Altar of Zeus: New Style to Old Ideas Essay example

Since the beginning of time the people of the world have their share of beliefs. Greek mythology is the arguably the most popular region of study. In Ancient Greece every citizen had a patron that would protect them and pantheism was commonplace. The Romans admired the Greeks in their art and culture and even took different aspects of their gods. Polytheism was widely accepted in all cultures so the seed of mythology bloomed. The time line of the creations of gods to the end of their reign is an important factor in Greek Mythology.

The supreme ruler and king of gods, Zeus, is often mentioned as Jupiter and the sender of thunder, lightning, rain, and wind (Britannica.com). “Zeus was the first of the gods and a very imposing figure. Often referred to as ‘the father of gods and men,’ he is a sky god who controls lightning.” (Britannica.com) Although the god is labeled most powerful and the mightiest of all, he is not perfect. Zeus is known for his promiscuous action. Often times he fell in love with one woman after the other and attempted to disguise his infidelity from his wife. Zeus left no woman behind in his crazy love-life, the god married and had children with his sister, Hera and. Hera was not Zeus’ only siblings. He also had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades and another sister named Hestia. His parents are known as Cronus and Rhea. Zeus was not just handed the title “god of the sky,” instead him and his two brothers drew lots. The sea was given to Poseidon, the underworld to Hades, and Zeus was named lord of the sky, rain god, and cloud gatherer. The eagle is considered sacred to this god. Zeus also treasures the oak tree. It is often told that the gods will was revealed by the rustling of the oak tree. (Hamilton 27)

her to give him the baby so he could swallow it. She hid Zeus in a

One of the most well-known cultures throughout all of history belonged to the Greeks. Their heritage was so highly valued that it lived on even after they no longer ruled. The Greeks were some of the most innovative artists of their time and their work was so inherently beautiful that people from future cultures fell in love with it and decided to incorporate it into their own customs. The most famous group known for this was the Romans. After the Romans took over Greece, their love for its customs bloomed which resulted in many recreations of Greek art that are now seen today. However, Greek sculpture art had a hard time making it to the modern day. Most sculptures were made out of bronze and often melted down to be used for other purposes. Any surviving Greek related art is often just a Roman copy. The Romans are famous throughout history for their copies of Greek sculptures, especially relief sculptures. However, they also incorporated other Greek traditions and customs into their lives as well. Romans created separate names to refer to Greek gods and were often found creating and recreating art based on Greek myths. One specific Greek custom adopted by the Romans was the way in which they buried their dead. Romans originally cremated their dead but after the influence of Greek culture, they began burying their dead in large sarcophagi, with Greek myths elaborately sculpted into the sides, similar to the one kept at the Walter 's Art Museum depicting the abduction of

     Mythology is a way that the ancient societies explained why things are the way they are and how they came to being. Two ancient societies are infamous for their mythology. These societies are Greece and Rome. Great authors were made be the mythological works they wrote. Homer was a famous author who is best known for his epics. It is from these epics that most of the gods and actual myths well known. I am writing of two of these gods in particular, Saturn and Dionsysus.

The sculpture portrays the God of Harvest, Dionysus, with his loyal satyr follower, Pan. A considerable amount of detail when into the carving of Dionysus; the multiple grapevines in his hair, his ceremonial staff Thyrsus, the goatskins and the cup of wine he’s holding are all symbols of Dionysus. The composition is very asymmetrical, and creates a contrapposto arrangement, which is distinctly Grecian (Gardner). It was carved out of beautiful fine marble, which also had another purpose in the way of making this piece of art last for many years. Along with the tree trunk between the two men providing support at the base, and the elongated arms providing more structural stability. The God’s head is even reinforced by his hair to make sure the head doesn’t break off. This sculpture is visually and aesthetically pleasing, but doesn’t serve a useful function, like textiles or furniture. Therefore, it is considered a figurative piece of art, which art that is very clearly modeled after real object or person(s), and is therefore representational

Hellenistic art was engaged more on perfection of the human frame, accuracy and detail. Models from Greek times looked more God-like than human. Hellenic art depended on the new thought of authenticity. Hellenic figures were molded into sensible, blamed human structures. Art in the Hellenic world art epitomized richness, cheerful nature, and coarse with. Marble statues and reliefs described human greatness and sensuality. Art in Hellenistic world emphasize extraordinary naturalism and unashamed luxury. Art in Hellenistic and Hellenic showed feelings and other components filled with different

Zeus, most likely the most renowned god of all gods, the mighty god of lightning has taken part in some of the most widely known myths of all times. Zeus has taken part in many Greek and Roman myths alike, either as Zeus or as his Roman counterpart of Jupiter. Unlike most gods in mythology though, Zeus is the main character in almost all of the myths he is mentioned in. Whether the myth is about his epic clash against the Titans, his fight against the Giants or even about his extramarital affairs, Zeus always seems to come out of these conflicts unaffected and triumphant. When examining Zeus’ character though, it is important to note that Zeus is a god that exhibits human characteristics throughout most of his myths. Growth is one of the

