Hellenistic Period Essay

Hellenistic Period The Hellenistic Period was a new cultural age influence by Alexander the Great. It started after the death of Alexander and ended with the rise of Roman domination. After the death of Alexander the Great, his empire split up into smaller kingdoms and the Romans began to gain power. During this period, Greek ideas and culture was spread, hence the name Hellenic meaning Greek. Greek culture expanded from modest, localized city-states to large, open communities. The art in this period pushed the boundaries of the classical design in architecture, sculpture, and painting. The emphasis on art shifted from religious and naturalist to dramatic human expression. Architecture during the Hellenistic Period became more detailed and
During the Hellenistic Period, styles and techniques of sculpting expanded and evolved making them increasingly suitable for large-scale projects. An example of this large-scale sculpting is the Altar of Zeus. This four-hundred foot long master piece depicts the battle of Zeus and the gods against the giants. Sculpting became much exceedingly theatrical and emotional. Art started to be more out of the box. The Nike of Samothrace shows this. The piece interacts with a fountain making it appear as though it were living and breathing, reflecting the style of sculptures during the Hellenistic Period. The style had a strong presence of emotion. In previous periods, nude art was very common, but not in a sexual representation. However, in the Hellenistic Period artists began to make their pieces sexualized. For example, the Barberini Faun exudes nothing but sensuality. One aspect that sets apart the realism of Hellenistic sculpture, is the abandonment of idealized subjects by creating pieces of poor elder people in the lower social class. Artists began to create art that reflected the true appearance of the period’s changing character and social climate. During this period, artists started to make subjects appear in other ways than just strong in dominant. They started to depict people as sorrowful and frail which was a significant change in sculpture. Sculpture became more emotional and