Title: Kouros (Youth)Artist: n/aDate: ca. 600-590 BCE.Source/ Museum: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkMedium: marbleSize: height 6'1 1/2" (1.88 m)

Kouros• In ancient Greece the male body was idealized, and art placed an emphasized on

the signs of athletic development: broad shoulders, narrow waist, and deeply carved

joints all reflected an attempt to render the athletic ideal. The kouros figures were

often placed at shrines or graves of famous athletes, which, fulfilling an artistic role

similar to their Egyptian predecessors, created an immortal snapshot of the

youthful, ideal body.

• It originally came from Attica, Athens (Greece). The kouros means young man.

And evidently used as dedication in sanctuaries, as funeral monuments, and even

on occasion represented the Gods.

Title: Kore,from Chios (?)Artist: n/aDate: ca. 520 BCE.Source/ Museum: Akropolis Museum, AthensMedium: marbleSize: height 21 7/8" (55.3 cm)

Kore from Chios

• Also known as the Kore with Almond Eyes. The smile of the korai statues became

a slight twist of the mouth ends by the end of the 6th century, and eventualy it was

replaced by a more somber expression. The "smile of earlier Korai is visible only at

the very corners of the lips. The simplicity of her garments is new. The heavy cloth

of peplos forms a distinct layer over the body, covering but not hiding the rounded

shapes beneath. Her hair falls over the shoulders in soft, curly strands. Round face

with its enchanting expression—a gentler, more natural smile.

Title: Central portion of the west pediment of the Temple of Artemis at Corfu, Greece.Artist: n/aDate: ca. 600-580 BCE.Source/ Museum: Archaeological Museum, Corfu, GreeceMedium: limestoneSize: height 9'2" (2.8 m)

•The pediment (triangular portion on the top of the temple) became stock charecteristics of Greek

Architecture during later years.

• The pediment is the triangular part on the top of the temple. Figures were often carved on slabs and

then attached to the pediment. The central figure is Medusa, a gorgon with snake hair and the wings of

a bird. She has the ability to turn humans to stone when they look at her.

•Medusa is situated in the traditional Archaic pose: bent leg, bent arm, and pinwheel posture to show

running or flying. One of Medusa's children is on either side of her, Pegasus is on the left, Chrysaor is on

the right. This might be because in the Archaic period, one distinguished the central figure of a story in

art by displaying their offspring.

•Perseus is shown looking at Medusa through his shield and aiming at her. In the myth, Perseus slays

MedusaTwo Felines are next to Medusa. They are the guardians of the temple. Thier presence is

significant because they are stock features in Egyptian art as well, showing a close relation to Egypt.

Title: Dying Warrior, from the east pediment of the Temple of Aphaia. Artist: n/aDate: ca. 480 BCE.Source/ Museum: Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, MunichMedium: marbleSize: length 6' (1.83 m)

The first Trojan war (not the one described by Homer) is the theme, with Telamon figuring prominently as he

fights alongside Heracles against king Laomedon. This pediment is thought to be later than the west pediment

and to show a number of features appropriate to the Classical period: the statues show a dynamic posture

especially in the case of Athena, chiastic composition, and intricate filling of the space using the legs of fallen

combatants to fill the difficult decreasing angles of the pediment. Part of the eastern pediment was destroyed

during the Persian Wars, possibly by a thunderbolt. The statues that survived were set up in the sanctuary

enclosure, and those that were destroyed, were buried according to the ancient custom. The old composition

was replaced by a new one with a scene of a battle, again with Athena at the center

Title: Exekias. The Suicide of Ajax, black figure decoration on an amphora

Artist: n/a

Date: c. 540 BCE

Source/Museum: Château-Musée-sur-Mer, France

Medium: Ceramic

Size: height of amphora 27" (69cm)

•This is a painting on a terracotta amphora, which is a type of vase or jug that was used in ancient Greece and Rome for storing food and wine. The adornment is in “black figure,” which means that it contains black figuration on a red background. It is painted by undoubtedly the most famous (and my favorite) black-figure artist and potter, Exekias. Exekias possessed the unique ability to convert black-figure style from a style that could not show a lot of detail to one that is rich in detail and transmits so much sentiment. Exekias actually invented this type of pottery (more specifically called the belly amphora.) That’s awesome. Look at the detail that Exekias demonstrates, it’s brilliant!! The etchings reveal the musculature of Ajax; look at the design on the shield and the feather in his helmet (all this in a style that ordinarily forbids such intricacy.) Exekias presents Ajax’s body in the style of an ideal Greek athlete or warrior, showing chiseled muscles, and small elegant feet. This is typical of this archaic artist’s representation of a Greek hero. On the top of the scene of Ajax preparing for his suicide, there is a geometric border design fused with floral ornamentation done in black-figure style like the scene itself. On the bottom of the amphora, there’s another geometric design consisting of triangular shapes that seem to point upwards towards the scene.

