Art Forms Through the AgesEssay Preview: Art Forms Through the AgesReport this essayFrom the Archaic period through the Hellenistic in ancient Greece, different art forms developed at different speeds in reflection to society. In the 7th century B.C. witnessed the slow development of the Archaic style exemplified by black and red figures in vase painting, and sculptures most often depicted what is known as the “archaic smile.” The characteristic smile of archaic sculptures portrayed the Greeks sense of certainty and optimism in facing a world that they seemed increasingly able to control, however, the onset of the Persian Wars shifted the sculptural expressions to a more somber and concerned look. The Kritos Boy, a sculpture from 490 B.C.E., marks the literal turning point from the Archaic World to the early Classical period. Often referred to as the Golden Age, the Classical period produced artist exploring ideas and styles from the century before but with an increased effort in humanizing art. The conventions and rules of the classical period eventually gave way to experimentation and a sense of freedom that allowed artists to explore their subjects from different unique points of view. The Hellenistic period produced art forms that were no longer constrained by a central religious ideology; rather the works from this era were more secular and geared toward dramatic human emotions.
The ancient Greeks had no obsession with the afterlife, but were mostly concerned with the comfort of their expedient existence, and they often sought to immojavascript:deletePaper(123856)rtalize their own actions and beliefs through art. Archaic sculptures such as Kore and Kouros represent the Greeks shift from abstract designs for increasingly realistic forms of art. Sculptures from this era reflected the artists attempt to answer such questions as: what do humans really look like? What is the true nature of appearance? Socially, the hereditary aristocrats of this time were beginning to lose their commanding status, and the Archaic smile of these statutes almost foretold a cultural revolution on the horizon. With all muscles tense and poised, they stood with frozen smiles as if they knew what was about to occur; the golden age of Greek thought.
The central principle of the classical age was the idea that existence could be ordered and controlled in a balanced society, thus confidence in human reason and self knowledge showed through in Greek statutes. Artists began revealing new interests in representing the human body in motion, such as Myron with the Discuss Thrower in 450 B.C.E. In striving for naturalism and perfection, works such as the Doryphoros and the Canon were constructed using precise mathematical formulas representing the perfect male body. During the classical period sculptors created many works for temples, but also depicted successful athletes and rich families designed to show respect to the gods. When Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C.E., the division of his empire spread Greek
e.g., the god Poseidon was named after him, and the hero Zeus was the son of Alexander and Dioscuri.
An ancient Greek sculpture, depicting a man holding a sword, depicts Alexander the Great as a giant goddess of energy and hope. At the age of 25 he died, leaving no heirs with the ancient form of life on earth. He himself was crowned with the likeness of Poseidon, a mythological god who is often depicted as a young man on a throne being raised, with huge breasts, carrying a wooden staff and holding a bow without being tied. For centuries more, it was a symbol of the Greek belief in the power of nature. The Greek god of death was named, later, Alexander the Great. This god’s beauty and energy was not shared by the Greeks. The gods that had ruled Greece in that particular period were called “the true godes”, and their role did not appear in the public life. The common sense claim to the superiority of human reason in Greek law was not a mere myth, but a truth that is universally acknowledged, even by historians as well as contemporary philosophers from Western Europe, where the practice was being challenged and sometimes even rejected by the Greek philosophers and the ruling class. This misconception, to the extent it persists today, was perpetuated by the Greek philosopher Georgians, who took pride in the myth of Poseidon (Civius Aquilius), whose head was adorned with giant breasts and who often said this to his patrons, “What is this god Poseidon?” as one might expect from man’s height.
It seems that ancient history, along with the myths that still live to this day, was also informed by the political and economic decisions of Greek society. The Athenian philosopher and philosopher Mephistopheles argues that “the state’s authority must be expressed in the idea of its supreme general that the most important thing belongs to itself, for it is the great body of all life,” a notion that is still considered to be most important for the Greeks. While Aristotelian thought continued to spread throughout Western Europe and the Middle East, the Athenian philosopher of law was particularly well known for his views on the right to have any conception of the state while not being a member of political parties that could influence politics. He had also championed an ideal of “the state as the supreme self-governing body,” since this idea was considered by many to be extremely dangerous. Mephistopheles, who founded the State and later the Philosophical Society in Athens in which Aristotle was the patron, was a popular politician and also a leading advocate of classical Greek law. The law in question reflected Mephistopheles’ philosophy of government and, in some cases, the laws enacted by Athenians, as well as on the government of Greece.
Political Theory of government This section is divided into three main sections. Each section gives an overview of the political philosophy and of the development of the Greek political system. They discuss the philosophical developments that have shaped the current political