G154

Attica

#12

Attica #12


Attica in 6 BCE

2nd half of century rule by Peisistratos and sons

  • took power by force but popular rule

  • roads to outlying city embellished with public monuments

  • At least one major temple: Akropolis, sanctuary for Athena

  • Greater Dionysia: festival of Dionysus, competition of tragic chorus

  • Greater Panathenaia: recital of Homer

  • 510 BC overthrown, but Athens became a center

Symposium

  • symposiarch: master of the event, lay down rule and order, decide number of Krater to drink, decide ratio of water and wine

  • Krater: mixing bowl

  • Water to wine Ratios, 3:1 5:3 3:2

Athenaeus:

Drink with me, play music with me, love with me, wear a crown with me, be mad with me when I am mad and wise with me when I am wise.

Before and after 500 BC: artists began to favor athletic scenes: permit depiction of nude body in greater variety of poses.

Colmar painter: circle influenced by Euphronios and Onesimos

67442 terracotta hydria: kalpis 

  • kalpis: water jar

/ what are the dotted leaves represent? Sexual implication?

phiale

  • libation bowl

  • First wine from Krater is dipped out in a phiale and offer to gods

/ Attic (from Geometry 8th to 6th) seem like to draw figures with long feet, exaggerated muscle by making ankles super skinny

psykter

  • vase for cooling wine

  • Dolphin would seem to leap and dive as psykter bob in cold water inside a larger krater 

Stamnos 

  • jar typically with lid

  • Occasionally included in depiction of symposium, thus indicate that stamnos hold wine

961851 stamnos

/ bigger feet indicate more importance? Dionysius has the biggest

1660 Hydria

Red figure technique introduced around 530BC 

911463

  • phalanx: army formation

? Shield pattern: human leg, like Isle of Man?

172308

  • Soldier bidding farewell is a popular vase painting theme

Funerary Monument

Attic Stele development

  1. 580-530 tall shaft, separately carved capital, usually protective sphinx (earlier ones have cavetto captical, concave sides)

  2. End of century, shaft decorated with painted image, carved in one piece with volute-and-palmette finial 

subject of Ajax carrying Achilles body was popular in 6th BC

  • Iliad ended with him Alice, but other epic poem describe his death at the gates of Troy

Kouros

/ follow the painted principle of big butt, 胯部 triangular lines, nose straight from forehead

Amasis Painter

  • Kerameikos: potter quarter, developed black figure by mid 6

  • 560-515 Amasis, could both be the painter and potter; Greek form of an Egyptian name

  • Figure painted in profile with little overlap, nude youth stand proudly one leg advanced like Kouros

/ muscle and ankle, feet not so exaggerated

06102169 amphora 

Two similar but very different scenes 

56111 lekythos

  • earliest and most complete representation of Attic wedding 

/ very detail representation of architecture at the time

5617110

/ seems like Amasis like to do small variations between scenes on two sides of amphora

  • arming himself in one and in full panoply in the other

Boustrophedon (ox turning)

End of 6th, inscription were sometimes written in alternative directions

  • Phoenician right to left 

  • Greek borrowed the alphabet but found left to right to be more convenient

  • Like ox turn with the ploughing at the end of each furrow

Oil flask is associated with athletes

  • aryballos suspend from artist, oil was used as a cleanser after exercise 

Sphinx: lion body human heads, known in many forms across Eastern Mediterranean from Bronze Age onward.

  • Greek depict as winged female, often place on stele as guardian of the dead 

Previous
Previous

G155

Next
Next

G152