•In the scene, which includes Ajax squatting with his right knee forward over a mound of earth in which he plants his sword; Exekias includes Ajax’s armor and a palm tree. Ajax being nude without his armor suggests his vulnerability and the downwardly contorted leaves of the tree add a glum feeling to the scene. Landscape was rare in attic vase painting, but Exekias manages to display the narrative function of it through his placement and depiction of the palm tree. Ajax’s armor is placed to the right of him—leaving the hero unprotected. The helmet seems to watch Ajax which can be Exekias’ attempt to recall Athenian’s previous inclination to be unprepared for battle and thus connect Trojan culture with that of the Athenians.

•The idea of Ajax, the mythological Trojan hero who had occupied such a paramount role in Homer’s Trojan War series, sneaking into isolation to kill himself at dawn (which really makes the red background more salient because it actually looks like dawn) really releases such a sentiment that a viewer familiar with this scene would virtually be able to feel Ajax’s dishonor and humiliation. Usually, this scene of Ajax was represented by painters at the pinnacle of the story (which probably would make it more recognizable) where Ajax is impaled on his sword. Exekias’ depiction of Ajax preparing for his suicide is such a unique representation of a familiar scene to ancient Greeks.

Title: Zeus or PoseidonArtist: n/aDate: ca. 460-450 BCE.Source/ Museum: National Museum, Athens. Ministry of Culture Archaeological Receipts Fund. 15161Medium: bronzeSize: Slightly Over Life-Size

• The Artemision Bronze (often called the God from the Sea) is an ancient Greek sculpture that

was recovered from the sea off Cape Artemision, in northern Euboea .

• It represents either Zeus or Poseidon, and is slightly over lifesize brandishing a

missing thunderbolt (if Zeus) or trident (if Poseidon) with his raised right hand and sighting over

his extended left hand.

• the image must be that of the great sea god since the statue was found in the Mediterranean.

• But like other statues of totally different subjects, this one went into the sea simply because it

was on board a ship that sank.

• The god is caught at the moment of pause in the full potentiality of his coming movement.

• The empty eye-sockets were originally inset, probably with bone, as well as the eyebrows (with

silver), the lips, and the nipples (with copper).The sculpture's head, now an icon of Hellenic

culture, formed the subject of a Greek postage stamp.

Title: Young Warrior found in the sea off Riace, Italy

Artist: n/a

Date: c. 460-450 BCE

Source/ Museum: Museo Arcaeològico Nazionale, Reggio Calabria, Italy

Medium: Bronze with bone and glass eyes, silver teeth, and copper lips and nipples

Size: height 6'8" (2.03m)

• Riace warrior is a full-size greek bronze of nude bearded warrior. They are major additions to

the surviving examples of ancient greek sculpture is known through later roman copies in

marble.The statues eyes are inlaid with bone and glass, while the teeth are in silver and lips

and nipples are in copper. Warrior once wore a helmet pushed up atop his head and it is

thought that riace warrior a perhaps wore a wreath upon his. The bronzi belong to a transition

period from archaic greek sculpture to the early classic style, disguising their idealized

geometry and impossible anatomy under a distracting and alluring realistic surface.

Title:Iktinos & Kallikrates; The Parthenon, view from southwest; Artist: n/a Date: 447-432 bceSource/ Museum: Parthenon, AthensMedium: Marble Size: n/a

• The name of this legendary ancient Greek temple - Parthenon - is taken from the word

Parthenos, one of the epithets of the goddess Athena. And indeed, this glorious work of

architecture was originally dedicated to the patron goddess of the city of Athens.

• However, the Parthenon is much more than a monument to Athena - it is also one of the

masterpieces of Western architecture. From the elegantly simple yet refined Doric columns, to

the elaborately beautiful images of sculpture(which were designed by the famous artist

Phidias) that adorn the frieze, metopes, and pediments, this structure perfectly embodies the

Classical Greek ideals of order, harmony, and balance.

• The numerous refinements devised by the architects Iktinos and Kallikrates make the

Parthenon both graceful and majestic. Indeed, clever touches such as the gentle swelling of the

Doric columns (the effect is referred to as entasis) improve the appearance of the structure

when it is viewed from a distance. These subtle but important enhancements give the

Parthenon its power, and the impressive results have led some scholars to compare this marble

temple to a work of grand sculpture.

Title: Three Goddesses, from the east pediment of the ParthenonArtist: n/aDate: ca. 438-432 BCE.Source/ Museum: The British Museum, London Medium: MarbleSize: 233 cm length

Hestia, Dione and Aphrodite

•The east pediment of the Parthenon showed the birth of goddess Athena from the head of her father Zeus.

The sculptures that represented the actual scene are lost. Zeus was probably shown seated, while Athena was

striding away from him fully grown and armed.

•Only some of the figures ranged on either side of the lost central group survive. They include these three

goddesses, who were seated to the right of centre. From left to right, their posture varies in order to

accommodate the slope of the pediment that originally framed them. They are remarkable for their naturalistic

rendering of anatomy blended with a harmonious representation of complex draperies.

