acropolis acropolis with pheidias as adviser, perikles reconstructed athens after it had been...

Maps andImages for

World History

Chapter 5Emergence of

Human Communities

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 5 | 2

AcropolisWith Pheidias as adviser, Perikles reconstructed Athens after it had been destroyed by the Persians. He dreamed of a city with magnificent edifices, temples and public buildings, and theaters. These buildings embody the noblest spirit of Greek architecture. At the right rises the Parthenon, the temple that honored Athena and Athens alike. The Erechtheum stands next to it, and to its left the Propylaea and the small temple of Athena Nike. (Spyros Spyrou Photo Gallery, Aegina)

Acropolis


Bronze ZeusThe so-called Poseidon of Artemision was found at the bottom of the seabed near Cape Artemision, Northern Eubioa; the arm was found in 1926, and the rest of the body was discovered in 1928. The god is represented at the moment when he raises his right arm to hurl his trident against an adversary. Some archaeologists believe it to be Zeus, preparing to cast a thunderbolt. (National Archaeological Museum, Athens/Archaeological Receipts Fund, Athens)

Bronze Zeus


Early vase with horse and gooseHesiod lived near a village in Boeotia, in central Greece. In his poem Works and Days, we learn about his work as a farmer; most of the poem is a kind of farmer's almanac, describing the annual cycle of tasks on a Greek farm. This early Greek vessel, used for mixing wine with water, may have been made in Boeotia in Hesiod's lifetime. It represents a farm scene. (Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum)

Early vase with horse and goose


Great Altar of PergamumThe Altar to Zeus, the most important religious shrine on the acropolis of Pergamum, was commissioned by Eumenes II to commemorate his father's victories over the Gauls. The design is basically a rectangular court with two wings surrounded by an Ionic colonnade, which ascends 100 feet from the monumental flight of stairs. (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin/Bildarchiv preussischer Kulturbesitz. Photo: Reinhard Saczewski)

Great Altar of Pergamum


Hoplite phalanxThis frieze of attacking foot soldiers is from the so-called Chigi Vase--a Corinthian masterpiece. When the Greeks adopted heavy armor, weapons, and shields, their lack of mobility forced them to fight in several dense lines, each behind the other. Cohesion and order became as valuable as courage. Here a flute player plays a marching tune to help the hoplites maintain their pace during the attack. (Villa Guilia Museum/Gabinetto Fotografico Nazionale)

Hoplite phalanx


Kritios BoyThe Kritios Boy--the work of the sculptor Kritios--no longer uses the contrived frontal pose of previous Kouroi. This work is often viewed as breaking from the Archaic design principles and moving toward the Classical. (Acropolis Museum/Archaeological Receipts Fund, Athens)

Kritios Boy


Mosaic of Battle of IssusThe heroic personality of Alexander the Great is apparent in a painting by Philoxenos of Eretria, from about 300 B.C.E., which survives only in this Roman mosaic form. It is believed to be of Alexander's victory over the Persian king, Darius III, in 33 B.C.E. at the Battle of Issus. (National Museum, Naples/Art Resource, NY)

Mosaic of Battle of Issus


Mosaic of SapphoSappho came from an ordinary family; the death of her husband was the first event in her liberation. She attracted young women to Lesbos, both to study poetry and to be her lovers. The Greek letters in the upper left corner of this mosaic identify the idealized portrait as that of Sappho. The mosaic, which was found in Sparta, dates to the Roman Empire and testifies to Sappho's popularity in antiquity. (Museum of Sparta/Archaeological Receipts Fund)

Mosaic of Sappho


Nike of SamothraceThis sculpture originally stood in the Sanctuary of the Gods on the island of Samothrace, in the northern Aegean Sea. It demonstrates an interrelatedness between the statue and the space that it occupies. For example, the wings of the goddess, who has just landed on the prow of a ship, still seem to beat against a powerful headwind. (Louvre/Reunion des Musees Nationaux/Art Resource, NY)

Nike of Samothrace


Peplos MaidenThe corresponding female form of the Kouros--the Kore--was represented in the same rigid way but was clothed. The Peplos Maiden was named after her garment, called a peplos. The more natural flow of hair and more subdued smile show a move to more lifelike representation. (Acropolis Museum/Archaeological Receipts Fund, Athens)

Peplos Maiden


PersepolisDarius I began the elaborate citadel; his son, Xerxes, continued its construction; and his grandson, Artaxerxes I, completed the magnificent city of Persepolis, which was a confluence of styles--Median, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek. Only portions of the audience hall remain. (George Holton/Photo Researchers, Inc.)

