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AP Art History Ch.5
Ancient Greece
156
Art History
11th Grade
09/30/2007

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Term
abacus
Definition
The uppermost portion of the capital of a column.
Term
Achilles Painter
Definition
Achilles Painter
Term
acropolis
Definition
Greek, “high city.” In ancient Greece, usually the site of the city’s most important temple(s).
Term
agora
Definition
An open square or space used for public meetings or business in ancient Greek cities.
Term
aisle
Definition
The portion of a basilica flanking the nave and separated from it by a row of columns or piers.
Term
Alexandros Of Antioch-On-The-Meander
Definition
Sculptor of Aphrodite or Venus de Milo, ca. 150-125 BCE. The base, which was inscripted with the artist's name, is now lost.
Term
Amazonomachy
Definition
In Greek mythology, the legendary battle between the Greeks and Amazons.
Term
amphiprostyle
Definition
The style of Greek building in which the colonnade was placed across both the front and back, but not along the sides.
Term
Andokides Painter
Definition
Andokides Painter
Term
andron
Definition
Dining room in a Greek house.
Term
antae
Definition
The molded projecting ends of the walls forming the pronaos or opisthodomos of an ancient Greek temple.
Term
apse
Definition
A recess, usually semicircular, in the wall of a Roman basilica or at the east end of a church.
Term
apsidal
Definition
Rounded; apse shaped.
Term
arch
Definition
A curved structural member that spans an opening and is generally composed of wedge-shaped blocks (voussoirs) that transmit the downward pressure laterally.See also thrust.
Term
architrave
Definition
The lintel or lowest division of the entablature; also called the epistyle.
Term
arrises
Definition
In Doric columns, the raised edges of the fluting.
Term
Athanadoros
Definition
Athanadoros
Term
attic
Definition
The uppermost story of a building.
Term
balustrade
Definition
A railing held up by small posts, as on a staircase.
Term
Baroque
Definition
A blanket designation for the art of the period 1600 to 1750.
Term
basilica
Definition
In Roman architecture, a civic building for legal and other civic proceedings, rectangular in plan with an entrance usually on a long side. In Christian architecture, a church somewhat resembling the Roman basilica, usually entered from one end and with an apse at the other.
Term
bilingual vases
Definition
Experimental Greek vases produced for a short time in the late sixth century BCE; one side featured black-figure decoration, the other red-figure.
Term
black-figure painting
Definition
In early Greek pottery, the silhouetting of dark figures against a light background of natural, reddish clay, with linear details incised through the silhouettes.
Term
caduceus
Definition
In ancient Greek mythology, a magical rod entwined with serpents carried by Hermes (Roman, Mercury), the messenger of the gods.
Term
canon
Definition
A rule, for example, of proportion. The ancient Greeks considered beauty to be a matter of “correct” proportion and sought a canon of proportion, for the human figure and for buildings.
Term
capital
Definition
The uppermost member of a column, serving as a transition from the shaft to the lintel. In classical architecture, the form of the capital varies with the order.
Term
caryatid
Definition
A female figure that functions as a supporting column. See also atlantid.
Term
cavea
Definition
Latin, “hollow place or cavity.” The seating area in ancient Greek and Roman theaters and amphitheaters.
Term
cella
Definition
The chamber at the center of an ancient temple; in a classical temple, the room (Greek, naos) in which the cult statue usually stood.
Term
centaur
Definition
In ancient Greek mythology, a fantastical creature, with the front or top half of a human and the back or bottom half of a horse.
Term
centauromachy
Definition
In ancient Greek mythology, the battle between the Greeks and centaurs.
Term
chiton
Definition
A Greek tunic, the essential (and often only) garment of both men and women, the other being the himation, or mantle.
Term
chryselephantine
Definition
Fashioned of gold and ivory.
Term
cire perdue
Definition
See lost-wax process.
Term
column
Definition
A vertical, weight-carrying architectural member, circular in cross-section and consisting of a base (sometimes omitted), a shaft, and a capital.
Term
contrapposto
Definition
The disposition of the human figure in which one part is turned in opposition to another part (usually hips and legs one way, shoulders and chest another), creating a counterpositioning of the body about its central axis. Sometimes called “weight shift” because the weight of the body tends to be thrown to one foot, creating tension on one side and relaxation on the other.
