Homework 4 Aegean and Greek
1. Go to the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion and find another example of an object from the Minoan culture. Here is a good website to start, but there are others. https://www.meetcrete.com/archaeological-museum-heraklion/ (Links to an external site.). Include a picture of the object and discuss its meaning/symbolism, materials, and other pertinent information about the object. This should be about 200 words.
2. Go to the Getty Museum or the Metropolitan Museum of Art and look for an example of a red-figure Greek vase and a black-figure Greek vase. (Other types of vessels are fine.) Include a picture of each vase and discuss the meaning/symbolism pictured on the object. The vases should come from around the period of 500-300 BCE. Here is an example: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/34.11.7/ (Links to an external site.) What is this vase used for? Describe any additional information about the decoration of the vase in addition to the story told on the vase? This should be about 125-150 words minimum for each vase. Word count can also ways be more than required. Thank you in advanced.
I am also looking for writing in your own words. Don’t just copy and paste the information!!!
Please use the websites for reference in the intersections. Also, even if it is not possible to take your own pictures please take pictures form the internet of the vases that are being discussed.
Sample Answer
Aegean and Greek
The Bull’s Head Rhyton
The Bull’s Head Rhyton, dated 1450-1400 BC, is one of the most popular excavation finds of the Minoan culture. The rhyton is from the Little Palace at Knossos. The Bull’s Head Rhyton boasts exquisite materials with the main vessel made of steatite stone, the muzzle having white inlaid shell and eyes made of red jasper and rock crystal (Evans, 2013). The horns, though having been later reconstructed, are wooden with gold leafing. The carving of the bull has been remarkably crafted with a vivid combination of realism and stylization. The eyes, for instance, are made of rock crystal lenses, painted on the back with red pupils and black iris, with the rims inlaid with red jasper to give the bull a dramatic bloodshot look.
The Image of the Bull’s Head Rhyton
The Bull’s Head Rhyton was a libation offering vessel in religious rituals and festival settings. The libations are thought to have been used for worshipping god and honoring the dead. Though the libation types and the representation of the Bull’s Head Rhyton are yet to be completely uncovered, history suggests that the bull’s head rhyta were used in blood sacrifice libations. The libation is said to have been poured through the neck, spouting through the moth of the bull to the ground. The Bull’s Head Rhyton sheds important cultural information about the Minoan people. The Bull’s Head Rhyton in the Minoan culture is thought to symbolically assert the dominance of man over the chaos of nature (Evans, 2013). The ritual vessel can be used in comparison with another Minoan iconography to understand the craftsmanship and the naturalistic style the piece portrays.
The ancient Greek vases are fashioned in a variety of shapes and sizes. The vessels are made of terracotta, and their form correlates with their intended functions. The ancient Greek vases have been seen to display several painting techniques (Evans, 2013). The black-figure technique adopted in Athens around 625-600 BC uses a silhouette manner to color and incise dark-colored figures on a light background. On the other hand, the red-figure technique has light-colored figures that are against a dark background.
Terracotta Column-krater Red-figure Vase
This is a Terracotta column-krater red-figure vase, which dates between 470-460 BC. The vase is attributed to the Orchard Painter. Vases were essential pieces of equipment for the symposium (Sparkes, 2013). The symposium in ancient Greek culture is interpreted as a drinking party. This vase was used for diluting wine with water. It was also the vase from which the wine was served. The story associated with the vase is about a band of adventurers led by Jason that set out to steal a magical golden fleece of ram on the Black Sea. The adventurers, known as Argonauts. Jason was able to take the fleece from a groove under the protection of a dragon with the help of Greek gods and Medea, the sorceress. The paintings on the vase depict Jason reaching for the fleece with Athena, the goddess beside him.
Terracotta Column-krater Black Figure Vase
This is a black-figure Terracotta column-krater. The vase dates back to 550 BC and is attributed to Lydos. Just like the red-figure Terracotta column-krater described above, the vase is also used for mixing water and wine. The vase was also the one form in which the wine in a symposium was served (Sparkes, 2013). The story associated with the vase is the return of Hephaistos, a divine smith a son of Zeus and Hera to Mount Olympos. Hephaistos was born lame and was cast by his mother out of Olympos. He fashions a throne that held Hera fast in revenge when she sits on it. It was only Hephaistos that could release her. He is given wine, and then as the paintings depict, Hephaistos is escorted by the god of wine (Dionysos), his followers, maenads, and satyrs to Olympos.
