004 GREECE

• CRETE and MYCENAE 2,000 BC to 1,100 BC– Ancient civilizations on Aegean Sea

• Crete 2,000 BC to 1,400 BC– Protected by the sea– Luxurious, relaxed way of life– Art consisted of freely shaped forms = feeling of movement

» Built palaces

• Mycenae– Greek mainland– Society of warriors

» Built citadels» Principle residents were megarons

PALACE OF KNOSSOS

SOUTH PROPYLAEUM

                           

                 Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1600 B.C.

The south propylaeum is the main entrance to the palace. Here it is behind the wall of the corridor of the procession. Stones and wood are the basic building materials. Columns are made from tree

trunks which are shaped, plastered, and placed upside down.

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NORTH PROPYLAEUM

                           

                 Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1550

Goods and material brought up to the palace from the harbor enter through a gate at this guard post. A path under the

colonnade leads to the central portions of the palace. Barely visible on the wall behind the columns is a fresco of a bull. The

bull figures prominantly in the decoration within the complex. The fertility symbolism is clear.

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ROOM IN THE WEST WING

                           

                 Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1550 B.C.

A room in the west wing built over a crypt. It is a good example of the Minoan mixture of stone and timber construction. The use a of

a column for support clearly opens up the space. The large high windows are common features in the palace. They open the

space further, ventilate and give light to the room, and keep the occupant in closer touch with the world of nature outside.

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THREE-STORY RESIDENCE

                           

                 Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1500 B.C.

South of the palace is this private house with rooms on three floors. The house probably belongs to a nobleman or an official.

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THRONE ROOM

    

                  Palace of King Minos, Knossos Late 15th century B.C.

These columns and bench, opposite the

throne, divide the room from a small stairway

leading to a room below. This is a good example of a column

with a black shaft and red capital. The capital is decorated with white

and black bands.

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STAIRWELL

     

                                       Palace of King Minos, Knossos c, 1600 BC

The ground level of the stairwell which adjoins the royal apartments.

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DOLPHIN FRIEZE

        

              QUEEN'S APARTMENT Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1500 B.C.

The queen's apartment or megaron consisted of a fairly spacious suite of rooms. This is the famous dolphin frieze in

the main room. Decorative rosette panels surround the

door openings and run across the walls. The importance of

both the sea and of animals as decorative images is clearly

illustrated here.

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BATHROOM IN THE QUEEN'S APARTMENT

  

                    Palace of King Minos, Knossos c. 1500 B.C.

The queen's bathroom and

bathtub, adjacent to the room above.

There also was a room with a toilet

that flushed. Note the elegant

symbolic waves as a decorative frieze.

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FEMALE IDOL

    

                  From Hagia Triada c. 1500 B.C. Museum of Herakleion, Crete

A terra-cotta female idol covered with

breasts. Later you will note this same form of

decoration on a libation jug.

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RHYTON BULL

    

                  From the Little Palace, Knossos 1550-1500 B.C.

A rhyton (libation vase) in the shape of a

massive bull's head. It is made of steatite, with

eyes of rock crystal -and horns of gilded wood. The natural

quality of the bull is outstanding.

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Beneath the Palace of Knossos

BENEATH THE PALACE AT KNOSSOS

GREEK MEGARON

MEGARON PLAN

MEGARON EXTERIOR

TREASURY OF ATREUS

DROMOS

LION’S GATE1250 BC

DETAIL OF LION’S GATE

DOMED INTERIOR

                                                                                                                       

                                                     

INTERIOR

• GREECE– Greek Ideal - mind and body as one– Architecture is the mainstream of European tradition– Worth of the individual

• Who were the ancient Greeks???????????– Dorians

» Invaded from the north 1100 BC– Ionians

» Invaded from the east» Settled in the Greek Islands

• GREEK ANTHROPOMORPHISM = MAN + FORM– Greek Government

• Limited democracy - city-states

– Greek Religion• Worshipped natural phenomenon

GREEK ANTHROPOMORPHISM

• Man + Form– Architecture reflects maker in human scale

• Temples– Prototype was megaron, Mycenean Chieftain’s House– Considered a house– Classified by number of columns ie hexastyle, peripteral

• Orders– Doric, Ionic, Corinthian– Determines shape, disposition and proportions of entire set– All were brightly painted

DORIC TEMPLES

• Evolved speciman– Converged toward an ideal– 6th Century changed from timber to stone

• HERA I (BASILICA) 530 B.C.– Atypical

• Nine columns, center divided by column

• HERA II (POSEIDEN) 460 B.C.– Typical

• Hexastyle façade

• Two double-tiered colonnades inside

PAESTUM MEDITERANIAN SEA

GREEK TEMPLES IN PAESTUM ITALY

BASILICA (HERA I) TEMPLE

TEMPLE OF HERA I FLOOR PLAN

HERA II TEMPLE

BASILICA FOREGROUND

HERA BACKGROUND

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PARTHENON

• Architects Ictinus and Callicrates 447-438 B.C.• Design Characteristics

– U-shaped double-tiered columns– Proportion 4:9– Paradoxical effects– Optical and angular refinements

• Variations from the perpendicular and subtle deviations

– Refinements show an astounding degree of craftsmanship

PARTHENON FLOOR PLAN

PARTHENON

PARTHENON

PARTHENON

Optical and angular refinements

DORIC ORDER IONIC ORDER

GOLDEN SECTION FOUND IN NATURE