Deck 5: The Classical Style

Question 1

The main source of our information regarding Greek painting during the Golden Age has come down from

A)murals sealed within tombs.
B)decorated vases.
C)murals within Greek homes.
D)the writings of Polycleitus.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is cited as the greatest of the Athenian lyric poets?

A)Lesbos
B)Aristotle
C)Antigone
D)Sappho

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Define the term "Classical style" and how it was expressed by the ancient Greeks.

Answer 3

The quest for harmonious proportion was the driving force behind the evolution of the Classical style.This quest spurred ancient Greek artists and architects,to search for a canon,or set of rules,for determining physical proportion.To establish a canon,the artist fixed on a module,or standard of measurement,that governed the relationships between all parts of the work of art and the whole.The module was not absolute,but varied according to the subject matter.In the human body,for instance,the distance from the chin to the top of the forehead,representing one-tenth of the whole body height,constituted a module by which body measurements might be calculated.The Greek canon made active use of that principle of proportion known as symmetry,that is,correspondence of opposite parts in size,shape,or position,as is evident in the human body.
Portraying the nude human figure was a major part of the Classical style,as it reflects the Hellenic regard for the human body as nature's perfect creation.By the early fifth century B.C.E. ,Greek sculptors had arrived at the natural positioning of the human figure that would characterize the Classical style.The sensuously modeled torso turns on the axis of the spine,and the weight of the body shifts from equal distribution on both legs to greater weight on the left leg-a kind of balanced opposition that is at once natural and graceful.(This counterpositioning would be called contrapposto by Italian Renaissance artists. )Male figures were portrayed in highly idealized forms,almost godlike,with proportions in the physique in the direction of geometric clarity.The female figure evolved from being fully clothed to nude in the fourth century B.C.E.Female statues also depicted the ideal female form:tall and poised,with small breasts and broad hips.

Question 4

What are the basic characteristics of the Classical style in Grecian painting,sculpture,and architecture?

Question 5

Discuss the Parthenon as an example of High Classical culture in the ancient world.

Question 6

The ________ held that spiritual satisfaction was only possible if one renounced societal values,conventions,and material wealth.

A)Epicureans
B)Cynics
C)Sophists
D)Stoics

Question 7

What are the main features of Grecian poetry and music?

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT identified in the text as hallmarks of Greek art?

A)Humanism
B)Idealism
C)Romanticism
D)Realism

Question 9

The Greek philosopher ________ tried to demonstrate the order of nature by observing geometric and numeric proportion.

A)Socrates
B)Agamemnon
C)Euripides
D)Pythagoras

Question 10

Greek lyrical poems of praise were called

A)testimonies.
B)odes.
C)orations.
D)decorations.

Question 11

The "music of the spheres" referred to by Pythagoras was a harmony produced by

A)multiple lines of Grecian melody.
B)the Grecian Doric mode.
C)the revolution of the planets around the sun.
D)the revolution of the planets around the earth.

Question 12

The great temple of Athena in Athens uses which of the following orders?

A)Ionic
B)Doric
C)Corinthian
D)Post and Beam

Question 13

During the Hellenistic period,which of the following replaced Athens as the cultural center of the Western world?

A)Alexandria
B)Rome
C)Thebes
D)Syracuse

Question 14

Explain the differences between Hellenic and Hellenistic culture.

Question 15

Which of the following peoples finally conquered the Greeks in 338 B.C.E.?

A)the Etruscans
B)the Romans
C)the Macedonians
D)the Persians

Question 16

In terms of sculpture,the work which sums up the Hellenistic aesthetic is

A)the Altar of Zeus.
B)Apollo Belvedere.
C)Nike of Samothrace.
D)Laocoön and His Sons.

Question 17

The outstanding architectural achievement of the Golden Age in Athens is the

A)Pantheon.
B)Parthenon.
C)Acropolis.
D)weight-bearing column.

Question 18

The person responsible for "Hellenizing" North Africa and Central Asia was

A)Agamemnon.
B)Socrates.
C)Alexander the Great.
D)Darius the Great.

Question 19

A theoretical set of unifying rules of proportion that the ancient Greeks searched for was called

A)string theory.
B)dogma.
C)a canon.
D)a module.

Question 20

The ________ held that happiness depended on avoiding all forms of physical excess;they valued plain living and the perfect union of body and mind.

A)Epicureans
B)Cynics
C)Sophists
D)Stoics