•The figure on the left is on the point of rising and tucks her ight foot in to lever herself up. To the right

another figure cradles a companion reclining luxuriously in her lap. They are perhaps, from left to right,

Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home, Dione, and her daughter Aphrodite. However, another suggestion is

that the two figures on the right are the personification of the Sea (Thalassa) in the lap of the Earth (Gaia).

Title: Lapith and Centaur, metope from the south side of the ParthenonArtist: n/aDate: ca. 440 BCE.Source/ Museum: The British Museum, LondonMedium: marbleSize: height 56" (142.2 cm)

•In Greek mythology, the Lapiths were a semi-legendary, semi-historical race, whose home was in Thessaly 

in the valley of the Peneus. Like the Myrmidons and other Thessalian tribes, the Lapiths were pre-Hellenic in 

their origins. The genealogies make them a kindred race with the Centaurs, their king Pirithous being the 

son, and the Centaurs the grandsons of Ixion.

• The best-known legend with which the Lapiths are connected is their battle with the Centaurs at the

wedding feast of Pirithous. The Centaurs had been invited, but, unused to wine, their wild nature came to the

fore. When the bride was presented to greet the guests, the centaur Eurytion leapt up and attempted to rape

her.

•All  the other centaurs were up in a moment, straddling women and boys. In the battle that ensued, Theseus 

came to the Lapiths' aid. They cut off Eurytion's ears and nose and threw him out. In the battle the Lapith 

Cæneus was killed, and the defeated Lapiths were expelled from Thessaly to the northwest.

Title: Horsemen,from the west frieze of the ParthenonArtist: n/aDate: ca. 440-432 BCE.Source/ Museum: The British Museum, LondonMedium: marbleSize: height 43" (109.3 cm)

•The Parthenon Frieze is the low relief, pentelic marble sculpture created to adorn the upper part of the

Parthenon’s naos.

•The Parthenon Frieze is the defining monument of the High Classical style of Attic sculpture. It stands

between the gradual eclipse of the Severe style as witnessed on the Parthenon metopes and the evolution of

the Late Classical Rich style exemplified by theNike balustrade. What sources the designer of the Frieze drew

upon is hard to gauge, certainly large scale narrative art was familiar to 5th century Athenians as in the Stoa

poikile painting by Polygnotos of Thasos, but without evidence to the contrary it is reasonable to assume the

novelties of the Parthenon belong to Phidias and his workshop alone.

• This block was placed near the corner of the west frieze of the Parthenon, where it turned onto the north.

The horsemen have been moving at some speed, but are now reining back so as not to appear to ride off the

edge of the frieze. The horseman in front twists around to look back at his companion, and raises a hand (now

missing) to his head. This gesture, repeated elsewhere in the frieze, is perhaps a signal. Although mounted

riders can be seen here, much of the west frieze features horsemen getting ready for the cavalcade proper,

shown on the long north and south sides of the temple.

Title: Grave Stele of HegesoArtist: n/aDate: ca. 410-400 BCE.Source/ Museum: National Museum, AthensMedium: marbleSize: height 59" (150 cm)

•This grave marker commemorates the domestic life of Hegeso, a wealthy woman - wealthy enough in life to have one

of her servants hold her jewelry box for her to select something, and in death for someone to pay for this touching, and

rewarding, stele . As on the Parthenon frieze and elsewhere, the drapery falls gracefully from the bodies of the two

women, and although they are not engaged in any dramatic action, their attention to the little task at hand, and their

awareness of one another, is well conceived. The artist engages us by representing the rapt attention of his subjects, so

that we become involved in their consciousness. Hegeso's pose suggests to some that she is weary, or regretful - she may

be saying farewell to worldly goods - or lost in thought. The stele conveys the abstract quality of her consciousness.

•The other-worldliness of her gaze comports well with that interpretation. Selecting jewelry, presumably for some

occasion, we are reminded, is not a trivial matter. It is what we do, and it is the kind of thing we pay attention to, when

we are alive. The delicacy of gesture, particularly in Hegeso's hand, is memorable (one of the characters refers to it when

describing a person in Proust's and, surely, memorability is the point - its a grave marker, and she is both dead and, if not

alive, represented in a lively state of consciousness.

Both of the figures are turned slightly towards the audience - in 3/4 profile - and both of their heads incline towards

the center of the composition, where Hegeso's hand creates the center. The sweep of their arms forms a satisfying frame

to the upper half of the piece, echoed in the sweep of the chair's legs. They are framed by two simple pilasters and a

pediment. ornamented with what would be acroteria in an actual temple. The serving woman's body gently pushes the

boundaries of the frame. Their frame is called an aedicule, or an aedicula. Although the term is usually reserved for

similar recesses in a wall, I have found this to be an extremely useful term to identify the common design in which two

columns - pilasters, most likely - which support an entablature, frame a vertical rectangular space.

Title: Temple of Athena Nike (view from the east), Akropolis, AthensArtist: n/aDate: 421-405 BCE.Source/ Museum: n/aMedium: n/aSize: n/a

•The decision to build Athena Nike was an expression of Athens' ambitions to defeat Sparta and become a world power.

