Prehistoric Art Study Guide

There are two pediments on the Parthenon; one on the East side over the Naos (interior room), the other on the West side over the Opisthodomos (back porch). The East pediment shows the birth of Athena. Zeus had eaten Metis, who was pregnant with Athena at the time. She gave birth in Zeus’ stomach and Athena climbed into his head. It hurt so much that Zeus ordered Hephaestus to cut open his head with an axe. Athena then leaped from the wound in full battle armour. On this pediment, Zeus and Athena are portrayed as being the same size, which is unusual as men were seen as superior to women so were portrayed as larger. This is significant because it shows how highly the Athenians thought of their patron goddess; enough to be the equal of the king of the gods. The Athenians chose this myth to be shown on the pediment because it represents how highly Athena is thought of and it is also the story of her birth, which without there would be no Athens. This reflects the social context of the Parthenon because…

This is proof of the Sumerian architectural abilities. The architecture in Mesopotamia are considered to have been contemporary with the founding of the Sumerian cities, but there was some complexity in the architectural design during this Protoliterate period (c. 3400-c. 2900 BC). This is shown in the design of many religious buildings. Typical temples of the Protoliterate period--both the platform type and the type built at ground level--are, however, much more elaborate both in planning and ornament. The interior was decorated with cones sunk into the wall, covered in bronze. Most cities were simple in structure, but the ziggurat was one of the world's first complex architectural structures.

The study of Greek sculpture is a complex relationship of Roman sculpture. And a large number of Roman sculpture, especially in the stone, survives more or less intact, it is often damaged or piecemeal; life-size bronze statues are much more rare, because as most have been recycled for their metal. The

There were many social and economic changes that took place in human development from the Paleolithic through Neolithic periods. First, humans invented agriculture to use in their day to day lives. Next, roles of men and women began to shift. Finally, another change between these two periods had to do with living quarters. Art was affected in all of these changes made during the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic eras.

Stevens, V, Merchant, W, Hampson, M, Bradshaw, G, (2003), HSC Ancient History Macquarie Revision Guide, Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd.

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

The Chauvet Cave, which is located in the southern part of modern day France, is full of Palaeolithic (Paleolithic) paintings created about thirty to thirty-three thousand years ago. The last Ice Age period was estimated to be around one-hundred-and-ten to twelve-thousand years ago, and places this within it. However, it was only discovered about twenty-two years ago in 1994 by a group of “cavers” led by the man himself, Jean-Marie Chauvet. Today, the cave is compelling to many observers as it is described to be loaded with “skillfully executed” charcoal and carved creations including animals such as horses/stallions, deer-like figures, lions, hyenas, owls, panthers, and rhinos.

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.

Greek art took many ideas from Egypt and Mesopotamia however as the years passed they started to develop and create their own unique style. This style was more realistic and natural visually. One of their goals was for the viewer to believe they are seeing a moment standing still in time. You can see this when you compare Kroisos from, Anavysos Greece, and Doryphorus from Pompeii, Italy. These pieces are roughly dated 80 years apart however the difference between the two-forms are so remarkable. This paper will be discussing and addressing the evolution of a more naturalistic art form, from the statue of Kroisos compared to the statue of Doryphorus during the Greek art period. At a first glance of the statues you may not see the dramatic differences between the two however they were both approached in different ways to be created. They have different meanings yet both were created to be more naturalistic than what came before it.

The Eagle-headed Apkallu Guardian Figure is a low relief sculpture from 883-859 B.C. Assyria. Made from gypsum, this sculpture measures approximately 42 1/8 inches tall, 26 inches wide and 1 ½ inches thick. The sculpture is mounted on the wall of the dark, navy-blue painted Antiquities section of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, dimly lit by the luminance of showcase lights. The guardian figure watches over the room as visitors pass through the archway between two exhibits of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. In The Eagle-headed Apkallu Guardian Figure, the artist uses compositional choices, stylistic

The Athenian Acropolis could be considered the most representative of the Greek Acropolis. The Athenian Acropolis is located on the top of a mountain and it was used as a defense and as a site of the main places of worship. The entrance to the Acropolis is a gate called Propylaia performed by the architect Mnesikles. At the front right side of the Propylaia, there is an Ionic building named the Temple of the Athena Nike designed by Kallikrates. A great statue of Athena created by Phidias, was originally stood in the center. To the right of where this sculpture was, there is the Parthenon. The architects that carried out this building were Iktinos and Kallikrates. The Parthenon is a Doric temple, which was designed with slight corrections

There are a number of art and architectural features found in the Athenian Agora, Kerimeikos and the Acropolis. The Agora or market place has a number of buildings such as the Tholos, The Eponymous Heroes and the Strategion. The Kerimeikos or Ceramicus was the potters ' quarter of the city, from which the word "ceramic" is derived, and was also the site of an important cemetery and numerous funerary sculptures erected around the area. The Acropolis had many major buildings, the most prominent of them being the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena Nike. An evaluation of primary and secondary literary sources gives insight into the main purposes of the buildings and the art within such as pottery and sculptures found within the context of these sites. To an extent the art and architecture in these sites reflect the significant cultural practices and beliefs of the ancient Athenians as it gives insight into what they truly valued.

I want to start off by discussing when and where Paleolithic cave paintings originated. During the Paleolithic Era that lasted from 30,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE, the first achievements in human creativity happened. Paleolithic cave paintings demonstrate civilizations early ability to talk to each other and their interpretations of their surroundings. Lascaux Cave is one location where these cave drawings were discovered. The cave is located in Lascaux, France. It has nearly 2,000 drawings that can be divided into three different types: people, geometric signs and animals. Drawings of humans were very rare and when they were compared to the more detailed and life-like images of animals, the human figures seemed meek. When it comes to the animal

(P1) Grecian sculptures developed immensely from the “Severe” style in the period of transition to the Classical period, eventually into the Hellenistic period. With experimentation of drapery and body poses, the sculptures of the men and women, barbarians and gods became overwhelmingly lifelike and exaggerated with emotion and musculature. Examples explored in this essay include the Transition/ “Severe” styled Kritios Boy and the Riace Warriors, the High Classical Caryatids from Erechtheion and Doryphoros, the Fourth Century sculptures of Hermes and Dionysos and Apoxyomenos, and the Hellenistic sculpture Laocoon. (P2)

At Göbekli Tepe, monumental structures, built of stone and T-shaped pillars was found arranged in circles. The pillars are decorated, either with engravings or bas-reliefs, with either various animals or geometric designs (Cremin, 2007). In the oldest