Pergamon Altar To Zeus Analysis

Throughout Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom, war, art, literature, and more. She is also known of in her Roman form, Minerva. She appears in The Iliad, The Odyssey, and numerous other Greek epics throughout history. In this essay, the controversy of Athena’s favoritism between heroes, or demigods, will be analyzed. In The Iliad, Athena uses supernatural intervention to interfere with mortal warfare; she assists and favors select heroes, like Odysseus, in which she honors them with kleos (glory) for accommodation in war.

Athena was the Greek Goddess of many ideas, but she was famous mostly for her superior wisdom, her cunning skills in times of war, and her implausible talent for household tasks, such as weaving and pottery. She was celebrated more than any other God in ancient mythology, was the supposed inventor of countless innovations, and her figure gave reason for Greek woman to gain rights long before others of their time. The goddess of war, the guardian of Athens, and the defender of Heroes; Athena’s impact on the lives of Ancient Greeks is outstanding.

Athena is fierce and brave; She is smart, somewhat ruthless, but she was praised by all. Athena took part in many wars and also fought in the Trojan War. She is “The Goddess of War”, so she is Ares counterpart. She is smart, she invents many things, like the flute, trumpet, the chariot, and much more. She is praised by many because of her “compassion and generosity.” to her followers.

In ancient Greece, around 500 B.C.E, the culture was revolving around gods and goddesses. The lifestyles and actions of the people of Greece had an interdependence with the common belief of Hellenism. By understanding that many Greeks looked to their gods and goddesses in most aspects of their life, we can better understand how Greek culture worked as a whole. This can be seen specifically in Athens Greece. In Athens they looked to the Goddess Athena in particular because she was their patron Goddess. During this time a sculptor, named Phidias, sculpted a grand statue called the Athena Parthenos. The Athena Parthenos was viewed as an actual incarnation of the Goddess Athena, and symbolize victory in wars that ultimately create peace and harmony.

In Greco-Roman Culture, humans imagine the deities of mythology to be and act certain ways, due to the needs they must fill. People invented certain deities for reasons that align with what they needed from them. To examine how a deity has a certain purpose, one must first examine what they are like. Athena and Ares are examples of deities invented for very specific purposes. One must first look at Athena and Ares’ similarities and differences in relation to their characteristics, their sexuality and physical appearances, as well as their different powers and how they are worshipped, to discover why they were created.

This article is of use to the contextualization of Ancient Greek Art as it presents the sultriness of the times, including the possibly more liberal perspective men and women during those times had about the human body. Through the article, there are images and memories relating to the myths of those times which have been repressed. This article provides a more playful and romantic perspective of Ancient Greek Art, one which very much views the human body as a

Greek mythology played a large role in Greek artistic styles and functions. In the case of this study, the mythological god Apollo is the subject of the artistic works of the votive known as the “Mantiklos Apollo” and the statue of “Apollo” that was found in Pireaus. These figures show a natural progression in style and technique. They are important because they represent the sacred beliefs and superstitions of their respective cultures and time periods.

The artwork I chose for the Classical Greece period is the Erechtheion, an architectural building interestingly using six maidens as support columns. Through studies of the architectural history of this piece, Michael Lahanas suggests that the temple was constructed as “a complex design that supposed to represent the legendary contest between Poseidon and Athena for guardianship of the city of Athens” (Lahanas). The relationship between the art and the culture of the related civilization depicts through its purpose as a temple. Some articles suggest that the temple was a place where worship occurred for both Poseidon and Athena; the structure

In her illuminating commentary, “The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, Heroes, and Athletes,” Judith M. Barringer introduces Olympia and sets the scene of the famous ruins in ancient times. She forces you to imagine the reverence one would feel by simply visiting the Temple of Zeus.   When peering into the temple, many would have first focused on the labors of Herakles that were portrayed before turning their attention to the magnificent, gold and ivory adorned statue of zeus, implying that these representations were quite exceptional for their time. When viewed, they gave off a sense of being larger than life.

