Wylie. Period 6. Team 1

Above all, Greek art symbolizes humanism. The sculpture of the Greek god Hermes, the son of Zeus and the messenger of the gods, by Praxiteles, exhibits this symbolism. The sculpture’s humanized portrayal of a god speaks volumes to the power ancient Greeks attributed to humans. Praxiteles himself, well-known for his portrayal of gods with elegant human features came from a generation of 4th century artists who specialized in artistic realism. The sculpture, which also portrays the god in a philosophic light, reflects the value the ancient Greeks placed in knowledge and reflection. In the sculpture Hermes is comforting a crying baby by showing him a shiny object. Hermes, performing this lowly task, has very human features, as the left side of his face is sad and the right is joyful. Hermes furthermore, is the messenger of the gods. He is the connection between the mortal and immortal world. Praxiteles depicts this portrayal through a mixture of godlike features as well as human traits. Praxiteles unlike most sculptors at the time was renowned for his gentle and amiable sculptures; others often depicted graphic and violent works. In the Hermes sculpture, Praxiteles uniquely depicted the Olympian gods as friendly and not wrathful, contrasting the distance and angry qualities of which they were thought of. To illustrate, Hermes is depicted as a protector of youth as he gently cradles the human like God Dionysos. By making Dionysos an infant, Praxiteles achieves a soft and playful feel. Praxiteles created a distinct perspective of intimacy which had not be seen before is sculpture. Through his use of emotion, playfulness, and gentle feel, Praxiteles achieved a different state of art, and as such is regarded among the best artists.

Harry Yadav, Sid Vyas, Jen Suh, Charles Negrini, Sophie Resnick

ash.p3.t2 Synthesis response

The ancient Greek sculptor, Phidias, was widely considered the finest of all of ancient Greece. He created the sculptures that reside at the Parthenon, which is considered the most important structure in Ancient Greece and his sculptures the most important of all Greek art. The Parthenon was a temple to the Greek goddess Athena; it’s massive construction a testament to the religion of the Greeks. The Greeks sought not to consume their lives with religion, only to honor it and use it as a way to further their understanding of that which could not be understood. Phidias sculptures were not just the work of a master craftsman; these sculptures employed what is now known as the golden ratio, that is an irrational mathematical constant which has been found to occur in the natural world. These sculptures were the pinnacle of art as aesthetic, but this was also due in part to the golden ratio, which is universally recognized now as the height of aesthetic. Phidias combination of mathematics and his own fantastic understanding of aesthetic to create this incredible works which stand up today as not only excellent works of the time but excellent works in general. In the creation of these sculptures Phidias had assimilated the ideal of Greek culture into a stunning, almost perfect display of form. By combining the mathematical, the spiritual, and the artistic, Phidias had created something more valuable than could be achieved through only one of these mediums. This is what the ancient Greeks sought to do. Through the integration of these three subjects into their culture, the Greeks sought to understand the almost intangible forms that make up our world. These sculptures and their ideals not only defined an era, but also allowed for progress towards a new one.

Wylie.p5.t4.Greek/Roman

During the Classical Period of Ancient Greece there was a birth of more form flowing, free, and realistic sculptures. The “Youth of Marathon” is one such sculpture that exemplified the free qualities of the Greek Classical period. Sculptors removed many of the ancient symmetric techniques, and moved into a more natural form which in turn created sculptures which looked almost exactly like humans. Many features of the Youth of Marathon symbolize and relate to the religion, science, and aesthetics of the Classical Period of ancient Greece.

The main focus of the piece is the beauty of the sculpture itself and its human body. In this era of aesthetics, the human body was valued in itself. In the Youth of Marathon, the focus of the art was the human body and its pose and not its surrounding environment. In the case of the Youth of Marathon the focus is in the defiant pose of the “Youth”.

Expressionless faces were seen as a symbol of control and nobility. The Youth of Marathon displays no emotion. Emotions were seen as for barbarians, and the only expressions needed were logic and reason

The Youth of Marathon displays many advances in proportion mathematics and the study of human the human figure. When the weight of the youth is shifted, his leg is straightened to keep balance. The muscles on the leg with the weight are also tightened more to show correct proportion within the human. With perfect proportions the artist created both a god and a man with aesthetic value.

Asher.p1.t5.Greek/Roman

Greek literature shows the significance of beauty and religion in the Greek culture. They emphasized the importance of faith in epics, a long poem that narrates the deeds and adventures of a hero. In the Odyssey, the protagonist, Odysseus, is depicted as a great hero of high status, who defies the all-powerful gods. The gods make him suffer by setting him off course as he attempts to go home. He faces countless monsters and obstacles, ultimately losing many years of his life before finally returning home. The epic depicts the Greek gods as a force not to be meddled with. It reminded people that they are insignificant in comparison to their creators and that respect and humility is an important aspect of life. In Oedipus, another Greek literary work, the protagonist is brought down from a high status by the will of the gods. It highlights the concept of fate, and that it is uncontrollable by the human hand. Greek literature also emphasizes the importance of beauty. The gods, to the Greeks, were the symbol of natural beauty and perfection. Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, is shown as a captivating companion to Odysseus on his journey. However, philosophers eventually began to question the idea of all-powerful beings controlling the flow of existence. This lead to theories of why things happen the way they do, contributing to the study of modern science.