ITALY & GREECE

                     Archiac and Classical Periods of Greece : Sculpture in comparison

    Art has always played a significant role in Greek history representing their lives, culture and society.

Changes or advancements were seen  in sculpture during the Archiac and Classical periods as Greek culture

and society developed. Sculpture was one aspect of Greek art that seemed to play a profound role in their

art and representation of Greek society.Sculpture developed with the time period's development advancing

as society and culture advanced. This advancement is seen with the sculpture starting out in the archiac

period as rigid and lack of individual expression to becoming much advanced with detail, movement and a

certain type of facial expression that dominated the Classical period.

   The Archiac period which dated around 700-480 BCE began a period of Greek society which politically

 organized city-states called Polis. Society was going through restructuring for social classes to coexist

because of how complex society had become.  A legal system developed to organize this complex society

 which became the origins of democracy. As the Greek city-states spread throughout the Mediterranean and

beyond, trading posts were set up and Greek city-states became in contact with other cultures and trading of

various items including tools. The Greeks had contact with many ideas and tools from other cultures which

appeared in their art, specifically sculpture. The archiac sculpture appears to have a rigid gometrical quality

similar to Egyptian style of art. The muscles are tense, facial expressions are frozen with a certain smile on

their face. A frontal pose along withthe left foot extended forwardwas also prominantly seen durng this

time. The sculpture was a basic human figure dividing the human body into proportional geometric entities.

Due to trade and what the Greeks had access to, they mainly worked with "point" chisels, punches and stone

abrasives to create sculptures. As a result of this technique and the tools used, it didn't allow for much

flexibility with poses or details. Also, a significant distinction with this period's sculpture was that the marble

had an opaque appearance even though marble was more of a translucent material. This was due to the

repeated blows of the chisel they had to use during this time period.

  An examples of this type of sculptures during the archiac period  was seen in the National Archeological

Museum in Athens. The Kouros statues dominate this period. They represented the culture of the people

during this time period with state representatives, religious decorations, and the deceased.  One example was

Sounion Kouros found in the temple of Poseidon at Sounion. This figure is again seen in very basic rigid form

with the left foot forward. It is a prime representation of this period.The facial expression is not individualized

and has a certain smile that is seen in many facial expressions of the time period. The body is not quite

proportional or the muscle structure seen as in reality. The human figure is just a representation of a likeness

of the human body not how the human body actually is seen. For example, the lower extemeties and the knee

caps are over exagerated and large compared to the torso.This figure basically represents the Greek thinking

during this time period which was not as factual and logical as the Classical period which would soon would

change the Greeks way of thinking.

    The Classical period was a period of Greek maturity in art between 480-323 BCE. The Classical period

was a period of alliance and war between Athens and Sparta that eventually lead to Macedonia as the

dominate power of Greece. This period resulted in significant cultural and scientific achievements.

Democracy became prominant in Athens along with a rational way of exploring and explaining the world

which reflected in Classical Art. The art of the period moved towards naturalistic form along with the way

of thinking moving from "suggesting" the human body to actual "describing" it . Logic became the ruling force

over emotion during this period. Man and  not just a general vague representation of man became the focus.

    The sculpture of the Classical period expressed a significant advance from the rigid Archaic sculpture to

freedom of movement and expression. Figures became more centered around the human figure in a more

idealistic and naturalistic form. Figures also became realistic and movement was incorporated unlike the

Archiac period . This period represented the first time in history that the human body was worthy of being

studied and then represented realistically and immortalized. The facial expresions changed from the archiac

smile to a complete lack of expression in noble men and dieties, however if a barbarian was displayed he

had expression. This was due to the belief that someone who was noble was ruled by logic and not emotion

unlike a barbarian who was ruled by emotion. Movement was another change from the previous period. As

the world became understood as a series of opposing forces which created balance, this concept was

revealed in their sculpture with motion. As the sculpture represented movemnt it also represented balance

with muscle and bone structure. The artists of the Classical period understood the harmony of weight and

balance.
      One example seen at the Athens museum  was the Bronze Zeus of the Classical era. It was a prime

example of the representation of space, balance and movement. His arms ae spread apart as if to be

throwing a thunderbolt.Compared to the Archiac period  his arms are spread far apart instead of close to

sides, his legs are also spread apart as to balance his upper body. The right leg is somewhat straightened

without being rigid in perfect balance with the left leg slightly flexed. His whole body is a complete

representation of the Greeks way of thinking during the Classical period. It represents their thinking of

opposing forces in the universe keep ourwrld in balance. The expression on his face is one of logic and

reason that dominates over emotion compared to the certain smile the Archaic period had. The human body

has attention to muscle structure, proportion and bone structure. Detail is also incorporated into the facil

structure. Detailed attention is payed to his hair and beard. The whole body is flexable and gives the illusion

 of movement  as a body would in reality instead of being rigid and unflexable. The Bronze Zeus in every way

represnts the Classical period.

      Both the Kouros statue of the Archiac period and the Bronze Zeus of the Classical period I think are

prime representations of Greek sosiety and their way of thinking in art form for that specific period. Seeing

both of these statues in real life was an amaizing representation of that period that know still exists in our time

 period. Seeing the actual sculpture of art was quite striking. I especially thought the way that Zeus was

displalyed in the room made him stand out from the rest of the displays and made me feel I had to take a

second look which was quite striking to have a sculpture have that kind of an efffect on someone. These

statues and seeing them in real life was another step back in time to visiting another way of life and thinking

just as so many things were on the trip.