

Prehistoric A egean


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Cycladic Culture(About 3000-2200 B.C.)


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Cycladic Cultureflourished at about the same time as the earlyEgyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations.considered the forerunner of the first trulyEuropean civilization - Greece.On the mainland, their villages have beensmall independent units, often protected bythick walls.Over time, the buildings on Crete and in theCyclads became more complex.


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Cycladic Culturedeveloped pottery, often decorated withrectangular, circular, or spiral designs.

also produced silver jewelry

sculpture produced was very unique

compared to the art being produced bythe Egyptians & Mesopotamians.


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Cycladic CultureThese sculptures, commonly called Cycladidols , were often used as grave offerings:o all were made of Parian marbleo had geometric, 2D nature, which has a

strangely modern familiarity.o the Cycladic artists made obvious attempts

to represent the human form.o Cycladic sculpture: the first truly great

sculpture in Greece.


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Cycladic female figurine

ca. 2,500-2,300 B.C.E.Parian marble

approx.18 in. high


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approx.18 in. high


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approx.17.3 cm. high http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cycladic_female_figurine_2.jpg


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approx.18 in. high


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ca. 2,500-2,300 B.C.E.Parian marble62.79 cm high


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Cycladic Harp Player

ca. 2,800-2,700 B.C.E.Parian marble11 1/2 in. high


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Cycladic Harp Player

ca. 2,800-2,700 B.C.E.Parian marble11 1/2 in. high http://www.antiquitiesexperts.com/greece3000.


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Cycladic group of 3 figurines


19 cm high http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cycladic_three_figur


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Head from the figure of a womanSpedos type, Early Cycladic II.

ca. 2,700-2,300 B.C.E.Parian marble10 1/2 in. high http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Head_figurine_Spedos_Louvre_M


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M inoan Culture(About 2200-1800 B.C.)


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M inoan CultureNewcomers arrived in the Cyclades and onthe mainland and caused destruction. Forabout two centuries civilization wasdisrupted.

New pottery and the introduction ofhorses at this time indicate that theinvaders were of the Indo-Europeanlanguage family.


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M inoan CultureWhat the Minoans called themselves isunknown.The term "Minoan" was coined by ArthurEvans after the mythic "king" Minos.

Minos was associated in Greek mythwith the labyrinth, which Evans identifiedwith the site at Knossos.


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M inoan CultureDeveloped on Crete in 2 B.C.

Evidence of that flourishing culture were:o Impressive buildingso Frescoeso Vaseso Early writingFocal points: Great royal palaces (anaktora)built around large courtyards


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M inoan CultureMaintained a marine empire, trading notonly with the Cyclades and the mainlandbut also with Sicily, Egypt, and cities onthe eastern shore of the Mediterranean.

Minoan religion featured a female snakedeity, whose worship involved thesymbolism of fertility and the lunar andsolar cycles.


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M inoan CultureMinoan art is unusual for the time:o It is naturalistic, quite different from the stiff

stereotypes of contemporary art elsewhere.o The vibrant colors, smooth lines, and sense

of nature make Minoan art a pleasure foreyes even today.

o Minoan artists broke away from the 2Dexpression of figure and created 3D figures.


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M inoan Cultureo The easy pleasure-loving lifestyle comes

across in their art.o The frescoes are art of exceptional beauty,

their fluidity makes the figures dynamic.o The frescos include many depictions of

people, with the genders distinguished bycolour: the men's skin is reddish-brown, thewomen's white.


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M inoan Cultureo The Minoan culture rivaled that of Egypt.o Minoan palaces:

Knossos - the largest Bronze Age archaeologicalsite on Crete

Phaestos - the second largest palatial building onthe island

Malia - a palatial centre which affords a look intothe development of the palaces in the protopalatialperiod

Zakros or Kato Zakros Galatas - most recently confirmed palatial site


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Palace at Knossos | Crete, Greece | ca. 1,700-1,400 B.C.E.


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http://en.wikipedia.o


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Plumbing in Palace at Knossos | Crete, Greece | ca. 1,700-1,400 B.C.E


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fresco of Minoan woman(La Parisienne)

from the Palace at Knossos, Greece

ca. 1,450-1,400 B.C.E.fresco

approximately 10 in. high


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fresco of 3 women | from the Palace at Knossos, Greece ca. 1,450-1,400 B.C.E. | fresco

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Knossos_bull.jpg


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fresco of Bull-leaping | from the Palace at Knossos, Greece

ca. 1,450-1,400 B.C.E. | fresco | 32 in. high

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Knossos_bull.jpg


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fresco of Bull-leaping | from the Palace at Knossos, Greece

ca. 1,450-1,400 B.C.E. | fresco | 32 in. high


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Dolphin Fresco | from the palace at Knossos, Greece | ca. 1,450-1,400


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Flotilla, detail of Miniature Ships Fresco

from Room 5, West HouseAkrotiri, Thera, Greece

ca. 1,650 B.C.E.Frescoapproximately 17 in. high


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Marine style octopus jar


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from Palaikastro, Greece

ca. 1,500 B.C.E.ceramic

11 in. high

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AMI_-


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Snake Goddess

from the palace at Knossos, Greece

ca. 1,600 B.C.E.faience

13 1/2 in. high


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M ycenaean Culture(About 1600-1200 B.C.)