Interestingly, instead of four, only three sides of the Sarcophagus are filled with images. The long section illustrates two Greek heroes, presumably Herakles and Iolaos, battling evil centaurs. The two other sections show a centaur attacking a lioness and the other, the representation of peace in this work, two centaurs getting along. Herakles and Iolaos are highlighted by the artist’s careful attention to make them protrude the greatest, accentuating their impact and overall importance in this sculpture. Every powerful muscle in their bodies is portrayed and given detail in three dimensions. The three-dimensions not only bring these characters closer to reality but also heighten the heroic nature, masculinity, and belligerent attitude of the Greek heroes. Instead of using basic geometric shapes to create works of art, the sculptor chooses to increase the detail in the Sarcophagus by giving everything in the sculpture individual characteristics and traits. They are presented as being stressed

With the rise of Alexander “The Great” begins the Hellenistic Age which is used to describe a time which Greek culture spread to places like Egypt and Asia. Due to this Greek culture had changed from what it was during Classical Greece as they were able to achieve much more with this new diverse culture. The Classical Age of Greece is known for its work in philosophy and the arts. The work of Greek philosophers of this time such Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle cannot go unnoticed in these contexts as their accomplishments still have lasting effects on our world today. Along with the great work of these philosophers, came other great works in architecture and drama. Beginning in 448 B.C. Pericles began the construction of the Acropolis,

The novel Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan is about seven teen demigods that must stop the destruction of Rome, the end of the world. This is an action packed story that allows one to better understand Greek Mythology. When reading this book, the author is trying to make the reader realize that there is a hero in all of us, whatever we set our minds to do, and we can accomplish it no matter what obstacles are put in front of us. One quote from the book that is quite iconic is “Being a hero doesn’t mean you’re invincible. It just means that you’re brave enough to stand up and do what’s needed.”(Riordan, pg. 475) Anything is possible if you just give it a chance. The theme throughout this series is that with teamwork much can be accomplished.

The simple, restful nature of the scheme is in stark contrast with the subject matter of the large mythological pictures placed in the middle of each of the three walls. These scenes are of Hercules strangling the serpents (pictured upper right), Pentheus being torn to Pieces by the Bacchants (in the centre of the picture above) and The torture of Dirce (pictured opposite). The upper zone consists of panels, garlands, and ornamental bands on a yellow ground.

The first monument this essay will be discussing is the Temple to Zeus at Olympia. The Temple to Zeus was constructed between C. 470 to 450 BCE, having this temple belong to the Early Classical Period. The Temple of Zeus had the typical features of the Doric Order, a perisytle, with a rule that the number of columns on the sides should be one more than double on the front and back (thus the perisytle is 6 X 13), a pronaos, a cella and an opithodomos. The two columns between the anta in the pronaos and the opithodomos align with the columns along the front and back of the temple. The temple was constructed in limestone as well as marble for the roof tiles and the sculptures. Over the entrances of the pronaos and opisthodomos, there were metopes of the 12 labours of Herakles, athla 1-6 over the opithodomos (west) and athla 7-12 over the cella (East). One of the main features that this temple is “good to look at” is because of the pediments. The west pediment depicts the Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs, while the east pediment depictions the horse race of Pelops and Oinomaos. As this is the Temple to Zeus, the figure of Zeus as in the center of the East Pediment, whiles Apollo was the center figure for the west pediment. The

A. J. Polyzoides, an honorary senior lecturer at Birmingham University, states: “The western world has adopted and developed their discoveries throughout the centuries.” (Polyzoides 1). As the Hellenistic society shifted away from the Classical ideals of perfectionism and idolization of the elites and gods in sculpture, artists began to be fixated on illustrating imperfection of a variety of individuals faced with the ruthless authenticity of their emotional struggles. Whereas, Classical architecture focused on dedicating massive structures to the gods to emphasize their divinity, but Hellenistic architecture used advanced technology to exemplify Alexander the Great’s magnificence. Thus, differences in the architecture can be seen in the sophisticated town of Alexandria with structures such as the lighthouse that show how Alexander the Great influenced town planning that was centralized on the creation of a superior city, likewise, The Altar at Pergamon expresses the loss of focus on the divine through unique sculptural techniques. Change can also be seen in the sculptures of The Boxer and The Old Market Woman as they are depicted to be imperfectly individualistic and in emotional distress.

The ode begins with a whole stanza exalting Zeus. The Oceanids sing of their hopes of avoiding his anger and punishment, and declare their loyalty to him and belief in his everlasting power – ironic when read in the context of the entire play. This powerful declaration gives the impression of being a shield to protect the chorus in case the rest of the ode, in which they speak fondly of Prometheus, offends. The chorus feel great fear towards Zeus - although they are deities themselves they act like humans in this section, desperately trying to avoid the wrath of beings stronger than them. The first stanza emphasizes Zeus’ power to the audience, and once coupled with his absence, creates an intimidating image of the god. The aforementioned absence adds to his aura - instead of sullying himself in this dispute, he remains detached whilst the others concern themselves. It also adds to the message of him being unreasonable, as he is literally unreachable.