Research and Describe The Influence Of Art In Ancient Greece (Essay Sample)

ART IN ANCIENT GREECE
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The period of Golden Age is regarded as one of the important periods in Greece. This is because of the abundant effects it had on Western Civilization. One of the influence it had is on art. It would be hard to overstate the essentiality of ancient Greece in the history and impact of the West. This is because even that which people consider “modern” had its roots in the Golden Age. This includes such things as democracy, science, philosophy, literature and art. The Golden Age in Greece, therefore, serves nonetheless an influential turning point in the development of Western Civilization. The reasons to why I found this topic better than the others is because of the various forms of art that are prevalent with Greek. This paper will focus on the role of Golden Age in Greece and the dominating cultural activity.
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey can be used to provide an excellent insight into early Greek. Homer depicted the values and importance of Greek civilization in their bold form CITATION Tho07 \l 1033 (Noble, 2007). For instance, a citizen who embraced virtue would end up in the development of a virtuous city state. The path leading to virtue was hard to follow but the Golden Age made the quest for virtue a quest unique to human beings. Art was considered a key determiner in the behavior of a person. The Golden Age of Greece especially Athens saw significant achievement made in Attic vase painting. In fact, the red-figured technique became more preferred than the black-figure technique and remarkable strides were made in portraying human body, naked or clothed, in motion or at rest. Works of acclaimed vase painters such as Kleophrades, Makron, Dourin and the Berlin Painter reveal exquisitely rendered details.
Even though the Hellenistic world that seemed more than a collection of semi-independent city states, there are two of the poleis which deserve special attention to date. The Spartans moulded a society that was led by a dual monarchy. This dual monarchy was organized for war. As a result, the inhabitants of the Attic Peninsula came up with a democratic form of government that allowed for the participation of every citizen. In fact, this is regarded as the source of democracy in the Western world. This kind of democracy gave rise to a powerful state which was able to defend itself from the enemies and also engage in supremacy battles with states such as Athens. In the war between Sparta and Athens, Sparta emerged victorious and was regarded the hegemonic force and harbor of power in the Hellenic world.
Despite the fact that the fifth century was dominated by war from the beginning to the end, it is still considered part of the Golden Age. The Golden Age saw the rise of cities such as Athens and Sparta CITATION Ant16 \l 1033 (Everitt, 2016). During this period, the city of Athens was rebuilt by Pericles. At the same time, Sophocles and Euripides who were Greek dramatists developed tragedy which is a literary form. The sophists also loitered in the streets “selling” their wisdom. Socrates was regarded the father of misbelief due to his behavior of questioning everything. Before being sentenced to death for this character trait, he urged the subsequent generations to wary of everything for “the unexamined life is not worth living” CITATION Vol17 \l 1033 (Voltaire, 2017). In fact, it is this nature and the belief of questioning that gave rise to philosophy as a subject in the western civilization.
Greek artists of the fourth and fifth centuries B.C. developed a state of representation that conveyed a vitality of life as well as a greater sense of clarity, permanence, and harmony. One of the most remembered is Polykleitos of Argoswas who as particularly famous for formulating a system of proportions that reflected this artistic effect and gave a leeway to others to reproduce it. Even though one of his very acclaimed work, the Canon, is now lost, the Diadoumenos, one of his most important sculptural works, has survived in numerous ancient marble copies. Most of these are in Bronze which is valued because of its tensile strength as well as its lustrous beauty making it a better preference to other metals.
The high point of Classical expression did not continue for long and was forged during the Persian Wars (490–479 B.C.) CITATION Ant16 \l 1033 (Everitt, 2016). this continued even after the Peloponnesian War (431–404 B.C.) between Athens and a league of allied city-states led by Sparta. During this war which continued for more than 30 years, Athens suffered irreparable damage which cost it a lot in terms of development and social, economic and political stability. To add on to this misery, Athens suffered a devastating plague that lasted for over four years. Even though Athens as a city lost its primacy, its artistic significance continued uninterrupted during the fourth century B.C. The elegance and beauty of the calligraphic style of late fifth century sculpture was followed by a sober grandeur in many grave monuments and free standing statues. Among the most celebrated sculptures of this time and the statues of antiquity was the nude Aphrodite of Knidos made by Praxiteles who was an Athenian sculptor.
The effect of Praxiteles cre...