Constructed from white marble, it was built in stages as wartime funding allowed.

•The temple's small size was compensated for in its position, resting on a rocky outcrop, positioned so the Athenian

people could worship the goddess of victoryin hope of prosperous outcomes in the war's endeavours. Once the temple

was completed the Athenians added a protective parapet to express their determination and hope for final victory.

•The Temple of Athena Nike is a tetrastyle (four column) Ionic temple with colonnaded porticoes in the front and back.

It has modest dimensions: 27 feet long, 18 1/2 feet wide, and 23 feet tall. The ratio of height to diameter of the columns

is 7:1, the slender proportions creating an elegance and refinement not encountered in the normal 9:1 or 10:1 of Ionic

buildings.

•A cult statue of Athena Nike stood inside the small 5m x 5m naos. An account by the ancient writer Pausanias describes

the statue as made of wood, holding a helmet in her left hand, and a pomegranate (symbol of fertility) in her right.

Unlike the famous "Winged Victory of Samothrace" in the Louvre Museum, this Nike statue was wingless. This led

Athenians in later centuries to call it Nike Apteros (wing-less victory), and a legend arose that the statue was deprived of

wings so she could never leave the city. The entablature was decorated on all sides with relief sculpture in the idealized

classical style of the 5th century BC. The north frieze depicted a battle between Greeks entailing cavalry. The south

freize showed the decisive victory over the Persians at the battle of Plataea. The east frieze showed an assembly of the

gods Athena, Zeus and Poseidon, rendering Athenian religious beliefs and reverence for the gods bound up in the social

and political climate of 5th Century Athens. Some time after the temple was completed, around 410 B.C a parapet was

added around it to prevent people from falling from the steep bastion. The outside of the parapet was adorned by

exquisitely carved relief sculptures showing Nike in a variety of activities.

Title: Aphrodite of Knidos. Roman copy after an original of ca. 340-330 BCEArtist: PraxitelesDate: ca. 340 BCE.Source/ Museum: Musei Vaticani, RomeMedium: marbleSize: height 6'8" (2 m)

•The statue became famous for its beauty, meant to be appreciated from every angle, and for being the first life-size

representation of the nude female form. It depicted the goddess Aphrodite as she prepared for the ritual bath that restored her

purity (not virginity), discarding her drapery in her left hand, while modestly shielding her genitals with her right hand. At

first glance it may appear where her hand is placed is a gesture of modesty but in all actuality it only emphasizes her nudity.

According to a possibly apocryphal account by Pliny, Praxiteles received a commission from the citizens of Kos for a statue

of the goddess Aphrodite. Praxiteles then created two versions—one fully draped, and the other completely nude. The

shocked citizens of Kos rejected the nude statue and purchased the draped version. The design and appearance of the draped

version is today unknown as it didn't survive, nor did it appear to have merited attention, to judge from the lack of surviving

accounts.

•The rejected nude was purchased by some citizens of Knidos and set up in an open air temple that permitted viewing of the

statue from all sides. It quickly became one of the most famous works by Praxiteles for the bold depiction of Aphrodite as

proudly nude.

•Engraving of a coin from Knidos showing the Aphrodite of Cnidus, by Praxiteles

Praxiteles was alleged to have used the courtesan Phryne as a model for the statue, which added to the gossip surrounding its

origin. The statue became so widely known and copied that in a humorous anecdote the goddess Aphrodite herself came to

Knidos to see it, and asked "Alas, where did Praxiteles see me naked?"

•The statue became a tourist attraction in spite of being a cult image and patron of the Knidians.Nicomedes I of

Bithynia offered to pay off the enormous debts of the city of Knidos in exchange for the statue, but the Knidians rejected his

offer. The tradition—apparently prompted by a stain in the marble on the rear of one thigh—that the statue was so lifelike

that a young man secreted himself in the cella at night and attempted to copulate with it is recorded in the dialogue Erotes.

Title: Athena and Alkyoneus, from the east side of the Great Frieze of the Great Pergamon AltarArtist: n/aDate: ca. 166-156 BCE.Source/ Museum: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, AntikensammlungMedium: marbleSize: height 7' 6" (2.29 m)

The Altar of Zeus was constructed by Eumenes II (197-159 BC) and after his death by Attalus II as a memorial of the victory against the

Galatians and taking the Acropolis of Athens as an example. Its dimensions are 36.4 x 34.2 m. It is composed of four parts and the high

relieves on it describe the war between the giants and the gods.

The altar was constructed in the period 166-156 BC, although it was not completely finished

The frieze sculptures show the fight of the gods, who finally are victorious, against the giants (gigantes) (Gigantomachy). The giants (around

100) are the sons of the mother Earth Gaea (or Gaia). It is a victory finally by Zeus over Gaea and in this way he ends the matriarchal epoch

and establishes a patriarchal government order and culture. Maybe this transition is due to a period where man developed and advanced the

technology of war.