Hellenistic art, let alone architecture, was a period of dramatic transformations that deterred greatly from the Greek Classical period. While the Classical Greek concepts were not entirely abandoned, the Hellenistic period expanded the formal horizons with dramatic posing, sweeping lines, and high contrast of light, shadow and emotion, something greatly different from the Classical artists ideas. The conventions and rules of the Classical period gave way to experimentation and a sense of freedom that allowed the artists of the Hellenistic period to explore their subjects from unique points of view that they had not previously done. The Altar to Zeus in Pergamon is the perfect representation of the Hellenistic period. Pergamon contained

Athena was loved across the ancient Greek world. The citizens of Athens considered her a protector of their city, and rulers sought guidance from Athena in military matters and governmental issues. Athena's is a strong independent women with an extroverted temperament. “represents the goddess of wisdom and civilization--concerned with career, motivated by the desire for achievement, acquiring knowledge, she possesses a keen intellect, concerned with education, culture, social issues and politics.” While she didn’t have any supernatural powers her "power" was the defense of Athens.

Power is an ideal that many strive for, and few achieve, and there is no more obvious a demonstration of power, than besting someone in a battle. The Altar of Zeus from Pergamon, Turkey exemplifies that power. Created around 175 BCE it used to stand on a platform, surrounded by columns which were no doubt as imposing as the scenes of the sculptures. It is a narration of the gods and goddesses defeat over the giants, and victory in battle is nearly synonymous with power.

The Greek and Roman Civilization inspired many pieces of art. The first piece I chose was the “Statue of an old market Woman” in the Early Imperial, Julio-Claudian, 1st century A.D. from the “Greek gods and religious practices” thematic essay. The second piece is the “Grave stele of a little girl”, 450–440 B.C. in the Greek civilization from the “Women in Classical Greece” thematic essay. The third piece is the “ Statue of a young woman and a girl from a grave monument” 320 B.C. in the Greek civilization from the “Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Ancient Greece” essay. All three pieces are still life marble sculptures. The content of these sculptures illustrate women and religion in the Greek Civilization.

Barringer questions what these athletes would have seen when looking at these massive works. She raises questions regarding what the myths depicted and conveyed back to them and what meaning and purpose did the patrons of the temple intend. The article surges us back to the present day and discusses how the architectural remains of the Temple of Zeus may leave it quite difficult for the imagination to conjure up the likeness of the once massive architectural spectacle. Though the sculptures remain in good condition they still received intense scrutiny from early scholars. Barringer rears a good point on how these scholars would treat these sculptures and pediments as not only separate entities from each other but all together separate from the activities that took place at Olympia. The author states that her point for writing this article is to show that these sculptures should be read as a whole meaningful ensemble coinciding within and with Olympia and the famous Olympic Games by looking not only at the Temple of Zeus itself or

“The ancient Greeks were a deeply religious people. They worshipped many gods whom they believed appeared in human form and yet were endowed with superhuman strength and ageless beauty. The Iliad and the Odyssey, our earliest surviving examples of Greek literature, record men 's interactions with various gods and goddesses whose characters and appearances underwent little change in the centuries that followed. The Greeks attributed these epic narratives to Homer, a poet living at the end of the 8th century BC Each Greek city was normally under the protection of one or more individual deities who were worshipped with special emphasis, as, for example, Athens and the goddess Athena. While many sanctuaries honored more than a single god, usually one deity such as Zeus at Olympia or a closely linked pair of deities like Demeter and her daughter Persephone at Eleusis dominated the cult place. Elsewhere in the arts, various painted scenes on vases, and stone, terracotta and bronze sculptures portray the major gods and goddesses. The deities are depicted either by themselves or in traditional mythological situations in which they interact with humans and a broad range of minor deities, demi-gods and legendary characters” (Penn 2002).