Themes Of 4th Century Material Culture

The common themes of the material culture of the 4th Century that shifted from the earlier 5th Century were driven by innovation. Some of the common themes were a more relaxed, creative, and versatile forms of architecture, sculpture, and painting. These changes mirror the overall changes in Greek society at the time because of the cultural changes that transpired after the Persian War. A 4th century material culture type that had changes was sculpture. Sculptures had relaxed look similar to those from the 5th century, but “gone is the clinging drapery…” (Morris and Powell 386). A famous sculpture named Praxiteles skillfully crafted two renowned sculptures. One of them was of Hermes and Dionysus and the other was of Aphrodite. Praxiteles kept
with the classical theme of the 5th century but added new his own twist to them. According to Morris and Powell, “Praxiteles was famous for giving marble a kind of fluidity, almost a soft focus, as in the smooth junction of Hermes’ torso and hips and soft modeling of his jaw” (388). He also made them less lifelike by giving the statues longer arms and smaller heads but it made them more elegant. His sculpture of Aphrodite, however, broke out of the norm by making her nude. Greek sculptures had always carved women with clothes on. He also carved her to be seen from every angle unlike other sculptures that were meant to be viewed from the front. He was a leader in making nude female sculptures more common.