Unit 2: The Classical Civilizations of Greece and Rome
6. Bronze Age Greece and the Origins of Archaic Culture
Mycenae - Lion Gate - Homer - The Iliad - Agamemnon - Achilles - Helen - Menelaus - Trojan War - Paris - Priam - Troy - Arete - wanax - basileus - Hisarlik - Schilemann - The hoplite revolution - Arthur Evans - Crete - Knossus - Palace at Knossus - Snake Goddess - Minoan frescoes - The Minoans - Thalossocracy - Linear A - Linear B - Martin Bernal - Black Athena - Heracles - Delphi - Pythia - Olympics - Zeus - Byzantium - Ionian colonies - Dorian Invasion - Greek Dark Ages
7. Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Era
Alexander - Philip of Macedon - Gaugamela - Granicus River - Issus - Wedding Feast of Susa - Persepolis - Darius III - Babylon - Indus River - proskynesis - Aechaean League - Aetolian League - Ptolemaic monarchy - Seleucid monarchy - Pergamene - Hellenistic world - Archimedes - Alexandria - Cynicism - Stoicism - Epicureanism - Diogenes the Dog - Zeno - Epicurus
8. The Civilization of Rome Through the Julio-Claudians
Etruscans - Romulus and Remus - Aeneas - Noble Roman Virtues - Roman Republic - consuls - Roman Senate - Patricians - Plebians - Hortensian Laws - Sexto-Licinian Laws - Tribuante - Pyrrhic Wars - Pyrrhic Victory - Battle of Heraclea - Punic Wars - Hannibal - Carthage and the Phoenicians - Scipio Africanus - Battle of Zama - Battle of Canae - Battle of Lake Tresimene - Latifunda - Tiberius Gracchus - Gaius Gracchus - Marius - Sulla - Julius Caesar - Pompey - Vercengetorix - Gauls - Siege of Alesia - Cleopatra - Ptolemy - Crassus - Octavian, Octavius, Augustus - Battle of Actium - Pax Romana - Julio/Claudian emperors - Tiberius - Caligula - Nero - Claudius - Vespasian - Virgil - Livy
9. Rome from the Julio-Claudians Through its Collapse
Diocletian - Tetrarchy - Constantine - Battle of Milvian Bridge - Edict of Milan - St. Helena - Donatist heresy - Council of Nicaea - Arian heresy - Nicene Creed - Caesaropapism - Theodosian Code - Barbarian migrations - Visigoths - Vandals - Lombards - Franks - Battle of Adrianople - Ostrogoths - Romulus Augustulus - St. Augustine of Hippo - Edward Gibbon - Henri Pirenne
Unit 2: Focus Readings
Minoan Frescoes
Minoan culture was very artistic. The palace itslef was originally painted in bright red and other colors. many columns still have traces of their original paint. Many of the frescoes on the palace wall convey the relationship of the Minoans with the sea, such as the beautiful dolphin frescoes, which Arthur Evans mistakenly placed on the walls rather than on the floors, where they appear in remains on the mainland. The Minoans had a large seafaring empire, and contact with many other cultures. They exerted tremendous influence over other cultures through trade. Although scholars debate the extent of their power over other areas through searfaring trade, this sort of control of seafaring routes and areas has been called a thalossocracy. Archaeologists have found artifacts from Egypt and other cultures in the ruins of the palace. Interestingly, later Greeks on the mainland associated the dolphin with Apollo, and Greek myth credits the Minoans with bringing the cult of Apollo to the famous oracle at Delphi. This myth, along with the stroy of Theseus, suggested to Evans, wrongly as it turned out, that the Minoans might have controlled the mainland at one point. We now know the Minoans were dominant in the region through trade, but never governed the mainland. Rather the Mycenaeans brought Minoan culture to the mainland.
The Tholos Beehive Tombs
Other nearby tombs are also remarkable, and are known as the Tholos or beehive tombs. The culture that produced them is known as the Tholos tomb dynasty. The entrance, or dromos, to one of these famous tombs is twenty feet wide and one hundred and twenty feet long; the stone lintel over the so-called Treasury of Atreus is estimated to weigh 100 tons. The Tholos Dynasty was also quite definitely an imperial, warlike culture; apparently, they buried their warriors in these tombs. These tombs are a remarkable early western example of the use of the dome.