Historians consider Phyromachos of Athens as one of the leading sculptors of the Zeus Altar. The giants are naked, with human shape,

sometimes winged with a lizard like tail, their faces full of pain whereas the gods faces are relaxed showing their superiority. The giants

birthplace is Pallini in Chalkidiki in Greece. In the Altar a Gigantomachy is shown with 34 goddesses, 20 gods, 59 giants and 28 animals

(serpents, dogs, horses, the flying steeds of Zeus, mules and lions). The names of the gods are chiseled at the cornice, while the giants' names

are chiseled on the pedestal next to the names of the sculptors. Among the many gods there are in principle also two humans (or semi-gods),

Dionysus and Herakles (Hercules). One can understand the Gigantomachy to represent a fight between the rational behaviour represented by

the gods and the raw immoderate Nature represented by the giants. The victory represents a metamorphosis of a barbaric world to a more

civilized. Important is that the gods could not win the fight until Zeus asked Dionysus and Herakles to participate in the battle. The

Pergamon Altar is one of the most impressive pieces of Art from Europe. Byzantine conquerors tore down the altar in the eighth century

A.D. and used the marble as building material for a wall. The slabs from the magnificent frieze, from many mostly unknown artists (some

sources saya work of up to 40 sculptors with 15 signatures found), remained embedded in the wall until thousand years later a German

engineer, Karl Humann, discovered the altar. He described how pieces where taken to be destroyed in order to produce material for new

buildings in the region. He succeeded to save this important piece of Hellenistic civilization from destruction. Recently Silvano Bertolin and

his group after 8 years work again restored the approximately 120 meter frieze and were able to include some missing parts.

Title: Burial chamber, Tomb of the ReliefsDate: 3rd century BCESource: Cerveteri

16.   Tomb of the Reliefs, Cerveteri, 3rd century bce

•The tombs date from the 9th century BC (Villanovan culture) to the late Etruscan age (3rd century BC).

The most ancient ones are in the shape of a pit, in which the ashes of the dead were housed; also simple

potholes are present.

•From the Etruscan period are two types of tombs: the mounds and the so-called "dice“

•The mounds are circular structures built in tuff, and the interiors, carved from the living rock, house a

reconstruction of the house of the dead, including a corridor a central hall and several rooms.

•Modern knowledge of Etruscan daily life is largely dependent on the numerous decorative details and

finds from such tombs.

•The most famous of these mounds is the so-called Tomb of the Reliefs ( 3rd century BC), identified

from an inscription as belonging to one Matunas and provided with an exceptional series of frescoes,

bas-reliefs and sculptures portraying a large series of contemporary life tools.

•Etruscan phallic symbols. "Cippi" indicating that tomb occupants were male.

•The most recent tombs date from the 3rd century BC.

•Some of them are marked by external cippi, which are cylindrical for men, and in the shape of a small

house for women

SARCOPHAGITitle: Terracotta SarcophagusMedium: Terra cotta Size: length 6"7" (2.06 m)Date: c. 520 BCESource: From Cerveteri

17.   Terracotta sarcophagus, Cerveteri, ca 520 bce

• The Etruscans cremated their dead and buried the urns in elaborate underground tombs.

• Here is a heavily reconstructed sarcophagus made in terra cotta (literally, burnt earth).

• A handsome couple recline, arm in arm, on a Recamier, and gently beckon towards the viewer as if

inviting one to dine with them.

• They are beautifully modeled, with almond eyes, and faint smiles (in the style of archaic Greek

sculpture).

• Their hair styles are detailed, the male figure sports a beard, and has his hair parted neatly in the

middle.

• Their faces and hands are given greatest attention by the artist, but oddly, the legs and feet are very

rudimentarily modeled.

• The smiling faces with their almond shaped eyes and long braided hair, as well as the shape of the feet

of the bed, reveal Greek influence.

• The marked contrast between the high relief busts and the very flattened legs is typically Etruscan.

• The Etruscan artist's interest focused on the upper half of the figures, especially on the vibrant faces and

gesticulating arms.

Title: APULU (Apollo) from VeiiArtist: n/aDate: ca. 510 BCE.Source/ Museum: Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome Medium: terra-cottaSize: height 5'9" (1.75 m)

18.   Apollo from Veii, ca 510 bce ( from a better source)

• The statue of Apollo from Veii, in polychrome terracotta, is one of the masterpieces of Etruscan art from the end of the 6th century BC, famous the world over. It was probably made by Vulca, the only Etruscan artist whose name is known.

• Together with other statues, it decorated the roof beams of the Temple of Veii in Portonaccio, a sanctuary dedicated to Minerva. It was part of a scene of Apollo and Heracles contending over the Ceryneian Hind, 12 metres above the ground on beams on the acroterion of the Portonaccio Sanctuary of Minerva.

• Placed on high plinths they were erected with an acroterial function twelve metres high and even though they were created separately, they narrated Greek mythical events at least in part tied to the god Apollo.

