The statue of Athena is about 38 feet tall and dates back to about 296 BCE. Athena is a chryselephantine statue which means it is made of ivory and gold. Athena is housed in the Pathenon in Athens. Athena is the Goddess of wisdom and crafts. The statue holds Nike the Greek god of victory in her right hand and a shield with a snake sheltered underneath it in her left hand. On her head is the helmet decorated with a sphinx at the Apex and two pegasi one either side. The sphinx much like the snake represents rebirth. Her breastplate is adorned with snakes and the head of Medusa at the center. Athenas’ sandals were decorated with the mythical battle between centaurs and Lapiths. The base of the statue depicted scenes of the birth of Pandora.

The Erechtheion resides in Athens on the acropolis and dates back to between 421 and 405 BCE. The temple was used for housing Athena’s pet snake as well as a shrine for Athena herself located on the east side. The west side of the temple was dedicated to other gods and heroes such as Poseidon, Erectheus, Hephaestus, Voutus, Pandion, and Boutes. The north porch area is supported by ionic columns while the south porch area is supported by the Caryatids, the six maidens who danced yearly in honor of Artemis.

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This is the temple of Hera which is located about 50 miles south of the modern city of Naples, Italy at Poseidonia around 550 BCE. This temple is dedicated to Hera the queen  of the gods in Greek mythology. There are three types of Greek architecture Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The type of architecture used in this is Doric which has fluted columns without bases resting on the stylobate and an unadorned capital. The columns also swell in the middle and contract toward the top giving a sense of upward lift. It was ultimately destroyed in the 4th century CE by an earthquake.

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This is Ajax and Achilles playing a game which was made by Exekias between 540 and 530 BCE. The type of pot is an Amphora which is an all purpose storage jar. The picture shows that both Ajax and Achilles are talking to each other because the words written coming out of their mouths. This shows Achilles winning the game by showing Achilles with the helmet on his head and Ajax with his helmet on his shield behind him. The artist creates a more three dimensional design by using the contours. On the pot there are no gods or kings, the focus instead rests on the heroic warriors.

Greek art tends to show a greater preference for humans instead of the gods. The temple dedicated to the gods however typically has some form of art dedicated to the god it is named after. The Greek art looks like it got a lot its art style off of the Egyptians.

This is the Seated Scribe which dates back to 2450- 2325 BCE. The Seated Scribe was found near the tomb of Kai which was placed near the Pharaoh so that he could become the scribe for the Pharaoh in the afterlife. The statue is very naturalistic and lifelike, the face and body are very defined and almost look real. The face on the statue looks old and wise, the statue looks very attentive as if it is listening intently on what you have to say. The body looks well fed and lacks muscle which indicates power and wealth as well as a life free from hard labor. The pupils are offset in the iris which give them an illusion of being in motion. The fact that the statue is a scribe means that he is literate and was important because he could read and write.

This painting is called Ti Watching a Hippopotamus Hunt which dates back to 2450 to 2325 BCE. The painting is painted on limestone and is about 45 inches in height. The lines on the limestone are supposed to give the impression that you are watching through the reeds on the Nile. Ti was a court official whose job it was to oversee the hunt. On the painting he looks bigger then everyone else and is drawn in composite view which emphasizes his importance. Seth, the god of darkness was thought to have manifested himself into a hippo. The symbolic meaning of killing the hippo is ridding the afterlife of chaos which is why this was found in the tomb Ti. The men in the boat are just regular commoners and are shown in actions to show there lower status.

The two pieces of art I chose are the Female head and Iassamu.

The Female Head most likely comes from Uruk, Iraq in 3200 to 3000 BCE. The statue is only about 8 inches tall and is made up of marble. The eye sockets do not have eyes in them but the face is very realistic. The nose is damaged which could be just damage over time or it could be from people desecrating the statue. This statue head was made in the image of Inanna who was an important female deity known as the goddess of love and war (Kleiner). The chunks taken out of the head were believed to be used for wigs that researches believe to have been made out of gold leaf (Kleiner).

Lamassu is a 10 foot 2 inch statue of a winged lion with a human head found in Nimrud, Iraq between 883 and 859 BCE. From the front of the statue it looks like the statue is just standing in place, but if you look at it from the side it appears as if the statue is walking forward. The face of the man on the statue is very detailed, all the features on the face are very realistic. These giant statues were meant to guard the gates that lead to Sargon’s palace (Gardner).

Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History. Enhanced 13th ed. 1. Boston: Wadswort Cengage Learning, 2009. 33-34. Print.

Gardner, Helen, Fred S. Kleiner, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.