These tombs date from the fourteenth to the thirteenth century BCE, which coincides with the date of the legendary Atreus, after whom the "treasury" is named.
These tombs date from the fourteenth to the thirteenth century BCE, which coincides with the date of the legendary Atreus, after whom the "treasury" is named.
The Persian Treasury in Persepolis
Alexander also traveled to Persepolis, the second Persian capital. Here Alexander took the Persian treasury; the silver coins from Persepolis created wild inflation as Alexander's forces dumped them on the ancient world. In a drunken fit of rage, Alexander also burned the famous Persian capital. Alexander might have been trained in philosophy, but his oversized personality included the full ranges of unrestrained emotion. Alexander often exhibited ferocious fits of temper juxtaposed with the humane treatment of those he conquerer. The destruction of Persepolis, however, was in part motivated by a desire for revenge against the Persians, who had earlier burned the Athenian acropolis, but also by the fact that Persepolis was the symbol of teh Persian monarchy and the center of many rituals surrounding it. The obliteration of Persepolis signaled the end of Persian rule.
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. This huge bronze statue illustrated the extent of creativity during the Hellenistic period. It collapsed after only a few decades, as its legs were not large enough to sustain its massive weight. Scholars debate whether the colossus actually straddled the harbor of Rhodes, which would have been almost impossible from the technological point of view, or stood on the shore, the more likely alternative. Although the Colossus is justifiably famous, the technology for it was essentially borrowed from Phidias, and his enormous statue of Zeus in Olympia.
Augustus and the Arts
Augustus was a master of propaganda, and Rome entered its silver age of culture with such authors as Virgil. In the Aeneid, Virgil painted the Trojans as the legendary founders of Rome, and Augustus as the direct heir of Aeneas and Romulus. Livy, a historian, wrote a multi-volume history of Rome in which he glorified the age of Augustus as the highpoint of Roman history. Livy justified the Augustan transition from Republic to empire by arguing that since the time of Romulus, Rome ruled with a mandate from gods.
Augustus also made use of the visual arts to promote his image, such as in his mausoleum modeled after the fourth-century BCE tomb of Mausolus, located at Halicarnassus in Caria in southwestern Asia Minor. The Tomb at Halicarnassus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. His autobiogrphy, "The Achievements of the Divine Augustus," was inscribed on two bronze tables outside the Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome. Although he denied taking power that was not offered him freely and repeatedly stressed that he refused the title of emperor, Augustus's prescence in the visual arts and in the political arena make clear that he was an emperor in fact. His autobiography is the only first person narrative of an emperor's career.
Augustus also made use of the visual arts to promote his image, such as in his mausoleum modeled after the fourth-century BCE tomb of Mausolus, located at Halicarnassus in Caria in southwestern Asia Minor. The Tomb at Halicarnassus was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. His autobiogrphy, "The Achievements of the Divine Augustus," was inscribed on two bronze tables outside the Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome. Although he denied taking power that was not offered him freely and repeatedly stressed that he refused the title of emperor, Augustus's prescence in the visual arts and in the political arena make clear that he was an emperor in fact. His autobiography is the only first person narrative of an emperor's career.
St. Helena
Some of the most important events in early Christianity occurred during Constantine's reign. His mother, Helena, made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and is credited with discovering the location of Golgotha and the fragments of the true cross. She is also credited with founding several churches on holy sites, including a church near the grotto of the nativity in Bethlehem and one on the Mount of the Ascension. Whether Helena became Christian because of her son's influence or was one before he converted is open to debate. Helena was commemorated in several special coins issued during the reign of Constantine. She made her pilgrimages, however, with the intent of doing penance for some of her son's deeds, which involved killing members of his own family, including his wife Fausta.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Before answering the questions below, be sure to understand the readings by defining unknown words, researching allusions, and using prior knowledge to make connections with the broader strokes of history. This set of excerpts can be used for further study of the Art as a Reflection lecture at http://demott.weebly.com/art-as-reflection-lecture.html.
1. Explain the underlined passages. If necessary, supply an additional example in your explanation.
2. What was consistent with all of the artwork mentioned in these excerpts?
3. What are the similarities and differences regarding the use of art as a political or religious tool?
2. What was consistent with all of the artwork mentioned in these excerpts?
3. What are the similarities and differences regarding the use of art as a political or religious tool?