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M


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M ycenaean CultureThe last phase of the Bronze Age Aegean Period, it

is the historical setting of much ancient Greekliterature and myth, including the epics of Homer.

It is believed that the Mycenaeans were responsiblefor the end of the Minoan culture with which theyhad many ties.

The architecture and art of Greek mainland wasvery different from the one of Crete.

Mycenae and Tiryns were the 2 major political economic centers at the time.

M


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M ycenaean CultureCYCLOPEAN ARCHITECTURE is the

Mycenaean type of building walls andpalaces:o Palaces were built as large citadels made

of piled up stones, as opposed to theopenness of Minoan palaces.

o The citadel of Mycenae is an ACROP- a citadel on raised area.

M


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M ycenaean CultureCYCLOPEAN ARCHITECTURE:o THE LION GATE - entrance to the

Acropolis of the city of Mycenae is anexcellent example of this building practicecombined with a corbelled arch - the

triangular arch shape that the lions standwithin.

M


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M ycenaean Cultureo MEGARON is the fortress palace of the

king at the center of a typical Mycenaeancity.

characteristic form of Mycenaeanpalace found at many sites, includingTroy.

very symmetrical its basic form is a forerunner of later

Greek temple forms

M


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M ycenaean Cultureo THOLOS TOMBS are conical chambers

with the subterranean burial chambers. The stonework of the tholos is very

much influenced by Egyptian masonrytechniques.

There are 9 at Mycenae. There were found the gold death masks,

weapons, and jewelry at the royal burialsites similar to Egyptian practice.

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M ycenaean CultureMycenaean civilization mysteriously

disappeared shortly after 1200 B.C. mostlikely, due to widespread fighting amongthe Mycenaean Greeks.

Mycenaean cities:o Mycenaeo Tirynso Troy


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Lion Gate

Mycenae, Greece

ca. 1,300-1,250 B.C.E.limestone

9 ft 6 in high


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Lion Gate

Mycenae, Greece

ca. 1,300-1,250 B.C.E.limestone

9 ft. 6 in. high


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Treasury of Atreus (entrance) | Mycenae, Greece

ca 1 300 1 250 B C E | approximately 43 ft high


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Treasury of AtreuMycenae, Greececa. 1,300-1,250 B.Capprox. 43 ft. high


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Funerary Mask from Grave Circle A,

Mycenae, Greece

ca. 1,600-1,500 B.C.E.beaten gold

12 in high


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Inlaid dagger blade with lion hunt from Grave Circle A, Mycenae, Greece

ca. 1,600-1,500 B.C.E.bronze, inlaid with gold, silver and niello9 in. long

Glossary


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acropolis. Greek, high city. In ancientGreece, usually the site of the citys mostimportant temple(s).arch. A curved structural member thatspans an opening and is generally composedof wedge-shaped blocks (voussoirs) thattransmit the downward pressure laterally.attic The uppermost story of a building.


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Glossary


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Cycladic Art. The pre-Greek art of theCycladic Islands.Cyclopean masonry. A method of stoconstruction, named after the mythical one-eyed giant Cyclops, using massive, irregular

blocks without mortar, characteristic of theBronze Age fortifications of Tiryns and otheMycenaean sites.

Glossary


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dome. A hemispheric vault; theoretically,arch rotated on its vertical axis.dromos. The passage leading to a tholos tom

fresco. Painting on lime plaster, either dry (fresco or fresco secco) or wet (true or buonfresco). In the latter method, the pigments aremixed with water and become chemically bounto the freshly laid lime plaster. Also, a paintingexecuted in either method.

Glossary


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Geometric. An ancient economic and elegansimple artistic style where figures are depicted in

geometric forms such as a rhythmic arrangemenof horizontal and vertical shapes.Iconography. Greek, the writing of imagesThe term refers both to the content, or subject, ofan artwork and to the study of content in art. Italso includes the study of the symbolic, oftenreligious, meaning of objects, persons, or eventsdepicted in works of art

Glossary


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Idol. A material effigy that is worshipped as a gor an image used as an object of worship.

krater. An ancient Greek wide-mouthed bowlmixing wine and water.megaron. The large reception hall in a

Mycenaean palace, fronted by an open, two-columned porch.Minoan Art. The pre-Greek art of Crete, namafter the legendary King Minos of Knossos.

Glossary


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Mycenaean. The late phase of Helladic art,named after the site of Mycenae.

portico. A roofed colonnade; also an entranporch.repouss. Formed in relief by beating a me

plate from the back, leaving the impression onthe face. The metal is hammered into a hollowmold of wood or some other pliable material anfinished with a graver.

Glossary


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Sculpture in the round. Freestanding figures,carved or modeled in three dimensions.

Terracotta. Hard-baked clay, used for sculpture aas a building material. It may be glazed or painted.tholos (pl. tholoi). A temple with a circular plan.

tholos tomb. In Mycenean architecture, a beehivshaped tomb with a circular plan.treasury. In ancient Greece, a small building set ufor the safe storage of votive offerings.

Sources


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http://www.wadsworth.com/art_d/templates/student_resources/0155050907_kleiner/studyguide/ch04/ch04_2.html

http://websites.swlearning.com/cgi-

wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&product_isbn_issn=0155050907&discipline_number=436 http://www.aldokkan.com/art/art.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycladic_art

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ARTID111 Prehistoric Aegean