Aegean art
Encyclopedia
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
that was created in the Grecian
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
lands surrounding, and the islands within, the Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
.
Included in the category Aegean art is Mycenaean
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...
art, famous for its gold masks, war faring imagery and sturdy architecture consisting of citadels on hills with walls up to 20 feet thick and tunnels into the bedrock, the art of the Cyclades
Cycladic art
Cycladic art encompasses the visual art of the ancient Cycladic civilization, which flourished in the islands of the Aegean Sea from 3300 - 2000 BCE. Along with the Minoans and Mycenaeans, the Cycladic people are counted among the three major Aegean cultures...
, famous for its simple "Venus" figurines carved in white marble, and Minoan
Minoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
art which is famous for its animal imagery, images of harvest, and light, breezy, unwarlike architecture which is almost the antithesis of the Mycenaean art. Taking all this into account, the term "Aegean Art" is thought of as contrived among many art historians because it includes the widely varying art of very different cultures that happened to be in the same area around the same period.
In the Bronze Age, about 2800–1100 BC, despite cultural interchange by way of trade with the contemporaneous civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the Aegean cultures developed their own highly distinctive styles.
The elegant art of the Aegean figurines has recently been used at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
,held at Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
; specifically, during the opening ceremony and as the original idea behind the games mascots: Athina and Fivos.
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
s (e.g. in Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
's works).
Mycenaean Art
Mycenaean art is most prominently dated between 1600 ans 1100 B.C.during the Late Helladic period of Greece. The Mycenean art is named after the inhabitants of MycenaeMycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
descending from early Greek tribes of 2000 B.C.
Architecture
Mycenaean palaces were generally placed on hilltops surrounded by defensive walls constructed of large stone blocks. The Lion GateLion Gate
The Lion Gate was the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae, southern Greece. It was erected during the 13th century BC in the northwest side of the acropolis and is named after the relief sculpture of two lionesses in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance...
is one of the few remaining structures of Mycenaean architecture inspiring later Greek cultures. Gates such as the latter functioned as guardians of the gate. At the center of the palaces were royal audience halls called the Megaron
Megaron
The megaron is the great hall of the Grecian palace complexes. It was a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch, and a more or less central, open hearth vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by four columns. It is the architectural predecessor of the...
defined by a round hearth in the center and four columns supporting its roof. Structures always featured roofs of fired tiles.
Sculpture
Sculpture of the Mycenaean era was most commonly found in royal palaces. Shrines for gods were the most common sculpture type. Figures were richly curved portraying a sense of flexibility in movement.Cycladic Art
Cycladic artCycladic art
Cycladic art encompasses the visual art of the ancient Cycladic civilization, which flourished in the islands of the Aegean Sea from 3300 - 2000 BCE. Along with the Minoans and Mycenaeans, the Cycladic people are counted among the three major Aegean cultures...
originates between 2600 and 1100 B.C. Those that inhabited the Cycladic Islands during this time period left very little trace of their existance apart from their stone tombs. Cycladic art includes a large number of marble idols, almost all representing an upright standing nude figure, most commonly female and with arms folded across chest. The female figure is thought to represent the mother and fertility goddess. Cycladic nude figurines are fairly primitive yet distinctive to the area. They are defined by very flat, wedge shaped bodies, columnar necks and oval featureless faces apart from well defined noses. Figures have very subtle curves and subtle markings of knees and abdomen.
Minoan Art
MinoanMinoan
Minoan may refer to the following:*The Minoan civilization**The Eteocretan language**The script known as Linear A**Minoan pottery*Minoa, name of several bronze-age settlements in the Aegean....
civilization is defined by a lack of continuity, growth and development cannot be thought of as the civilization disappears and reappears very abruptly of which not much is known about. Minoan art is very playful, and displays rhythm and motion.
Architecture
Minoan civilization is known for constructing several large and great palaces, most commonly Knossos, Phaistos, and Mallia which were destroyed around 1700 B.C. and rebuilt and then suffered some destruction again around 1500 B.C. The "new" palaces are the main source of information on Minoan architecture. The palace of Knossos called the Palace of Minos is the most elaborate and ambitious of the three. It is characterized by a vast number of rooms over a large amount of land. It has currently been excavated and partially restored.Minoan architecture is defined by its numerous porticoes, staircases, storerooms, workshops, and air shafts that would have provided the structure with an open feeling. Interior rooms are typically small with low ceilings, but have richly decorated walls. Although none have survived, by depiction in painting and sculpture it is known that columns in the Minoan palaces were constructed of wood.
Minoan architecture are thought to be a place of not only royal residence but the administrative center and commercial activity.