Gods, Heroes, and Athletes: The Art of Ancient Greece
	Greek Humanism :: The Geometric And Orientalizing Periods :: The Archaic Period :: The Early And High Classical Periods :: The Late Classical Period :: The Hellenistic Period :: Hellenistic Art Under Roman Patronage
	GREEK HUMANISM The civilization of Ancient Greece emerged in the ninth century BCE and passed through five periods of intense artistic activity spanning more than 800 years. Through Greek colonization, it spread from the Greek mainland to Asia Minor (Western Turkey) and Magna Graecia (Southern Italy and Sicily). During the Hellenistic period, Greek art and culture were dominant throughout the Mediterranean. Gods and humans: Even the gods of the Greeks, in marked contrast to the divinities of the Near East, assumed human forms whose grandeur and nobility were not free from human frailty. Greek origins: The Greeks, or Hellenes, as they called themselves, appear to have been the product of an intermingling of Aegean peoples and Indo-European invaders. They never formed a single nation but instead established independent city-states or poleis. Olympia and Hellas: In 776 BCE, the separate Greek-speaking states held their first ceremonial games in common at Olympia. Athens and Greek culture: The distinctiveness and originality of Greek contributions to art, science, and politics should not, however, obscure the enormous debt Greek civilization owed to the earlier great cultures of Egypt and the Near East. Reassessing Greek civilization: Nor should a high estimation of Greek art and culture blind historians to the realities of Hellenic life and society. Many modern artists have rejected Greek standards.
	Greek Humanism :: The Geometric And Orientalizing Periods :: The Archaic Period :: The Early And High Classical Periods :: The Late Classical Period :: The Hellenistic Period :: Hellenistic Art Under Roman Patronage