Greek Perfection Essay

The ancient Greeks with their brilliant and imaginative spirit created a complete order of things that functioned harmoniously in the infinite world that contained them. Although its exact origins are lost in time, Greek religion is thought to date from about the 2d millenium B.C., when the culture of Aryan invaders fused with those of the Aegean and Minoan peoples who had inhabited the region of Greece from Neolithic times [1]. The beginning and the genesis of this world occupied the ancient Greeks in much the same way it did the early people of every civilization. Greek religion was at the beginning a blend of Minoan, Egyptian, Asian, and other elements, but it subsequently evolved along with Greek thought.

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.

Ancient Greek stands in an important position in the art history. Ancient Greek art proper emerged during the eigth century BCE. Classical and Hellenistic period are the most impressive eras of Greece. There are many values of Greek 's culture become the fundamental tenets of today 's western civilization. Greeks created the concept of democracy and make a huge contributions in the fields of science, literature and art. Ancient Greece 's art and architecture also have a strong influential to western society. Moreover, the Greeks made their gods into humans and their humans into gods. The perfect individual became the Greek ideal and the portrayal of beautiful humans became the focus of many of the greatest Greek artists. Greek ideal is one of the most important cultures of Greece and it also has a great influence of Greek religion, philosophy and society. The art work of Archaic, Classical and Hellenistic Period have shown that Greek has achieved their lofty goals in many aspects of their civilization.

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

1. During the Mycenaean civilization, who was the great poet and what were his two important literary works that influenced the Greeks and formed part of Western literature? Homer, The Iliad, The Odyssey

The Athenian Greeks at the height of their power built a temple called the Parthenon which was a monument to their core values of perfectionism, humanism, and rationalism. It is important to understand that the human eye has imperfections which deceive the mind, so one can understand the unique steps that were taken to achieve the illusion of perfection to the human eye. The Greeks loved perfection, and as seen in the Parthenon, the Greek architects purposely made the Parthenon imperfect to account for the imperfections in the human eye. This was done so that when one views the Parthenon with the naked eye, it appears to be perfectly symmetrical, straight, and proportional. The entire Parthenon does not have a single right angle. An example of the Greeks compensating for the imperfections of the human eye is seen in the base of the Parthenon, which from a picture or in real life looks perfectly straight, but in reality it is actually curved slightly upward. It is curved because the Greeks knew that if you have a perfectly flat base for a building, it appears curved to the human eye. To account for that, the Greeks made it so that the base was already curved. The Greeks also curved the columns of the Parthenon inward, because if the columns were straight, it would appear to be curving outward. Again, the Greeks knew about how the human eye deceives the mind, and decided that they must trick the eye to please the mind. This was all done because the Greeks strived for

Greek architecture resulted from studying everything; whether where to build such things or what to use to build it, and followed by creating a masterpiece.

The ancient Athens aimed for perfection with every detail in their lives; from the art, architecture, philosophy, they wanted nothing less than perfect. This high standard of perfection is known as the classical ideal. The ancient Athens’s society was based solely on high standards of living. The classical ideal was expressed in many ways in the Athens culture. Philosophy and religion helped paved the mind with perfect thoughts (Sayre). By just glancing at the beautiful art and sculptures of the Athens, you can tell how much thought and detail went into it to make it absolutely perfect. The art is evidence that the Athens only wanted perfection. From the statues to other art pieces, we are reminded again and again how perfect everything had to be in that culture. This is also true with the architecture. The architecture leaves us in awe. It is hard to imagine that a building can be so beautiful. We are reminded of how beautiful it is everyday because we have adapted most of their architecture in our own country. To make sure everything was perfect, there were certain rules and regulations, which are known as the classical ideal. The classical ideal of ancient Athens stressed about the high standards of perfection and excellence and this theme is illustrated time and time again throughout their traditions and culture.

Women are just the play things of man. Their purpose is no more than just to be eye candy and to please men. At least- that's what today's society would want one to think. Gender roles, nearly ubiquitous across the globe, exist in today's society whether people believe it or not. Women are also made to be lesser than men, being paid less, discriminated against, being harassed, and being portrayed like sexual objects in the media.

Now in Greece's art section, we took their idea of pottery and sculptures from them. We also took their perfection in art. In the architecture portion, we

The origin of the Greek polis has been disputed to be either of religious or economic association. The arguments rest on the foundation that societies go through different stages. Primordial (clan/tribe) societies evolved into political (city-state) societies and then into industrial (modern) societies. Both sides provide credible arguments, but their arguments are lacking details that overlap both associations. The combination of religion and economics is what molded the Greek city-state and not just one or the other. Writers with an economic point of view claim of the Greek city-state as one where its people began to move from only being consumers to becoming producers and building friendships for the purpose of self-preservation. Even though the economy was a large portion of the city-state, religion cannot be discarded due to the various artifacts and buildings that demonstrate how it became a crucial part of society. To only claim religion led to the creation of Greek polis also does not

Seven and fifth century BC, Greece contained some of the most prepossessing and enchanting forms of art ever made. The most common where statues, vases, temples and marble friezes. Greeks took inspiration from ancient egyptian art, as that can be clearly see in all there artwork. Unlike the Egyptians however, the Greeks looked for new ways to represent the human figure. They would take into account different angles as to how an object can be seen, by simply following the rules of the egyptians and using their own freedom and imagination, and with this, the greeks achieved harmony, beauty, and simplicity within their work.

Ancient Greek architecture was very intricately made and well thought out. The Greeks used different methods and reasonings behind their architecture because they made sure that their pieces were exquisitely made to represent the things they thought were important. They valued their Gods and their worship of the Gods. It was important for them to always represent or have symbolic meaning behind all of their architectural designs. There are many hidden symbols that are involved in Greek architecture like trees, trophies, leaves, hair, and sacrifices to name a few. Greek architecture includes these hidden symbols to worship Gods, and to represent culture in their pieces.

This interest in the order of nature eventually evolved into a fascination with the human form and the idea of human perfection. The way in which the perfect human form was portrayed by Greek artists was of a highly intellectual nature. The early sculptors of the period explored basic human anatomy and its aesthetic value, creating such sculptures as the Kritios Boy, of the Acropolis. The precision and realism of this sculpture captured a more accurate portrayal of the human form than ever before seen. This accomplishment in itself showed strong advancements in intellectual thought, and inspired future generations to further explore aesthetic and order. Artist such as Polyclitius later envisioned human perfection as a series of mathematical proportions. The

One of the many types of Greek building structures was Sacred Architecture. The Greeks conceived of their gods in human form, as anthropomorphic