“The Aegean world is a very beautiful one. The Islands rise out of the sea like jewels sparkling in the sunshine. It is a world associated with spring, of “fresh new grass and dewey lotus, and crocus and hyacinth,”[1] a land where the gods were born, one rich in legend and myth and fairy tale,…
Category: Ancient Greece
The Art of Classical Greece (ca. 480–323 B.C.) – The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Terracotta amphora (jar) ca. 490 B.C. Attributed to the Berlin Painter “This work is a masterpiece of Greek vase-painting because it brings together many features of Athenian culture in an artistic expression of the highest quality. The shape itself is central to the effect. Through the symmetry, scale, and luminously glossy glaze on the obverse, it offers a…
Contrapasto: A Gift from the Ancient Greeks
Before the era of Ancient Greece, artists and artisans depicted the human figure as a straight and rigid form. The Ancient Greeks discovered that the more natural, the more human way, to depict the figure is that presented in Contrapposto. In simplistic terms, a figure standing in Contrapposto will place his weight on only one…
Neoclassisism and the Classical Ideal
In terms of art history, the Classical Period of Art was Created During the Eras of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Marble statue of Aphrodite 1st or 2nd century A.D. Roman – Copy of a Greek statue of the 3rd or 2nd century B.C. “The goddess of love is shown as though surprised at her bath. Originally,…
The Fabled Life of Aesop by Ian Lendler – A Picture Book Biography Fabulously Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
For many years, I have been a fan of ancient cultures, and I have several copies of Aesop’s Fables. But I am also a great fan of Pamela Zagarenski’s illustrations, and when I saw The Fabled Life of Aesop, I couldn’t help myself. I had to buy yet another title about Aesop. As it turns…
Aesops Fables and the Bible: How Was Ancient Greece Connected to the Bible?
In a recent Bible study of the book of Jeremiah, the phrase “sour grapes” came up. Many of us who have studied literature know that the concept of “sour grapes” is also part of one of Aesop’s Fables. Image Credit: Walter Crane – from The Baby’s Own Aesop Published in 1887 THE FOX AND THE…
Early Harvest Festivals and Halloween: Ancient Greece
My college writing students are learning to research for their writing. I have shown them how to use Google Scholar to find research that is academically appropriate. How to Find Academic Resources on Google Scholar: How to Research for Writers Among other things, my class will be talking about how the Ancient Greek Festivals have…