The document provides an overview of ancient Greek culture from its earliest civilizations through the recognized ancient Greek culture. It discusses how the Greeks focused on government (democracy), art, architecture, philosophy, and sport. Athens took pride in its creation of democracy. Cities commissioned art and architecture to honor gods and beautify cities. Greek thinkers are still honored today. The Greeks worshipped various gods through sacrifice, ritual, and festival.

2. Ancient Greek Culture:
Ancient Greek culture covers over a thousand years of history, from the earliest civilizations
in the area to the cultures that became the Ancient Greeks. Following a Greek Dark Age,
Greece once more flourished and developed into the ancient culture that we recognize
today . Greek culture is focused on their government, art, architecture, philosophy, and
sport. Athens was intensely proud of its creation of democracy, and citizens from all poleis
("cities") took part in civic duties. Cities commissioned artists and architects to honor their
gods and beautify their cities. Greek philosophers, mathematicians, and thinkers are still
honored in society today. As a religious people, the Greeks worshipped a number of gods
through sacrifice, ritual, and festival.
The art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into four periods
•Geometric (1000 BC)
•Archaic (7th century BC) black-figure style of vase painting
•Classical (480 BC to 448 BC)
•Hellenistic (336 BC to 323 BC) Alexander the Great

3.  The Ancient Greeks created what has become known as
classical art. Many of America's governmental buildings have
been designed with Classical Greek structures. Greeks are
seen by many as the cornerstone to the western traditions of
art and ideas. The Ancient Greeks are known for three main
items
 sculptures
 temples
 vase paintings.
 The art work embodies much of what made the Greek
civilization great.
 The Ancient Greeks were organized into independent city-
states. These themes can be seen very clearly in their human
depictions.
 The Greeks idealized humans, showing the strong and
youthful depiction of men and women.
 The topics shown in their vases reflect the importance of
strength, athletic competition, and battles.
 Their temples reflected their religious beliefs in the gods.
.

4. Ancient Greek art is mainly in four
forms:
 Architecture
 Sculpture
 Painted pottery and
 Music.

5.  The Ancient Greeks, especially Athenians, were blessed with close
marble quarries. In comparison, the Romans had to go great
distances to bring marble into their capital of Rome. The marble was
very strong and could hold very large loads of weight.
 Because of this the Greeks were able to build beautiful temples and
buildings which are copied or imitated even to present day
 The architecture of the temples took three major forms;
 Doric,
 Ionic, and
 Corinthian.
 All three styles can be quickly identified by the top of the columns.
 The Doric columns are a circular ring under a square piece of marble
which supports the cross beam.
 The Ionic column tops appear to have two scrolls on either side of
the column right below the cross beam.
 The Corinthian is an out growth of the Ionic.

10.  The earliest buildings that were built in Greece, in the New Stone
Age, are small houses or huts, and wooden walls around them for
protection. Later there are bigger houses, and stone walls around the
villages.
 By the Early Bronze Age, we find one bigger house in the middle of
the village, and fancier, bigger stone walls.
 In the Late Bronze Age, under the influence of Western Asia, and the
Minoans on Crete, there are Palaces and big stone tombs, as well as
paved roads and bridges, and dams (and more stone walls).
 During the Greek Dark Ages the palaces were burned, But at the end
of the Dark Ages, with the beginning of the Iron age and the Archaic
period in Greece, we see a new type of building: the temple for the
gods. These earliest temples are built in the Doric style . There are
houses, but no more palaces. But roads and bridges and stone walls
begin to be built again

11.  There are three main periods of Greek
Sculpture; Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic.
 The Greeks were blessed with a large
supply of marble, which was what they used
most in their sculptures.
 Bronze was also used in their artistic work
of humans.
 Many of the original sculptures were
damaged or destroyed. Yet, many still
survived because the Romans make copies
or duplications of the original works.

12.  The Archaic period was the earliest period in Greek
Sculpture. These works have a stiff and ridged
appearance similar to that of the Egyptian
sculpture.

13. The second period, the Classical period, was between the Archaic and
Hellenistic times. The Classical period shows a very large shift from the
stiff Archaic to a more realistic and sometimes idealistic portrayal of the
human figure.

