Ancient Greek Art & Architecture
In this lesson, you will learn about the characteristics of ancient Greek art and architecture and how you can find examples of ancient Greek influence around you no matter where you are in the US.
Video: Characteristics of Greek and Roman architecture
Here is a video about the characteristics of ancient Greek architecture. Watch and then complete the VR tour activities below.
Below are two activities using VR. You can use Google Cardboard or a Samsung Gear, but you are not required to.
- If you are using your phone, press the icon of a polygon in the top left to open the VR images in another window. Then you can move your phone to view different parts of the image and access the different scenes. You can also go into VR mode there by pressing the icon of VR glasses.
- If you are using a laptop or desktop, click and drag the image around to view different areas of the image. Scroll down to find the arrows for the next scene.
VR Tour 1: Ancient Greek Architecture
In this VR experience, there are 8 different scenes.
Examine the architecture in each scene. Identify the following parts:
- Which column type is used
- Does the column have a base?
- The pediment
- The frieze
- The metopes
- The triglyphs
Not every scene will have every part visible. But see what you can identify. Then move on to VR Tour 2.
VR Tour 2: Neoclassical Architecture in the US
In this VR experience, there are 11 different scenes.
Examine the architecture in each scene. These buildings represent neoclassical architecture in the US, built in the 1800s. Thus, they are newer buildings built in the ancient Greek style. Compare and contrast the architecture in VR Tour 1 and 2. Can you find and identify the same elements?
Video with questions: Characteristics of Greek and Roman art
Below is a video that explains the history, characteristics, and differences between ancient Greek and Roman art. Watch the video. Questions for you to answer will pop up while you are watching.
Greek and Roman art in action: Neoclassical art
In the first part of this lesson, you compared ancient architecture with newer architecture influenced by the ancient Greeks--Neoclassical architecture. Now that you have watched the video about Greek and Roman art, take a look at the photos below of art in the Library of Congress, located in Washington, D.C. Can you find any similarities between ancient Greek and Roman art and these Neoclassical pieces?
Also, there are some pieces of art related to the stories that we will read after this mini-course. Don't worry--there are no spoilers!
You can click on the slide to go to the next one or use the arrows to go back and forth through the slides.