Term
Corinthian capital
Definition
A more ornate form than Doric or Ionic; it consists of a double row of acanthus leaves from which tendrils and flowers grow, wrapped around a bell-shaped echinus. Although this capital form is often cited as the distinguishing feature of the Corinthian order, there is, strictly speaking, no Corinthian order, but only this style of capital used in the Ionic order.
Term
cornice
Definition
The projecting, crowning member of the entablature framing the pediment; also, any crowning projection.
Term
course
Definition
In masonry construction, a horizontal row of stone blocks.
Term
cuneus (pl. cunei)
Definition
In ancient Greek and Roman theaters and amphitheaters, wedge-shaped sections of stone benches separated by stairs.
Term
Daedalic
Definition
Refers to a Greek Orientalizing style of the seventh century BCE named after the legendary Daedalus.
Term
demos
Definition
The Greek word meaning “the people, “ from which the word democracy is derived.
Term
dipteral
Definition
See peristyle.
Term
Doric
Definition
One of the two systems (or orders) evolved for articulating the three units of the elevation of an ancient Greek temple the platform, the colonnade, and the superstructure (entablature). The Doric order is characterized by, among other features, capitals with funnel-shaped echinuses, columns without bases, and a frieze of triglyphs and metopes. See also Ionic.
Term
drum
Definition
One of the stacked cylindrical stones that form the shaft of a column; the cylindrical wall that supports a dome.
Term
echinus
Definition
In architecture, the convex element of a capital directly below the abacus.
Term
elevation
Definition
In architecture, a head-on view of an external or internal wall, showing its features and often other elements that would be visible beyond or before the wall.
Term
emblema
Definition
The central section or motif of a mosaic.
Term
encaustic
Definition
A painting technique in which pigment is mixed with wax and applied to the surface while hot.
Term
entablature
Definition
The part of a building above the columns and below the roof. The entablature of a classical temple has three parts: architrave or epistyle, frieze, and pediment.
Term
entasis
Definition
The convex profile (an apparent swelling) in the shaft of a column.
Term
Epigonos
Definition
Epigonos
Term
epistyle
Definition
See architrave.
Term
Ergotimos
Definition
Ergotimos
Term
Euphronios
Definition
Euphronios
Term
Euthymides
Definition
Euthymides
Term
Exekias
Definition
Exekias
Term
fasciae
Definition
In the Ionic order, the three horizontal bands that make up the architrave.
Term
fillets
Definition
In Ionic columns, the flat ridges of the fluting.
Term
flute or fluting
Definition
Vertical channeling, roughly semicircular in cross-section and used principally on columns and pilasters.
Term
foreshortening
Definition
The use of perspective to represent in art the apparent visual contraction of an object that extends back in space at an angle to the perpendicular plane of sight.
Term
fret or meander
Definition
An ornament, usually in bands but also covering broad surfaces, consisting of interlocking geometric motifs. An ornamental pattern of contiguous straight lines joined usually at right angles.
Term
frieze
Definition
The part of the entablature between the architrave and the cornice; also, any sculptured or painted band in a building. See register.
Term
gigantomachy
Definition
In ancient Greek mythology, the battle between gods and giants.
Term
glaze
Definition
A vitreous coating applied to pottery to seal and decorate the surface; it may be colored, transparent, or opaque, and glossy or matte. In oil painting, a thin, transparent, or semitransparent layer put over a color to alter it slightly.
Term
Gnosis
Definition
Gnosis
Term
gorgon
Definition
In ancient Greek mythology, a hideous female demon with snake hair. Medusa, the most famous gorgon, was capable of turning anyone who gazed at her into stone.
Term
graver
Definition
An incising tool used by engravers and sculptors.
Term
Hagesandros
Definition
Hagesandros
Term
Hellenes (adj. Hellenic)
Definition
The name the ancient Greeks called themselves as the people of Hellas.
Term
Hellenistic
Definition
The term given to the culture that developed after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and lasted almost three centuries, until the Roman conquest of Egypt in 31 BCE.
Term
herm
Definition
A bust on a quadrangular pillar.
Term
himation
Definition
An ancient Greek mantle worn by men and women over the chiton and draped in various ways.
Term
Hippodamian plan
Definition
A city plan devised by Hippodamos of Miletos ca. 466 BCE, in which a strict grid was imposed on a site, regardless of the terrain, so that all streets would meet at right angles.
Term
hydria
Definition
An ancient Greek threehandled water pitcher.
Term
hypaethral
Definition
A building having no pediment or roof, open to the sky.
