Ancient Greece : Art, Architecture, and History

Since antiquity, the achievements of the Greeks in art and architecture have elicited great admiration. From the Parthenon and the other temples on the Acropolis of Athens to the fabled palace of king Minos at Knossos on Crete to the walled city of Mycenae--home of the Trojan leader Agamemnon--Greek art and architecture continue to this day to fascinate visitors to Greece and influence Western aesthetics. This informative handbook traces Greek art and architecture from the third millennium to the first century B.C. Belozerskaya and Lapatin relate the rich development of styles, techniques, and motifs to the history of this period. The culmination of these developments in architecture, sculpture, and vase painting in the fifth century B.C. is illustrated in such masterpieces as the temples at Paestum in Italy, the sculptures of the Parthenon, the bronze charioteer from Delphi, and works of the Attic black-and red-figure vase painters. Also included in the book is a discussion of the spread of Greek culture to southern Italy and Sicily and the influence of Greek artistic traditions on Roman art. With more than three hundred illustrations, this book will serve as an attractive guide for students, travelers, and all those interested in ancient Greek civilization.

Marina Belozerskaya is an art historian and freelance writer. Kenneth Lapatin is assistant curator of antiquities at the Getty Museum.