- Athens dominated Greece politically, economically, and culturally.
- Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years.
- Doric: The oldest of the three classical orders, plain and undecorated. Rests directly on the floor withput a base.
- Ionic: notable for its graceful proportions. More "feminine" and slender than doric columns. The capital sof ionic columns are decorated with scrolls.
- Corinthian: both the latest and most elaborate order of the three. Unlike the ionic and doric columns, corinthian columns have intracate carved capitals.
- Polykleitos was famous for formulating a system of proportions.
- The middle of the fifth century B.C. is often known as the Golden Age of Greece.
- The red-figure technique: figural depictions in red color on a black background
- Contrapposto played a huge part in all Greek sculptures. Apart form the Egyptians canon, the Greece were much more relaxed. Many of them had a bent leg and uneven hips. One of their shoulders was normally dropped to one side and their heads were turned looking into the distance.
Constructed in 447 the Parthenon is a huge marble temple dedicated to the Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war. Along with its extrodinary architechual refinement, it is also the symbol of the borth of democary. We see many buildings associated with government built in similar ways to the Parthenon. Although it has ionic elements such as a friese, the Greece structure is doric. In the pediment on the east entrace side, the people of greece could see the story of Athena and Poseidon fighting to be the patron of Athens. Inside of the building you see a massive sculpture of Athena made of gold and ivory. In todays society we see the Parthenon as dull and white but back when it was constructed it was brightly colored. Many historians can't find a specific use fot the Parthenon but believe it was used as a tresuary. The Parthenon was dstroyed by the Ottomans. It was essentially blown up by the gun powder that the Ottomans stores inside and when it reacted the building was turned to rubble.
The Erectheion
Adjacent from the Parthenon is a smaller, ionic temple. Ionic features are noticed right away on when we see the capitals of the columns. They aren't slightly flared out like the doric columns but has a structure similar to a scroll on them. Thus building expresses the ability of greek architecs in the High Classical period.