Fourth Session

Ancient Greece is considered by many historians to be the fundamental foundation of Western civilization. Greek culture vastly influenced the Roman Empire, and its roots traveled to Europe, having an impact on their civilizations. It influenced education, language, politics, philosophy, and of course Art. The Renaissance period was the period that most reflects Greek influence.

Sculpture and architecture is the art medium that most influenced other cultures around the world. Ancient Greek art is sub categorized into three major categories: Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic.

Sculptures were usually made out of stone, marble, or other types of limestone. Statues predominated the sculptures, the bigger ones made of terracotta.
During the archaic period, artists were inspired by the works of Egyptians and Mesopotamians. They imitated carved sculptures from these civilizations, but incorporated their own additions, such as carving a smile into the figurines faces. This small detail is a way of making their figurines more human. The greeks did not produce these sculptures just for display, they represented the human body and form, and were offered to temples. Unlike mesopotamian sculptures, the greeks did not represent one individual with each sculpture, but they depicted human ideals such as beauty, purity, honor, sacrifice, among others.

Greek architecture still persists today as one of the most influential ways of building around the world. Roman architecture is the best example as to how impacting greek architecture was on their own designs. The most famous of greek structures are the columns. These widely used pillars are distinctive and are more or less the greek architecture's signature. There are three types of classic Greek pillars, which are the most important; Doric, ionic, and corinthian. Greek pillars are the most popular type of architectural design.