Part A -
1) Compare the Eleusis Amphora to the illustrations on the Dyplon Vase.
2) Define the "black-figure" technique.
3) Identify the similarities and differences between the Old Kingdom statue of Menkaure and His Wife (c. 2500 BCE) and the Archaic Greek New York Kouros (c. 600 BCE). What do you notice? How have the Greeks not only adapted the Egyptian style, but also innovated?
4) What conventions are retained from one figure to the next? What is different? What do you think the Greeks are pursuing through these changes?
5) Compare and contrast the Greek Lady of Auxerre - Kore (c. 600 BCE) to the Ancient Near East (Neo-Sumerian) Gudea (c. 2000 BCE). Pay particular attention to the facial features, gestures, and musculature. Does the depiction of drapery in each work reveal or conceal the large muscle groups and mass of the figure underneath?
6) Describe the similarities and differences between the images/motifs from the Medusa pediment atop the Temple of Artemis at Corfu and the Dipylon Vase.
7) What do you notice about the Temple of Aphaia? How is it different from the Temple of Hera? What is the effect of not having the double colonnade in the interior?
8) What is the technique used for the Herakles Strangling Nemean Lion (525 BCE)? Describe the composition. Where is the narrative located? Where are the decorative elements found?
Part B -
1) How does the narrative tone and phraseology in Herodotus' account of the early battles between the Persians and the Greeks aim to heroicize Western civilization, while diminishing their Near Eastern enemies?
2) Examine the large image for the Spear Bearer (c. 450 BCE) and describe how the sculptor, Polykleitos, arranged the figure's physical features that comprise the contrapposto stance.
3) What is the significance of Myron's Discus Thrower (c. 450 BCE), relative to the contrapposto stance?
4) How does Praxitiles' Late Classical period object, Hermes & Infant Dionysos (c. 350 BCE), differ from the Spear Bearer (c. 450 BCE), in terms of figural type and pose?
5) Likewise, how does the sculptor Lysippos alter the Classical esthetic in the Weary Hercules (c. 350 BCE)?
6) Read the Metropolitan Museum of Art's essay, "Art of the Hellenistic Age and the Hellenistic Tradition". Then write a synopsis about the political events of this era, as well as describe how the diversity of subject matter and stylistic developments impacted the emerging Roman civilization.
7) Visit the Theater at Epidauros and closely examine the photos and the theater "plan." How it is similar or different from arenas, stages, etc. today? Write a brief summary of your findings.
8) Compare the two statues of dying warriors. What are the similarities and differences between the two figures?
9) Compare the Hellenistic period Venus de Milo (c. 125-100 BCE) and Praxiteles' Late Classical Aphrodite (c. 350 BCE) that is reproduced in your text.
Part C -
1) How do you see the impact and role of scientific inquiry continuing to alter our contemporary notions of the origins of civilization?
2) Look closely at the face of the Etruscan Apollo (c. 500 BCE). What do you notice that you have seen in the art of other cultures?
3) Compare the Interior of Etruscan Tomb of the Reliefs (c. 3rd century BCE) to the Interior of Egyptian Middle Kingdom rock-cut tomb at Beni Hasan (c. 2000 BCE).
4) Compare the Mural from Tomb of Hunting and Fishing (c. 525 BCE) Tarquinia, Italy to the mural from the Minoan "Queen's Megaron" at the Palace of Knossos (c. 1500 BCE). Why would there be similarities between the art of the Etruscans and art from the palace at Knossos?
5) Compare The Orator (c. 100 BCE) to the Classical Greek Spear Bearer (c. 450 BCE). What are the similarities and differences of the two statues? Draft a minimum 150-word response.
6) Read the article, "Roman Painting," and review the paintings in the slideshow. Then choose one of the paintings in the slideshow and write a minimum 150-word response.