Persepolis


Relief of two Persian MagiThis stone relief from Dascylium, headquarters of the Persian governor in northwest Anatolia, shows two magi wearing veils over their mouths and holding bundles of sticks used in the ceremony of sacrifice. The Persian kings and their subordinates were Zoroastrians, and it is likely that Zoroastrianism spread to the provinces, where significant numbers of Persians lived, and influenced the beliefs of other peoples. (Courtesy, Archaeological Museums of Istanbul)

Relief of two Persian Magi


Sarcophagus of Lartie SeiantiThe Etruscans, living among various peoples in Italy at this time, evolved cities that resembled Greek city-states. Their wealth and political and military institutions enabled them to dominate an area that extended as far north as the Po Valley and as far south as Latium and Campania. The woman portrayed on this lavish sarcophagus is the noble Etruscan Lartie Seianti. Although the sarcophagus is her place of burial, she is portrayed as in life: comfortable and at rest. The influence of Greek art on Etruscan works is apparent in almost every feature of the sarcophagus. (Scala/Art Resource, NY)

Sarcophagus of Lartie Seianti


Silver RhytonThis Achaemenid Persian silver rhyton (drinking vessel) is in the shape of a griffin, a mythological animal that is part lion and part eagle. Persian rulers commanded the talents of western Asia's best artists and craftsmen, silversmiths among them. (Courtesy of the Trustees of the British Museum)

Silver Rhyton


Singing AfricanThis Hellenistic bronze figurine shows a black African, perhaps an Ethiopian, playing a musical instrument (now missing). The lithe body and emotionalism of the work are typically Hellenistic. Africans were a common subject for the sculptors of Alexandria, where this piece is most likely from. (Bibliotheque nationale de France)

Singing African


Spartan RunnerThis bronze statuette from Laconia shows a woman running. Unlike other Greek women, elite Spartan women underwent physical education. Although their personal freedom was limited, women in Sparta suffered fewer restrictions than their counterparts in democratic Athens. (National Archaeological Museum, Athens/Archaeological Receipts Fund)

Spartan Runner


Stoa of AttalosThe Greek stoa, or portico, was a long building divided along its center by a spacious roofed corridor that allowed people to walk while enjoying the air but avoiding the sun and rain. On the other side opened the rooms of various shops. Philosophers were fond of discussing their ideas while strolling along the spacious arcade. The philosophical school of Zeno received its name, Stoicism, because its adherents formulated their views in a stoa. (Courtesy, American School of Classical Studies, Agora)

Stoa of Attalos


Theater at EpidaurosThe Theater at Epidauros demonstrates the use of the modified tholos plan as mastered by the architect Polykleitos the Younger--concentric rows of seats with stepped aisles placed at consistent intervals. This well-preserved theater had no stage, for the building behind the orchestra housed the scenery. (William Hubbell/Woodfin Camp & Associates)

Theater at Epidauros


Tomb of CyrusCyrus the Great (r. 559-530 B.C.E.), king of the Persians, was one of the most remarkable statesmen of antiquity. For all his greatness Cyrus retained a sense of perspective. His tomb, though monumental in size, is rather simple and unostentatious. Greek writers reported that it bore the following epitaph: "O man, I am Cyrus the son of Cambyses. I established the Persian Empire and was king of Asia. Do not begrudge me my memorial." (The Oriental Institute, University of Chicago)

Tomb of Cyrus


Alexander's Conquests

Alexander's ConquestsThis map shows the course of Alexander's invasion of the Persian Empire and the speed of his progress. More important than the great success of his military campaigns was his founding of Hellenistic cities in the East.


Ancient Greece

Ancient GreeceIn antiquity the home of the Greeks included the islands of the Aegean and the western shore of Turkey as well as the Greek peninsula itself.


The Hellenistic World

The Hellenistic WorldAfter Alexander's death, no single commander could hold his vast conquests together, resulting in the empire's breakup into several kingdoms and leagues.


The Persian Empire

The Persian EmpireBetween 550 and 522 B.C.E., the Persians of southwest Iran, under the first two kings, Cyrus and Cambyses, conquered each of the major states of western Asia--Media, Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt. The third king, Darius I, extended the boundaries as far as the Indus Valley to the east and the European shore of the Black Sea to the west. The first major setback came when the fourth king, Xerxes, failed in his invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.E. The Persian Empire was considerably larger than its recent predecessor, the Assyrian Empire. For their empire, the Persian rulers developed a system of provinces, governors, regular tribute, and communication by means of royal roads and couriers that allowed for efficient operations for almost two centuries.

acropolis acropolis with pheidias as adviser, perikles reconstructed athens after it had been...

Documents