004 GREECE
• CRETE and MYCENAE 2,000 BC to 1,100 BC– Ancient civilizations on Aegean Sea
• Crete 2,000 BC to 1,400 BC– Protected by the sea– Luxurious, relaxed way of life– Art consisted of freely shaped forms = feeling of movement
» Built palaces
• Mycenae– Greek mainland– Society of warriors
» Built citadels» Principle residents were megarons
PALACE OF KNOSSOS
SOUTH PROPYLAEUM
Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1600 B.C.
The south propylaeum is the main entrance to the palace. Here it is behind the wall of the corridor of the procession. Stones and wood are the basic building materials. Columns are made from tree
trunks which are shaped, plastered, and placed upside down.
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NORTH PROPYLAEUM
Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1550
Goods and material brought up to the palace from the harbor enter through a gate at this guard post. A path under the
colonnade leads to the central portions of the palace. Barely visible on the wall behind the columns is a fresco of a bull. The
bull figures prominantly in the decoration within the complex. The fertility symbolism is clear.
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ROOM IN THE WEST WING
Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1550 B.C.
A room in the west wing built over a crypt. It is a good example of the Minoan mixture of stone and timber construction. The use a of
a column for support clearly opens up the space. The large high windows are common features in the palace. They open the
space further, ventilate and give light to the room, and keep the occupant in closer touch with the world of nature outside.
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THREE-STORY RESIDENCE
Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1500 B.C.
South of the palace is this private house with rooms on three floors. The house probably belongs to a nobleman or an official.
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THRONE ROOM
Palace of King Minos, Knossos Late 15th century B.C.
These columns and bench, opposite the
throne, divide the room from a small stairway
leading to a room below. This is a good example of a column
with a black shaft and red capital. The capital is decorated with white
and black bands.
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STAIRWELL
Palace of King Minos, Knossos c, 1600 BC
The ground level of the stairwell which adjoins the royal apartments.
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DOLPHIN FRIEZE
QUEEN'S APARTMENT Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1500 B.C.
The queen's apartment or megaron consisted of a fairly spacious suite of rooms. This is the famous dolphin frieze in
the main room. Decorative rosette panels surround the
door openings and run across the walls. The importance of
both the sea and of animals as decorative images is clearly
illustrated here.
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BATHROOM IN THE QUEEN'S APARTMENT
Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1500 B.C.
The queen's bathroom and
bathtub, adjacent to the room above.
There also was a room with a toilet
that flushed. Note the elegant
symbolic waves as a decorative frieze.
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FEMALE IDOL
From Hagia Triada c. 1500 B.C. Museum of Herakleion, Crete
A terra-cotta female idol covered with
breasts. Later you will note this same form of
decoration on a libation jug.
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RHYTON BULL
From the Little Palace, Knossos 1550-1500 B.C.
A rhyton (libation vase) in the shape of a
massive bull's head. It is made of steatite, with
eyes of rock crystal -and horns of gilded wood. The natural
quality of the bull is outstanding.
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Beneath the Palace of Knossos
BENEATH THE PALACE AT KNOSSOS
GREEK MEGARON
MEGARON PLAN
MEGARON EXTERIOR
TREASURY OF ATREUS
DROMOS
LION’S GATE1250 BC
DETAIL OF LION’S GATE
DOMED INTERIOR
INTERIOR
• GREECE– Greek Ideal - mind and body as one– Architecture is the mainstream of European tradition– Worth of the individual
• Who were the ancient Greeks???????????– Dorians
» Invaded from the north 1100 BC– Ionians
» Invaded from the east» Settled in the Greek Islands
• GREEK ANTHROPOMORPHISM = MAN + FORM– Greek Government
• Limited democracy - city-states
– Greek Religion• Worshipped natural phenomenon
GREEK ANTHROPOMORPHISM
• Man + Form– Architecture reflects maker in human scale
• Temples– Prototype was megaron, Mycenean Chieftain’s House– Considered a house– Classified by number of columns ie hexastyle, peripteral
• Orders– Doric, Ionic, Corinthian– Determines shape, disposition and proportions of entire set– All were brightly painted
DORIC TEMPLES
• Evolved speciman– Converged toward an ideal– 6th Century changed from timber to stone
• HERA I (BASILICA) 530 B.C.– Atypical
• Nine columns, center divided by column
• HERA II (POSEIDEN) 460 B.C.– Typical
• Hexastyle façade
• Two double-tiered colonnades inside
PAESTUM MEDITERANIAN SEA
GREEK TEMPLES IN PAESTUM ITALY
BASILICA (HERA I) TEMPLE
TEMPLE OF HERA I FLOOR PLAN
HERA II TEMPLE
BASILICA FOREGROUND
HERA BACKGROUND
http://trashformer.free.fr/spip/article.php3?id_article=6
PARTHENON
• Architects Ictinus and Callicrates 447-438 B.C.• Design Characteristics
– U-shaped double-tiered columns– Proportion 4:9– Paradoxical effects– Optical and angular refinements
• Variations from the perpendicular and subtle deviations
– Refinements show an astounding degree of craftsmanship
PARTHENON FLOOR PLAN
PARTHENON
PARTHENON
PARTHENON
Optical and angular refinements
DORIC ORDER IONIC ORDER
GOLDEN SECTION FOUND IN NATURE