• The statue, which is currently undergoing restoration work, together with the statue of Heracles, formed a group representing one of the labours of the hero before his apotheosis among the divinities of Olympus.

• The myth narrates the contention between the god and the hero for the possession of the doe with the golden horns.

• There was probably also a statue of Mercury united to this group of which only the head and a part of the body remain.

• Apollo, dressed in a tunic and short cloak advances towards his left with his right arm outstretched and bent (his left arm is towards the ground maybe with a bow in his hand); Heracles, with the doe tied around his legs, is outstretched towards the right, leaning forwards to attack with his bludgeon and with his torso in a violent curve.

• The Group was conceived for a lateral vision and the solid volume of the figures united with the fine dissymmetry both in Apollo (the torso and face) and Heracles torso indicate that the artist was quite knowledgeable regarding optical deformations.

• The style of the statues is in the ambit of the “international” ionic manner that characterizes not only the Etruscan artistic culture of the late archaic period of the last years of the 6th century BC but the result achieved reaches very high expressive levels that can be attributed to someone with great talent. The creator of the arcoterial statues can be identified as the “Artist from Veii an expert in coroplastic art”

Title: Veristic male portrait Artist: n/aDate: Early 1st century BCE.Source/ Museum: Musei Vaticani, RomeMedium: marbleSize: life-size

19. Veristic male portrait , early 1st century bce

• Each stage of Roman portraiture can be described as alternately "veristic" or "classicizing," as each imperial

dynasty sought to emphasize certain aspects of representation in an effort to legitimize their authority or

align themselves with revered predecessors.

• These stylistic stages played off of one another while pushing the medium toward future artistic innovations.

• In the Republic, the most highly valued traits included a devotion to public service and military prowess, and

so Republican citizens sought to project these ideals through their representation in portraiture.

• Public officials commissioned portrait busts that reflected every wrinkle and imperfection of the skin, and

heroic, full-length statues often composed of generic bodies onto which realistic, called "veristic" portrait

heads were attached.

• The overall effect of this style gave Republican ideals physical form and presented an image that the sitter

wanted to express.

• The emperors of the imperial period made full use of the medium's potential as a tool for communicating

specific ideologies to the Roman populace.

• Classicizing idealization in portraiture allowed emperors to emphasize their loyalties to the imperial dynasty,

and even legitimize their authority by visually linking themselves to their predecessors.

Title: Augustus of Primaporta. Possibly Roman copy of a statue of ca. 20 CEArtist: n/aDate: ca. 20 CESource/ Museum: Musei Vaticani, Braccio Nuovo, RomeMedium: marbleSize: height 6'8" (2.03 m)

Augustus from Primaporta, copy of original of ca 20 bce (cont)

• Despite the accuracy with which Augustus' features are depicted (with his sombre look and

characteristic fringe), the distant and tranquil expression of his face has been idealized, as have the

conventional contrapposto, the anatomical proportions and the deep drape "cloth of the commander".

• On the other hand, Augustus's barefootedness and the inclusion of Cupid riding a dolphin as structural

support for the statue reveals his supposed mythical ancestry to the goddess Venus (Cupid's mother) by

way of his adopted father Julius Caesar.

• The clear Greek inspiration in style and symbol for official sculptural portraits, which under the Roman

emperors became instruments of governmental propaganda is a central part of Augustian ideological

campaign, a shift from the Roman Republican era iconography where old and wise features were seen

as symbols of solemn character.

• Therefore the Primaporta statue marks a conscious reversal of iconography to the Greek classical and

Hellenistic period in which youth and strength were valued as signs of leadership, emulating heroes and

culminating in Alexander the Great himself.

• Such a statue's political function was very obvious - to show Rome that the emperor Augustus was an

exceptional figure, comparable to the heroes worthy of being raised to divine status on Olympus, and

the best man to govern Rome.

Title: Portrait of VespasianArtist: n/aDate: ca. 75 CESource/ Museum: Museo delle Terme, RomeMedium: marbleSize: life-size with damaged chin repaired

• This naturalistic portrait of the emperor Vespasian (reigned AD 69-79) clearly shows the lined

complexion of this battle-hardened emperor, and also the curious 'strained expression' which the Roman

writer Suetonius said he had at all times. The loss of the nose is characteristic of the damage often

suffered by ancient statues, either through deliberate mutilation or through falling or being toppled from

their base.

• Vespasian was born in the Roman town of Reate (Rieti), about forty miles (sixty-five kilometres) north-

west of Rome in the Sabine Hills. Vespasian distinguished himself in military campaigns in Britain and

later became a trusted aide of the emperor Nero. Together with one of his sons, Titus, Vespasian

conquered Judaea in AD 75 and celebrated with a magnificent triumphal procession through Rome. Part

of the event, in particular the displaying of the seven-branched candlestick or 'Menorah' from the Temple

at Jerusalem, is shown on the Arch of Titus, in Rome. The proceeds from the conquest of Judaea

provided funds for the building of the Colosseum and other famous buildings in Rome.