Term
Iktinos
Definition
Iktinos
Term
in antis
Definition
In ancient Greek architecture, between the antae.
Term
in situ
Definition
In place; in the original position.
Term
interaxial
Definition
The distance between the center of the lowest drum of a column and the center of the next.
Term
Ionic
Definition
One of the two systems (or orders) evolved for articulating the three units of the elevation of a Greek temple: the platform, the colonnade, and the superstructure (entablature). The Ionic order is characterized by, among other features, volutes, capitals, columns with bases, and an uninterrupted frieze.
Term
Kallikrates
Definition
Kallikrates was one of the two architects of the Parthenon, active mid-5th century BC. He was responsible for the Temple of Athena Nike, also on the Acropolis.
Term
key or meander
Definition
See fret.
Term
Kleitias
Definition
Kleitias
Term
kore (pl.korai)
Definition
Greek, “young woman.” An Archaic Greek statuary type depicting a young woman.
Term
kouros (pl. kouroi)
Definition
Greek, “young man.” An Archaic Greek statuary type depicting a young man.
Term
krater
Definition
An ancient Greek wide-mouthed bowl for mixing wine and water.
Term
Kresilas
Definition
Kresilas
Term
kylix
Definition
An ancient Greek shallow drinking cup with two handles and a stem.
Term
lekythos (pl. lekythoi)
Definition
A flask containing perfumed oil; lekythoi were often placed in Greek graves as offerings to the deceased.
Term
lost-wax process (cire perdue)
Definition
A bronze casting method in which a figure is modeled in wax and covered with clay; the whole is fired, melting away the wax and hardening the clay, which then becomes a mold for molten metal.
Term
Lysippos
Definition
Lysippos
Term
mausoleum
Definition
A monumental tomb. The name derives from the mid-fourth century BCE tomb of Mausolos at Halikarnassos, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.
Term
meander or key
Definition
See fret.
Term
metope
Definition
The panel between the triglyphs in a Doric frieze, often sculpted in relief.
Term
Mnesikles
Definition
Greek architect, 5th cent. b.c. He designed the propylaea, and the Erechtheum is also sometimes ascribed to him. Both are on the acropolis at Athens.
Term
modeling
Definition
The shaping or fashioning of three-dimensional forms in a soft material, such as clay; also, the gradations of light and shade reflected from the surfaces of matter in space, or the illusion of such gradations produced by alterations of value in a drawing, painting, or print.
Term
monolith
Definition
A column shaft that is all in one piece (not composed of drums); a large, single block or piece of stone used in megalithic structures.
Term
mosaic
Definition
Patterns or pictures made by embedding small pieces (tesserae) of stone or glass in cement on surfaces such as walls and floors; also, the technique of making such works.
Term
Myron
Definition
Myron
Term
naos
Definition
See cella.
Term
necking
Definition
A groove at the bottom of the ancient Greek Doric capital between the echinus and the flutes that masks the junction of capital and shaft.
Term
Niobid Painter
Definition
Niobid Painter
Term
nymphs
Definition
In classical mythology, female divinities of springs, caves, and woods.
Term
Onesimos
Definition
Onesimos
Term
opisthodomos
Definition
In Greek architecture, a porch at the rear of a temple, set against the blank back wall of the cella.
Term
orchestra
Definition
Greek, “dancing place.” In ancient Greek theaters, the circular piece of earth with a hard and level surface on which the performance took place.
Term
order
Definition
In classical architecture, a style represented by a characteristic design of the columns and entablature. See also superimposed orders.
Term
Orientalizing
Definition
The early phase of Archaic Greek art, so named because of the adoption of forms and motifs from the ancient Near East and Egypt.
Term
orthogonal
Definition
A line imagined to be behind and perpendicular to the picture plane; the orthogonals in a painting appear to recede toward a vanishing point on the horizon.
Term
orthogonal plan
Definition
The imposition of a strict grid plan on a site, regardless of the terrain, so that all streets meet at right angles. See also Hippodamian plan.
Term
Paionios Of Ephesos
Definition
One of the architects, with Daphnis of Miletos, of the Temple of Apollo, Didyma, Turkey, begun 313 BCE.
Term
palaestra
Definition
An ancient Greek and Roman exercise area, usually framed by a colonnade.
Term
pebble mosaic
Definition
Mosaic made of irregularly shaped stones of various colors.
Term
pediment
Definition
In classical architecture, the triangular space (gable) at the end of a building, formed by the ends of the sloping roof above the colonnade; also, an ornamental feature having this shape.
