Ancient Greek Culture

There are so many ways in which history has been documented over time all serving as a permanent record of a culture and its people for future generations to have access to and learn from. The study of the visual arts and architecture in a given time period showcase the basic ideas about a group of human beings giving insight into their beliefs and cultural message. These insights are presented with a specific point of view intended by its creator, influenced by its historical experiences. And so, it is the responsibility of the observer to examine pieces of art and architectural structures taking into account the context in which they were produced. By doing so, we can more accurately understand the ideas that are trying to be conveyed. Political,
The Greek population was increasing and with that new ideas emerged. These ideas developed into new styles used by Greek artists as Greece moves into the Classical period. The classical period was at the height of Greek strength and artists began to touch on any topic, be it historical, mythological or religious. The Greeks began to feel positive after they defeated Persians who tried to invade and this led to a sense of powerfulness. The Persians had established one of the most powerful and developed cultural civilizations in history. Being a cultural icon, the fact that the Greeks were able to conquer this territory gave them a sense of intellectual and artistic power. This power transferred into art and drove the movement towards creating the ultimate civilization. A great period in the arts began during the classical period as made evident in the expanding style that was used. A piece of sculpture known as “Hermes with Infant Dionysus by Praxiteles(350BC) touches on the sentiment of Greek interest in mythology and can be used as a piece to measure stylistic changes against. This sculpture addresses that Greek worship of gods as prevalent in the period and represents one of many myths that were communicated. The style of this piece was in keeping with the mindset of its people. It portrayed an ideal, a beauty and perfection that would have been important characteristics of a
Showing perfection becomes less important in later Greek sculpture as the beginning of the Hellenistic era takes hold. In order to put the era in context, this period is following the death of Alexander. This led to an abandonment of Greek restrained style giving artists a freedom to be more dynamic, more expressive, more real and free. This period in art is known as the Hellenistic era. It occurred as Greeks become afraid of the breakdown of Greek city-states. And so they turned to new philosophies that showed in their