Classical Greek Art
Citizens in Ideal Society Share in Running the State in a Democracy
Classical Greek ideals are considered to be the foundation of Western civilization and to have influenced all aspects of modern western culture
Inhabitants of classical Greece believed that society functions best when all citizens are equal, free to shape their own lives, and share in running their state in a democracy. Along with these ideals came an explosion of the creative spirit in classical Greece [5th and 4th centuries BC] that produced the art, the sculpture, the architecture, and the ideals that shaped Western civilization.
In classical Greece, people enjoyed the amenities of life and indulged in sentiments formerly thought to be soft or weak. Their statues depicted Hermes, for example, tenderly holding the infant god Dionysus in his arms. Life became easier and more opulent, at least for the wealthy. The gods were invoked less and art was secularized so that it was more available for the average person.
Greek artists developed a creative expression based on observation of living beings and refinement of elements of anatomy. They developed a realistic yet idealized approach to the artistic representation of the figure. This was the epoch of naturalism showing humans as they really looked and in relaxed attitudes. This trend reflected their ideal of honoring humans as important individuals and the human figure as god-like and worthy of adulation.
In sculpture, gods and goddesses were imagined in human form but perfect in proportion, without flaws. The unclothed human figure in its perfect form was admired for its harmonious beauty.
Classical Greek art developed into an expression of freedom and self-awareness. These were the values that motivated the people of Ancient Greece to defeat their enemies of mighty Persia, to rebuild Athens, and to lead them to the development of an ideal society that valued the dignity and input of every human within it.
The concept of individual freedom is now so much a part of the spiritual and intellectual heritage of the western culture that it is hard today to realize exactly how radical an idea it was at the time. No society before the classical Greeks had thought that equality and freedom of the individual could lead to anything but disaster; certainly equality and self-determination had never been encouraged. The Greeks did not come up with such concepts because they were naive optimists. They were, in fact, realists who understood very well that unlimited freedom can produce chaos. Principles they most revered were moderation and self control – that is, a sense of responsibility to balance the freedom.
Source:
Kerrigan, Michael. Ancient Greece. London: BBC Worldwide, 2001.