• Vespasian was known for his wit as well as his military skills. When, during one of his attempts to boost

the treasury, Vespasian raised a tax on public urinals. Titus complained that this was below imperial

dignity. Vespasian is said to have held out a handful of coins from the new tax and said 'Now, do these

smell any different?'. Even on his death bed Vespasian's wit did not desert him. He was perhaps

parodying the idea of the deification of emperors, when he said 'Oh dear, I think I'm becoming a god'.

Title: Temple of Portunus, RomeArtist: n/aDate: ca. 80-70 BCESource/ Museum: n/aMedium: n/aSize: n/a

22.   Temple of Portunus (also called Temple of Fortuna Virilis), Rome, ca 75 bce

• The Temple of Portunus is an ancient building in Rome, Italy, the main temple dedicated to the god Portunus

in the city. It is in the Ionic order and is still more familiar by its erroneous designation, the Temple of Fortuna

Virilis given it by antiquaries. Located in the ancient Forum Boarium by the Tiber, during Antiquity the site

overlooked the Port Tiberinus at a sharp bend in the river; from here, Portunus watched over cattle-barges as

they entered the city from Ostia.

• The temple was built c. 75 BCE and restored in the first century BC. The rectangular building consists of a

tetrastyle portico and cella, raised on high podium reached by a flight of steps, which it retains. Like the Maison

Carrée in Nîmes, it has a pronaos portico of four Ionic columns across and two columns deep. The columns of

the portico are free-standing, while the five columns on the long sides and the four columns at the rear are

engaged along the walls of the cella. This form is sometimes called pseudoperipteral, as distinct from a true

peripteral temple like the Parthenon entirely surrounded by free-standing columns. It is built of tuff and

travertine with a stucco surface.

• The temple owes its state of preservation from its being converted to use as a church in 872 and rededicated to

Santa Maria Egyziaca. Its Ionic order has been much admired, drawn and engraved and copied since the 16th

century (see illustration, right). The original coating of stucco over its tuff and travertine construction has been

lost.

• The circular Temple of Hercules Victor is located south-east to the temple in the Forum Boarium.

Title: Column of Trajan, RomeArtist: n/aDate: 106-113 CESource/ Museum: n/aMedium: marbleSize: Height 125' (38 m)

Column of Trajan, 106-113 ce

Size-- 98 ft in height, 125 ft including its large pedestal.

Built by/for-- Emperor Trajan Type of structure --Roman triumphal column

is a monument in Rome, Italy, raised in honor of the Roman emperor Trajan and probably

constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascusat the order of the

Roman Senate. the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which

commemorates Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. The shaft is made from a series of 20 colossal

Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 40 tons, with a diameter of 3.7 meters (11 ft). The

interior of Trajan's column is hollow: entered by a small doorway at one side of the base, inside

the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 stairs provides access to a viewing platform at the top, 43

window slits illuminate his ascent. Ancient coins indicate preliminary plans to top the column

with a statue of a bird, probably an eagle, but after construction a statue of Trajan was put in

place; this statue disappeared in the middle ages. On December 4, 1587, the top was crowned by

Pope Sixtus 5 with a bronze figure of St.peter, which remains to this day.

Title: Pantheon, RomeArtist: n/aDate: 117-125 CESource/ Museum: n/aMedium: n/aSize: n/a

Pantheon, Rome, 117-125 ce

Built by/for -- Publius Aelius Hadrianus.

Type of structure --Roman temple

SIZE--The height &diameter of the interior circle are the same, 43.3 metres (142 ft).

It is a building in Rome, built by Marcus Agrippa as a temple to all the gods of Ancient Rome,

and rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian in about 126 AD. the name comes from the statues of many gods

placed around the building, or from the resemblance of the dome to the heavens. The building is

circular with a portico of three ranks of huge granite Corinthian columns, under a pediment

opening into the rotunda, under a coffered, concrete dome, with a central opening to the sky. the

generic term pantheon may be applied to any building in which illustrious dead are honored or

buried. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's

largest unreinforced concrete dome. The interior of the dome was possibly intended to symbolize

the arched vault of the heavens. The opening of the dome's apex and the entry door are the only

sources of light in the interior. Throughout the day, the light from the oculus (opening) moves

around this space in a sort of reverse sundial effect. Circles and squares form the unifying theme

of the interior design. The checkerboard floor pattern contrasts with the concentric circles of

square coffers in the dome.

Title: Second style wall painting from the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii. Scenes of Dionysiac Mystery CultArtist: n/aDate: ca. 60-50 BCESource/ Museum: n/aMedium: n/aSize: n/a

Fresco from Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, ca 60-50 bce

Location— Pompeii, southern Italy size– life size

This scene is a detail from a fresco that runs round all four walls of a room in a suburban villa

just outside Pompeii. The fresco is a megalographia (a depiction of life-size figures), and is

unique in Pompeii.

