The Great Cultures and Artwork of Greece and Egypt

Although this will be of no surprise, since through my blogs it is clear that it is my passion, but nonetheless I really enjoyed learning about the Greek Civilization and their ancient art. The other time period and geographical area I loved learning about was the Ancient Egyptian art. I had some knowledge of the subject before of Greek art, but I feel like I learned a lot more in this course and I really enjoyed it!

            To start with Greece, it is obvious why I was drawn to these types of art and that is because of my trip to Greece that I took through the study abroad department here at Central. The background I had in the subject led me to further pursue it and I actually learned a lot more that I was surprised I didn’t know. I really like Greek art because of their monumental structures, which is my favorite feature of Greek art. When you look at the Temple of Apollo (pg. 106) and the Acropolis (pg. 129), you see that both are prime examples of the Greeks ability to form such colossus structures.  It just amazes me that without giant cranes and construction technology they were able to build such heavy and great buildings! Also a side detail the art history of the Temple Apollo is very interesting. I’m not sure if we talked about this in class, but the oracles there were only possible because priests, after being asked a question, would go into the basement where sulfuric steam would pretty much get them high and give them a spiritual feeling, where they would them return with an answer. The sanctuary of Apollo was abandoned after an Earthquake closed the vents that released the fumes, so priests were no longer getting that feeling and thought that the spirits had left. That story was so interesting to me! Learning about the different orders was very cool too; the Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, all three of which are very different and I had never thought about it (pg. 110). The Ancient Greek period not only attracted me because of its monumental structures, but also its sculptures. Although the Kritos boy and other statues were interesting I really enjoyed the statue of Aphrodite (pg. 152) because of its elegance. The Greeks had a great way of representing the human form, whether it was realistic or not. This statue is a great form of drapery, which gives it an elegant feel and her form is different from the Kritos boy. I like how even though she is in a frontal view, she has her head tilting and her body if shifted towards her left leg. This is one of my favorite statues because of both its simplicity and elegance and it really shows that she is the Goddess of Beauty and love.

            The Egyptian period was also one of my favorites to learn about and specifically the Ramses Temples were my favorite. Once again I was attracted to the monumental architecture that I am just so amazed they could build. His four depictions of himself outside his treasury temple are so colossal that I can barely believe it. I have never been there, but after learning about this structure it’s defiantly going on my bucket list! Although the size may give a feeling of intimidation I am just more amazed that they were able to build it so huge! The Pyramids at Giza were also one of my favorite things to learn about and now I know why it is named one of the seven wonders of the world. I also found it interesting to learn what is inside them, I knew that they were tombs but it was fascinating to learn about all of the different shafts and chambers inside.

            Both of these cultures produced memorable pieces of art and many great structures that I really enjoyed learning about. The most interesting thing to me is how these cultures had little technology to assist them in their paintings, sculptures, and monuments and yet they were able to produce things that in my opinion are the greatest pieces of art this world will ever know.