Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece was a time a growth for art and sculpture. The Ancient Greeks took the concept of Egyptian Ka statues and changed it into something more unique to their culture. While Egyptians used Diorite, a hard stone meant to last, the Greeks were the masters of marble. In the beginning of Greek sculpture, Kouros and Kore statues were very popular. A Kouros sculptures were statues of young boys and Kore sculptures were of young girls. The Greeks stole the general concept of these statues from the Egyptians.                               

Egyptian Ka Statue

Greek Kouros

They made the statues in the awkward pose to help support the statue, preventing it from breaking easily. 

As time went on, the Greeks understanding of marble and sculpture grew and they were able to create sculpture in more natural and complex poses

The Greeks knowledge of marble was not limited to statues alone. They were also master architects and their speciality was optical illusions. The greeks were obsessed with the idea of optical perfection this shows in one of the most copied buildings in the world, the Parthenon, which is actually slightly bowed. 

Interior of Partenon

Not one of the approximately 500 pieces in this building are the same. Each drum on each column is slightly different which, in the end, gives it the illusion of perfection. They achieved this by using the golden ratio: 1 to 1.6. 

Extra Credit:

A brief explanation of the Parthenon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDtkzLgtVTg

Secrets of the Parthenon (Documentary)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgEAn1c11tY