Formative Period of Greek Art

Early Bronze Age (2900-2000 B.C)

This period in antiquity corresponds to the introduction of metallurgy, notably the use of bronze for making tools, weapons, and ceremonial objects. The term 'bronze age' ultimately derives from the Ages of Man, the stages of human existence on the Earth according to Greek mythology.

Gold headband from Thebes 750700 BC

Minoan Age (2000-1600 B.C.)

This is the bronze age civilization that flourished on the island of Crete. It was named after the legendary King Minos The term "Minoan" was coined by Arthur Evans after the mythic "king" Minos.

In Greek mythology, Minos was a king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa.
Zeus is the god of sky and thunder; Europa was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent in greek mythology

Mycenean Age (1600-1100 B.C.)

This is the period of high cultural achievement, forming the backdrop subsequent myths of heroes. The period is named after the Kingdom of Mycenae and the archeological site where fabulous works in gold have been unearthed

Gold earring, circa 1600 BC, Louvre Museum

The Dark Ages (1100-750 B.C)

The period between the fall of Mycenean civilization and the readoption of writing in eight or seventh century B.C. Is called the Dark Ages. After the Trojan War, the Mycenean went through a period of civil strife. The country was weak and a tribe called the Dorians took over it. Some speculated that the Dorian invaded from the North, with iron weapons laid waste the Mycenean culture.

Dorians

Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably through Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey.

Archaic Period (750-500 B.C)

This is the period which marked the beginnings of the Greek monumental stone sculptures and other developments in the naturalistic representations of the human figure. Prominent figures are the kouro, young nude male, also called Apollo, and the kore, draped female. The kouro, presumably an image of an athlete shows the influence of Egyptian sculpture in its frontality and rigidity-one foot slightly forward, the fist clenched at the sides. It also has a smiling face, slightly bulging eyes, and hair arranged in tight, geometric curls. The kore is a fully clad female.

Kouro
The kouros type appears to have served several functions. It is certain that it was used to represent the god Apollo, as attested by its depiction on a vase painting in the presence of supplicants,as does the description of the statue of the Pythian Apollo at Samos by Diodoros as "Egyptian works, with his arms hanging by his sides and his legs parted".

Kore

Classical Period (500-336 B.C)

The classical period of ancient Greek history is fixed between 500 B.C. When the Greeks began to come into conflict with the Kingdom of Persia to the East, and 323 B.C. On the death of Macedonian king and conqueror Alexander the Great. In this period, Athens reached political and cultural heights: the full development of the democratic system of government under the Athenian statesman Pericles, the building of Parthenon on the Acropolis; the creation of the tragedies of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides; and the founding of the philosophical schools of Socrates and Plato.

Alexander The Great