The Ancient Greek Temples, Essay Example

The ancient Greek temples are considered the most beautiful of all in the world. They were built to celebrate civic and pride. “The Greeks built the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, Turkey about 300 BC.” (“Ancient Greek Art”). The Charioteer of Delphi represents one of the most influential sculptures of the Greek era because it represents channel from the Archaic conventions to the Classical ideals. Kouros and Korai statutes represent nude statutes of strict symmetry through the use of anatomy in geometry.

Three distinctive architectural systems created by the Greeks are: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The Neothilics built the basic structures of architecture. Houses were constructed of a very basic circular, oval or rectangular shape. The Doric order is the most basic of the three orders. The Spartans were known for using this style which was composed mainly of wood then of stone. Vertical columns were used to support the beams. The roof was made of flat gables. The Corinthian order was used much less than the Doric order because construction required a lot of details to emerge such a building. Dimensions of the Doric order consisted of eight to nine meters in height rather than the typical four to five meters in height. Columns were built of a more slender nature than the other two orders.

Ancient Greek literature refers to writings made through the Byzantine Empire. Greek literature was written in Phoenician-derived alphabet which was adopted in Athens, Greek. Monumental works of Greek literature include writings of Homer, Iliad and Odyssey. Sappho and Pindar were two major poets during the classical ancient Greek era. Herodotus and Thucydides were two historians who flourished during the ancient Greek classical era.

Since Alexander took conquered so much land increasing Greek territories, the Greeks were able to subsist in other countries. As a result of moving to other countries they brought their culture with them. The domination of the land by the Great allowed them freedom to move and interpolate their culture in Western worlds.

Democritus developed the idea of atoms to explain what made up the soul, and he decided that these things were pieces of matter impossible to destroy. Plato contributed a strong influence on the arts, and on theories of art. “Plato saw the changing physical world as a poor, decaying copy of a perfect, rational, eternal, and changeless original.” (“Plato”). Socrates influenced the Western world by providing the Socratic Method, in which teachers lead students in a discussion of new ideas, is still used in schools and universities in the Western world today. This method is a form of asking and answering questions to influence rational thinking.

References

“Ancient Greek Art” University Press Inc. 2008. 22 Sept. 2009. http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Art/

“Plato” Rowan.edu2009. 22 Sept. 2009. http://www.rowan.edu/open/philosop/clowney/Aesthetics/philos_artists_onart/plato.htm