14. Females, after the 5th century B.C., were depicted, often with
flowing robes. The robes gave the sculpture the idea of
movement and realism in an effort by the artist to show humans
more realistically.

15.  The third period, the Hellenistic period it is more difficult to
see the distinctions between the Classical and Hellenistic
period.The Greeks portrayed a young, vigorous, and athletic
person in their works. These works idealized the individual
and in a way, attempted to capture the idea of youth and
strength in their design. The works reflect the commonly
held views of youth, strength, and courage which were
encouraged in the Greek City states.

16. Greeks portrayed the
gods in very similar
fashion as they did
the regular humans.
There were no
distinctions of size or
body make up in their
sculpture which
would suggest that
the gods where
greater or more
powerful then the
humans.
This is also similar in
Greek stories, where
the gods are shown
to have very human
characteristics, both
good and bad.

17.  Painting of the Ancient Greeks has survived
primarily in the form of Vase Painting. The
paintings were done in red and black with some
use of accent colors. The vases depicted
battles, heroes, gods, and every day life.
 Very few Greek painted pictures have survived
the 2500 years since they were painted. So most
of what we know about Greek art comes from
the pictures they painted on fancy pottery.

25.  In antiquity, clothing was usually homemade and the same piece of
homespun fabric could serve as a garment, shroud, or blanket.
 Greek vase painting and traces of paint on ancient sculptures indicate that
fabrics were brightly colored and generally decorated with elaborate designs.
 Clothing for both women and men consisted of two main garments—a tunic
(either a peplos or chiton) and a cloak (himation). The peplos was simply a
large rectangle of heavy fabric, usually wool, folded over along the upper
edge so that the over fold (apoptygma) would reach to the waist. It was
placed around the body and fastened at the shoulders with a pin or brooch.
Openings for armholes were left on each side, and the open side of the
garment was either left that way, or pinned or sewn to form a seam. The
peplos might not be secured at the waist with a belt or girdle. The chiton
was made of a much lighter material, usually imported linen. It was a very
long and very wide rectangle of fabric sewn up at the sides, pinned or sewn
at the shoulders, and usually girded around the waist. Often the chiton was
wide enough to allow for sleeves that were fastened along the upper arms
with pins or buttons. Both the peplos and chiton were floor-length garments
that were usually long enough to be pulled over the belt, creating a pouch
known as a kolpos. Under either garment, a woman might have worn a soft
band, known as a strophion, around the mid-section of the body.

26.  Men in ancient Greece customarily wore a chiton similar
to the one worn by women, but knee-length or shorter.
An exomis, a short chiton fastened on the left shoulder,
was worn for exercise, horse riding, or hard labor. The
cloak (himation) worn by both women and men was
essentially a rectangular piece of heavy fabric, either
woolen or linen. It was draped diagonally over one
shoulder or symmetrically over both shoulders, like a
stole. Women sometimes wore an epiblema (shawl) over
the peplos or chiton. Young men often wore a short
cloak (chlamys) for riding. Greek men occasionally wore
a broad-brimmed hat (petasos), and on rare occasions,
Greek women donned a flat-brimmed one with a high
peaked crown. Both women and men wore sandals,
slippers, soft shoes, or boots, although at home they
usually went barefoot.

30.  The Greeks loved music, and made it an important part of
their lives. They thought of music as a way of honoring the
gods, and making the world a more human, civilized place.
 They had pipes, and lyres, and drums, and cymbals. Their
pipes were made from wood or reeds, with holes cut in
them for your fingers to play the tune.
 Some were played vertically, like a recorder, and some were
played sideways, like a flute. Sometimes people played
more than one pipe at a time.
 Pipes and drums were played in a loud, lively way, for
dancing, and people played this music when they were
worshipping Dionysus, the god of wine and parties.

31.  The Greeks also had lyres, which are like
small harps, and might have sounded
something like a guitar. According to the
Greek story, the first lyre was made from a
turtle shell by the god Hermes when he was a
baby, and then Hermes gave it to Apollo.
Apollo was the god of reason and logic, and
the Greeks thought of music as a great
expression of order and patterns. Lyre music
was played calmer, and more soothingly, than
the pipes and drums.