Term
peplos
Definition
A simple long woolen belted garment worn by ancient Greek women.
Term
peripteral
Definition
See peristyle.
Term
peristyle
Definition
In ancient Greek architecture, a colonnade all around the cella and its porch(es). A peripteral colonnade consists of a single row of columns on all sides; a dipteral colonnade has a double row all around.
Term
Phiale Painter
Definition
Phiale Painter
Term
Phidias
Definition
Phidias
Term
Philoxenos Of Eretria
Definition
Philoxenos Of Eretria
Term
pinakotheke
Definition
Greek, “picture gallery;” a room or building for the exhibition of paintings on wooden panels.
Term
plan
Definition
The horizontal arrangement of the parts of a building or of the buildings and streets of a city or town, or a drawing or diagram showing such an arrangement. In an axial plan, the parts of a building are organized longitudinally, or along a given axis; in a central plan, the parts of the structure are of equal or almost equal dimensions around the center.
Term
polis (pl. poleis)
Definition
An independent city-state in ancient Greece.
Term
Polydoros Of Rhodes
Definition
Polydoros Of Rhodes
Term
Polyeuktos
Definition
Polyeuktos
Term
Polykleitos
Definition
Polykleitos
Term
Polykleitos The Younger
Definition
Polykleitos The Younger
Term
portico
Definition
A roofed colonnade; also an entrance porch.
Term
Praxiteles
Definition
Praxiteles
Term
pronaos
Definition
The space, or porch, in front of the cella, or naos, of an ancient Greek temple.
Term
prostyle
Definition
A style of ancient Greek temple in which the columns are only in front of the cella and not on the sides or back.
Term
provenance
Definition
Origin or source; findspot.
Term
raking cornice
Definition
The cornice on the sloping sides of a pediment.
Term
red-figure painting
Definition
In later Greek pottery, the silhouetting of red figures against a black background, with painted linear details; the reverse of black-figure painting.
Term
ridgepole
Definition
The beam running the length of a building below the peak of the gabled roof.
Term
satyr
Definition
A part-human, part-goat male follower of the ancient Greek god Dionysos.
Term
shaft
Definition
The tall, cylindrical part of a column between the capital and the base.
Term
siren
Definition
In ancient Greek mythology, a creature that was part bird, part woman.
Term
skenographia
Definition
Greek, “scene painting”; the Greek term for perspective painting.
Term
skiagraphia
Definition
Greek, “shadow painting”; the Greek term for shading, said to have been invented by Apollodoros, an Athenian painter of the fifth century BCE.
Term
slip
Definition
A mixture of fine clay and water used in ceramic decoration.
Term
stoa
Definition
In ancient Greek architecture, an open building with a roof supported by a row of columns parallel to the back wall. A covered colonnade or portico.
Term
stylobate
Definition
The uppermost course of the platform of a Greek temple, which supports the columns.
Term
symmetria
Definition
Greek, “commensurability of parts.” Polykleitos’s treatise on his canon of proportions incorporated the principle of symmetria.
Term
tesserae
Definition
Greek, “cubes.” Tiny stones or pieces of glass cut to the desired shape and size to form a mosaic.
Term
tetrarchy
Definition
Greek, “rule by four.” A type of Roman government established in the late third century CE by Diocletian in an attempt to establish order by sharing power with potential rivals.
Term
theatron
Definition
Greek, “place for seeing.” In ancient Greek theaters, the slope overlooking the orchestra on which the spectators sat.
Term
Theodoros Of Phokaia
Definition
Architect attributed with the design of the Tholos in Delphi, Greece, ca. 375 BCE.
Term
Theotokos
Definition
Greek, “bearer of God.” The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Term
thrust
Definition
The outward force exerted by an arch or a vault that must be counterbalanced by a buttress.
Term
torque
Definition
The neck band worn by Gauls.
Term
treasury
Definition
In ancient Greece, a small building set up for the safe storage of votive offerings.
Term
trident
Definition
The three-pronged pitchfork associated with the ancient Greek sea god Poseidon (Roman, Neptune).
Term
volute
Definition
A spiral, scroll-like form characteristic of the ancient Greek Ionic and the Roman Composite capital.
Term
white-ground painting
Definition
An ancient Greek vase painting technique in which the pot was first covered with a slip of very fine white clay, over which black glaze was used to outline figures, and diluted brown, purple, red, and white were used to color them.
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