Study Questions: Biers, Chapter 8: "THE FIFTH CENTURY"

Due: October 24.

ILLUSTRATION: Attic marble relief of a victorious boy athlete, found in the sanctuary of Athena at Sounion. 470-460 BCE. Archaic style at this time developing into the High Classical. It was probably a votive offering. Characterized by simplicity and sober gravity (the Severe Style). "The creation of Greeks who have won self-confidence and ethnic pride by their victories over the Persians, yet are profoundly conscious of the responsibilities of freedom and human weakness in the face of divine power. "

This boy is autostephanoumenos "self-crowning," putting the wreath of victory on his own head. In his short hair, which is bound with a ribbon, are holes by which the now-lost metal wreath was fastened. "The gentle features of his face and the whole attitude of his body express the deep, modest, and thoughtful satisfaction that he feels in recognizing not only human value, but also divine power."

There was blue background color, as evidenced by traces on he left side of the relief. [p. 182 THE HUMAN FIGURE IN EARLY GREEK ART. GREEK MINISTRY OF CULTURE.1987]

1. What was Perikles' position in Athens of the fifth century? What did he have to do with art? How would you write his name in Greek letters? 194, 22.

2. Why did Sparta oppose the Athenian Empire? 195

3. What was (Who were) "The Thirty", and what did they do? 195

4. The first part of fifth century art is called 'transitional' and 'experimental' (195). Why?

5. What characterizes the 'Severe Style'?

6. What characterizes the "high classical" style? (196)

7. Who was Phidias? What did he do? 22, 196, 197, 222, 234-235

8. How does Greek art change in the last quarter of the 5th century? 196

9. What does Biers mean by the "canonical number of columns" when referring to the temple of Zeus at Olympia? That is, what is the classical proportion he speaks of? What does 'canonical' mean, and what does he mean by the 'Doric canon'? 196-97

10. What kind of stone was used for the Zeus Temple at Olympia, and how was it 'dressed up'? What was the subject of its metopes? 196-97

11. Why was the temple of Hephaistos at Athens so well preserved? How was it meant to be viewed? 197-200

12. What Ionic feature was used "to enliven the severity of the Doric order" in the Hephaisteion (198)? Where is it in diagram 8.4?

13. What is the subject of the frieze in the pronaos and opisthodomos of the temple of Hephaistos at Athens? 198.

14. What do the metopes of the Hephaisteion depict?198

15. How might the construction of the Parthenon on the Acropolis have influenced the interior plan of the Temple of Hephaistos at Athens? 198

16. What "hampered" the architects who were planning post-Persian monuments on the Athenian acropolis? 200

17. What had previously stood on the site of the Parthenon? 201-202

18. What was the statue of Athena Parthenos made of?

19. Name two of the "refinements" which the Parthenon contains. 204

20. What uses did the Parthenon have? 201-204

21. Why was the Erechtheion's plan so complex? 204-205

22. In the Bronze Age, what stood in the vicinity of the Erechtheion? 204

23. What was in the Erechtheion? 204-205

24. What was the Propylaia used for? 205-206

25. What kinds of columns did the Erechtheion contain?, and where were they located? 204, and fig. 8.11, 8.12

26. What was the central ramp through the Propylaia used for, and how do we know? 206

27. Why was the south room of the Propylaia truncated? 206

28. What two kinds of columns adorn the Propylaia? Where was each located? 205-207

29. What two kinds of stone were used in the construction of the Propylaia? What was the effect of using different stones? 207

30. What does a Corinthian column capital look like? Where was it first used? 207-209

31. What are two things that are unusual about the temple of Apollo at Bassai? 207-209

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