Ancient Greece: Arts and Architecture

Ancient Greece 3000 BCE was the start of one great civilization which became known as ancient Greece. Throughout the years there have been many cultures to adopt the many accomplishments that the Greeks have made. This civilization had many accomplishments such as those in art, architecture, sports, government, and education. One accomplishment that the Greeks have made has to do with the art. Arts and architecture had become a way of living for ancient Greece. Because Grecian life was dominated by religion, Greek temples became the first of the Grecian architectural structures. They happened to be the biggest and most detailed temples of any other religion. These structures were built to worship the Olympian gods. The architecture of these temples were amazing. The Greeks built three architectural systems, which were different columns, often called orders. These three orders were called Dorics, Ionics, and Corinthians. The Doric order was a quite plain yet sturdy. It became used as the main system in Greece. You can see this order in the Parthenon which was built around 500 BCE. The Ionic order was thinner and slightly more elaborate than the Doric order. It was mainly found in eastern Greece. This order was built on buildings such as the Erechtheum. The Erechtheum was built between 421 and 405 BCE. The last order, which was the Corinthians order, was seldomly used in Greek temples. This order was far more elaborate than the other two. It was designed with different leaves on top of it. Although rarely used by the Greeks it can still be found in the temple of Apollo at Bassae which was built around 420 BCE. Greek art has had one of the most profound effects on art throughout the years. Greek art really started to come alive during the “golden age,” which was between 480 through 323 BCE. Art during this period became known as Classical Art. This time was the turning point for Grecian art in which the most exquisite sculptures of Greece known today came into

Bibliography: Cartledge, Paul. “The Democractic Experiment” (05-11-2009): http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/greeks/greekdemocracy_01.shtml Upshur, Jiu-Hwa l., Janice J. Terry, James P Holoka, Richard D. Goff, George H. Cassar. World History. California: Wadsworth 2005 Chapter 3 p.106-122 Pearson, Anne. Ancient Greece. Dorling Kindersley, 1992