The whole world knows about the religious beliefs of the ancient Greeks. Memories of this have been preserved not only in the form of legends and myths, but also in the material form of temples and sculptures, or rather, their remains. After so much time, not all memos managed to be preserved, but some we know from ancient Roman copies. The sculpture of Ancient Greece was distinguished by its splendor and wealth.
Early development of ancient Greek sculpture
Let us find out who was immortalized as sculptures, who received such an honor? Since the ancient peoples, and not only Greek, were avid pagans, and attached great importance to their faith, they depicted exclusively gods.
Sculptures of Ancient Greece, up to the 6th century BC. e., created from expensive materials such as marble, ivory, dressed the gods only in golden clothes. What did the Greeks do in order to appease Olympus!
Ancient Greece, the sculpture of which was already in the 7-6 century BC. e. reached significant peaks, was the cultural center of the ancient world. One has only to recall the architectural structures in the form of temples, and some of them are included in the list of Seven Wonders of the World (famous columns from the temple of Artemis in Ephesus). Let us return, however, to the ancient Greek immortalization of the gods, who in the early days were portrayed majestically, to their full height.
It was as if they froze in a straight pose, there should not have been any extra movements or dismemberments. Here is the same sculpture of Hera from the
island of Samos, 560 BC. e., which is now stored in the Louvre.
It is noteworthy that the gods have always been portrayed as beautiful. What are these gods like? Beauty for the Greeks meant power. Grace and wasp waist then still were not known canons of beauty. That is why the inhabitants of Olympus were portrayed in large sizes, with a strong body, pumped up arms and legs, huge eyes, head, lips.
Remember the statue of Olympian Zeus , one of the Seven Wonders of the World? Its dimensions confirm that the supreme god must be the most beautiful of all and have large dimensions. The statue itself was built of ivory, and the clothes were “sewn” for Zeus from no less expensive material - gold.
This sculpture of Ancient Greece, unfortunately, has not survived to our days, although we know how it looks from the reconstructions and developments of archaeologists, historians and sculptors. And in ancient times, this statue was revered, even sacrificed, so that Zeus protected the people from natural disasters and the disgrace of other gods.
Late Sculpture of Ancient Greece
From the 5th century BC e. the image of straight-sitting or frozen sculptures in a straightened pose ceased. The sculpture of Ancient Greece has changed significantly. Firstly, not only gods were subject to the image, but also heroes, warriors, that is, ordinary mortal people. Secondly, marble and ivory are already a thing of the past, metals, in particular bronze, have gained popularity. Thirdly, straightened postures and large sizes of body parts have outlived their own image of nudity. The easily falling cape and free pose only added grandeur to the sculpture.
Remember Diskobol or the statue of Venus de Milo made of marble, which is still kept in the Louvre. The sculpture of Ancient Greece eventually acquired new features, but from this it did not become less majestic. The Romans who conquered Greece admired her, they completely adopted their culture and religion, we still admire her.