ancient art history

Greek Art in Ancient Greece and Faraway Lands

The classical period of Greece (490 - 323 B .C ) saw the artists perfecting their style . Following Alexander 's conquests , ancient Greece entered the Hellenistic period (323 - 31 B .C ( Timeline of Ancient Greece . Of course , Alexander the Great was not the only god of the ancient Greek civilization . Ancient Greeks worshipped plenty of gods that were believed to have appeared to them in human form with extraordinary strength and beauty ( Culture

Professor Harris describes Euhemerus as the philosopher responsible for presenting Greek myths

as simple stories to his readers . Euhemerus interpretation of Greek mythology was considered radical in his times It was he who wrote that Greek gods and goddesses were human beings to begin with . Because of their extraordinary feats or the cultural and /or social value that they added to life in ancient Greece , their ordinary humanity was turned into godhood in the minds of ancient Greeks (Harris . Thus , ancient Greek gods and goddesses were portrayed in painted scenes on stone , vases , and also with bronze and terracotta sculptures for the sake of remembrance . Although many of the ancient Greek temples honored multiple gods and goddesses , certain places showed greater reverence to a sole deity or a pair of gods , e .g . Olympia 's Zeus , and Eleusis ' Demeter and Persephone ( Culture

For reasons described above , the ancient Greeks downplayed the divine aspects of their gods by giving them a typically human form , as the example of the Torso of Apollo...