• The panels of the fresco appear to show a series of consecutive events, and their interpretation

is much debated. Most commonly, it is thought that the fresco illustrates the initiation of a

woman into the secret rites of Dionysus, and it is this theory that gave rise to the name of the

Villa of the Mysteries. In the scene pictured here, the initiate is flogged (to beat with a whip),

while another woman dances beside her. the most notable is that it depicts a young woman

undergoing the rites of marriage. Dionysus were a ritual of Rome and ancient Greece, which

used intoxicants and music, dance. The ownership of the Villa is unknown.

Title: Portrait group of the Tetrarchs, Basilica of San Marco, VeniceArtist: n/aDate: ca. 305 CESource/ Museum: n/aMedium: PorphyrySize: Height 51” (129.5 cm)

Tetrarchs, ca 305 ce

Size--about 4' 3"

material– porphyry

Inventor– Diocletian location-- San Marco , venice

In 293 Diocletian established a tetrarchy with himself as the Eastern ruler (Augustus of the East) and

Maximian as ruler of the West. Each had a caesar, a vice-ruler, who was his heir. This political solution

and attempt to retain order in the Roman Empire failed after Diocletian retired in 305. Carved in

porphyry, a hard purple stone used primarily for imperial objects, these four emperors symbolize the

equality of their rule. No individualized features are represented; they are dressed identically, even to their

swords, and they are of equal height. Their embraces also indicate their unity. The staring eyes, squatty

forms, and absract quality are characteristic of much late Roman sculpture, where symbolism is more

important than realism and individuality.

The term Tetrarchy (Greek: "leadership of four [people]") describes any system of government where

power is divided among four individuals. Its main purpose was to marking the end of the Crisis of the

Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire.

Title: Arch of Constantine, Rome Artist: n/aDate: 312-315 CESource/ Museum: n/aMedium: n/aSize: n/a

Arch of Constantine, 312-315 ce

Location– rome size-- 21 m high X 25.7 m wide X 7.4 m deep

Material-- brickwork reveted with marble

It was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian

Bridge on October 28, 312. The general design with a main part structured by detached

columns and an attic with the main inscription.

The arch is heavily decorated with parts of older monuments, which assume a new meaning in

the context of the Constantinian building. The decoration on the arch is indicating the praise

of the emperor, both in battle and in his civilian duties and other imagery supports this

purpose: decoration taken from the "golden times" of the Empire under Trajan. On the attic,

the art describes the emperor return to home after campaign, emperor leaving the city and

saluted by the people, emperor distributing money to people, and the emperor interrogating a

German prisoner. All this decoration is on the south side, left to right .

Title: Sarcophagus. Santa Maria Antiqua, Rome

Artist: n/a

Date: ca. 270 CE

Source/ Museum: n/a

Medium: marble

Size: 1' 11 1/4" x 7' 2" (5.45 x 2.2 m)

This slide shows the sacrophagus with orant, philosopher, and old and new testament scenes. This art tells us

about salvation of Johan, that occupied the one third of the left side. At the center are an orant and a seated

philosopher. The philosopher is holding a scroll, and reading it for that woman standing in front of him. The

sculptors added the portraits at the time of burial, if they added them all. At the right, representation of jesus-

as a good shepherd and as a child receiving baptism in the jordan river. It also suggest the baptized Jesus by

turning the child’s head toward the good shepherd and by placing his right hand on one of the sheep. In the

early centuries of Christianity, baptism was usually delayed almost to the moment of the death because it

cleansed the Christian of all sin. It tells us about the life of the early Christians' belief and rituals of baptism.

Title: Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus

Artist: n/a

Date: ca. 359 CE

Source/ Museum: Storico del Capitolino di San Pietro, Rome

Medium: marble

Size: 3' 10 1/2" x 8' (1.2 x 2.4 m)

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus,ca 359 ce

Size—approximately 4 x 8 x 4 feet. Location-- Museum of Saint Peter's Basilica

is a marble Early Christian sarcophagus used for the burial of Junius Bassus, who died in 359. It has been

described as "probably the single most famous piece of early Christian relief sculpture“. this sarcophagus is

one of the oldest surviving high-status sarcophagi with elaborate carvings of Christian themes, and a

complicated iconographic programme embracing the Old and New Testaments. Junius Bassus was an

important figure, a senator who was in charge of the government of the capital as praefectus urb (prefect of the

city of Rome )when he died at the age of 42 in 359. Bassus, as the inscription on the sarcophagus tells us,

converted to Christianity shortly before his death - perhaps on his deathbed. The carvings are in high relie on

three sides of the sarcophagus, The column and many parts of the figures are carved completely in the round.

The arrangement of relief scenes in rows in a columnar framework. No portrait of the deceased is shown. the

ten niches are filled with scenes from both the New and Old Testaments.

• Top row: Sacrifice of Isaac, Judgement or Arrest of Peter, Enthroned Christ with Peter and Paul.

• Bottom row: Job on the dunghill, Adam and Eve, Christ's entry into Jerusalem, Daniel in the lion's den ,

Arrest or leading to execution of Paul.

The sides have more traditional Roman scenes of the Four Seasons represented by putti performing seasonal

tasks such as harvesting grapes