Three periods of ancient Greek sculpture

Ancient Greek sculpture can be divided into three periods: classical period, classical period and Hellenistic period.

1, archaic period:

From the 8th century to the 6th century BC, great changes took place in Greek society, the power of tribal leaders completely disappeared, primitive communes collapsed, slavery was formed in Greece, and slave city-states began to be established.

Due to the barren land, the contradiction between the city-states became increasingly acute, leading to maritime expansion and colonial rule. These two aspects influence and promote each other, making Greece a powerful force in the Mediterranean world politically and economically.

In Homer's time, sculpture was just a few figurines.

The first page of the real history of ancient Greek sculpture should start from ancient times. Because the most prominent human sculpture in ancient Greece laid the foundation in this period.

2, the classical period:

The Greek-Persian war, which lasted for half a century, ended in the victory of Greece. In the Greek-Persian War, Athens was the leader of the Greek city-state. Although the city was destroyed by the war, the wealth gained by the victory of the war made the Greek economy prosperous.

As the leader of the city-state, Athens developed its power as the overlord, practiced democratic politics at home, and gave people more prosperity and freedom, thus making Athens the most beautiful and prosperous city in Europe at that time, and also making Athens enter a "new era of Perikles's prosperity" from the middle of the 5th century BC.

3. Hellenistic period:

Hellenistic period generally refers to 334-30 BC, also known as Hellenistic period. This period lasted more than 300 years, from Alexander, king of Macedonia, to the eastward expedition to Persia in 334 BC, and then to the demise of the Ptolemy dynasty in Egypt in 30 BC.

The king of Macedonia fought with Greece in the south, which made the empire spread across Europe, Asia and Africa, and became the heyday of Greece. King Alexander, who advocated culture and art, spread Greek art widely to the East, and absorbed nutrition from the ancient oriental culture, so that the eastern and western cultures began to exchange and merge, which promoted the new development of civilization.

With the disintegration of the city-state, politics, religion and art gradually lost their seriousness and citizenship. Art began to become a means to satisfy a few aristocratic rulers to show off themselves, enjoy themselves and whitewash reality. This lowers the position of God in art, and people and their lives appear more in artistic themes.

Extended data:

History of ancient Greek sculpture;

1, Aegean civilization period (3 1 century-BC13rd century BC);

Aegean civilization is the source of ancient Greek art, and the achievements in sculpture are reflected in handicraft products. Homer's epic describes Mycenae as "rich in gold", indicating that there were very rich gold and silver handicrafts at that time. Craft products are mainly wine glasses and masks, which are highly decorative. Mycenae incorporated animal sculptures into wine vessels (pigeon glasses, lion's head glasses, etc.). ), formed a unique artistic style.

Although the Aegean civilization came first from Egypt and then from Greece, it was not the medium of communication between them. Aegean art has strong national characteristics and is closely related to people's daily life, with a relaxed, natural, cordial and harmonious atmosphere. With the Dorian invasion in the13rd century, the Aegean civilization died out.

2. Homer period (BC12nd century-8th century BC):

Dorians launched the Trojan War to invade Greece, and Crete and Mycenae became extinct. Greek civilization has been broken for hundreds of years, and social productivity has decreased, which is called "dark period". The artistic achievements of this period are Homer's epics-Iliad and Odyssey.

A large number of Greek myths and legends in Homer's epic pointed out the direction for the future Greek art and provided a lot of materials, which was the origin of Greek art. The plastic arts in this period were in its infancy, and the sculptures were all figurines.

3. Antique period (7th century BC-6th century BC):

When Dorians invaded Greece, they brought iron. By the end of Homer, ironware had been widely used, productivity gradually developed, private property was produced, class differentiation was obvious, and city-states were established one after another. With the continuous development of politics and economy, plastic arts have also made considerable achievements.

Ancient sculptures have been basically in line with the proportion of the human body, with muscle texture, mostly maintaining a positive static posture, simple and simple style. The faces of portrait sculptures all keep roughly the same smile, which is the so-called "antique smile".

4, the transition period (the first half of the 5th century BC):

In the 5th century BC, the Persian Empire launched the Greek-Persian War (Marathon Campaign) and invaded Greece, which ended in failure. After the Greek-Persian War, the theme of praising heroes appeared in Greek art, and people's patriotism was enhanced.

Sculpture style has changed from simple and rigid in ancient times to rich and dynamic, from standing motionless on the front in ancient times to various postures, and works depicting war or intense sports have appeared. Sculpture technology tends to be mature, the structure is prominent, the proportion is balanced, and the body has obvious lumps, so the study of human body has entered a deeper level.

5, the classical period (5th century BC-4th century BC):

After the Greek-Persian War, Greece's politics and economy continued to develop, and it was the king of foreign countries, and its internal democratic society was very prosperous, which was called the "Pericles era". Sculpture began to approach the perfect human body, and the artistic achievement reached its peak during this period. The three great sculptors in ancient Greece: Miron, Pheidias and Paulik Cyrus all belonged to this period.

6. Hellenistic period (end of 4th century BC-BC 1 century):

During the Hellenistic period, the polis collapsed, and the sculpture lost its seriousness and citizenship, and became a tool used by hegemonic nobles to brag, show off and entertain themselves.

Macedonians established the Alexander Empire, spread Greek culture to Asian and African countries, and the ancient oriental civilization blended with Greek art. The sculptures in this period showed various styles, including laocoon and Venus de Milos.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Ancient Greek Sculpture