Archaic - Classical - Hellenistic → Greek Sculpture: How to Tell the Three Major Styles Apart

This time, we will discuss the three major styles in Greek sculpture.

(Note: We will not be discussing the earlier periods like the Mycenaean period and the Geometrical period at this time. Also, geographically speaking, we will not limit ourselves to Greece in the narrow sense of the word: Examples from places like Cyprus and Italy will be included because we can largely see the same styles there. Of course, there are important regional differences, but that is beyond the scope of this blog post.)

Archaic period (middle of the 8^th century BCE ～ beginning of the 5^th century BCE)

Fig. 1: Archaic statuette of AΡΤΕΜΙΣ【Artemis】 ⌛ 6th～5th century BCE 📍 Archaeological Museum of Corfu (Greece)

Statues produced during this period are clearly inspired by Egyptian and Mesopotamian sculpture. [I]

Overall, the statues look very rigid: the face, the upper body and the lower body are all pointed forward. The figure may seem to step forward or sometimes the arms even raised holding a weapon for example, but the posture generally appears too stiff to convincingly create the illusion of movement.

Details in the face, the hair and clothing are all highly stylised and almost cartoonish, rather than realistic. Towards the end of the period, we can often see what is called the “archaic smile” [II]

Classical period (early 5^th century BCE ～ late 4^th century BCE)

Fig. 2: Classical bust of a Goddess, probably Dēmḗtēr (ΔΗΜΗΤΗΡ , Roman name: CERES) ⌛ late 5th century BCE, 📍 Olynthos, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (Greece)

During the Classical period, the pose, face, drapery and other details become more realistic. 

Perhaps most revolutionary was the introduction of the so-called contrapposto: The figures seem to put most of their weight on one leg, in the case of the two statues on [Fig. 3], it’s the right leg. Their right hips are higher than their left hips, but for the shoulders, it’s the other way around. The contrapposto makes the depicted figure look more relaxed and realistic.

Fig. 3: Left: Hellenistic copy of Classical statue → photo credit: Tilemahos Efthimiadis (more info here)
Right: Roman copy of Classical original → photo credit: Sailko (more info here)

When the subject is depicted in a more dynamic pose, the proportions and details look very realistic compared to examples from say the middle of the archaic period. However, some stiffness in the posture remains. Also, muscles often look relaxed where you would expect some muscular strain., One could say the characters tend to look like a picture of someone maintaining a pose, waiting for a picture to be taken, rather than a snapshot of someone actually moving.

Faces also become more realistic, though they still look fairly idealised and expressionless, with big cartoonish eyes. Hair and clothing still look quite smooth and simplified, especially at the beginning of this period.

Before we move on to the Hellenistic period, we should say something about nudity in Greek sculpture: Male nudity was not at all uncommon during the Archaic period, but it became even more prominent during the Classical period.
Female nudity was extremely rare during the Archaic period, but it became acceptable during the Classical period. [III]

It is important to note here that Goddesses like ΑΡΤΕΜΙΣ【Artemis】, ΗΡΑ【Hērā】 and ΠΑΛΛΑΣ ΑΘΗΝΑ【Pallas Athēna】 were never depicted nude. On the other hand, the Goddess of love ΑΦΡΟΔΙΤΗ【Aphrodítē】, lesser Goddesses, nymphs and other mythological beings were now commonly shown revealing Their breasts or even pubic region.

Hellenistic period (late 4^th century BCE ～ late 1^st century BCE)

Fig. 4: Tanagra figurine from the Hellenistic period ⌛ late 3rd century BCE 📍 Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (Greece)

By the beginning of this period, statues had gradually become less idealised, more realistic and more expressive. This trend continued throughout the Hellenistic period.

The size of the eyes and details such as hair, clothing and muscles became increasingly lifelike.

Although the relaxed contrapposto remained very common, sculptors now also experimented with more complex and dynamic poses, very convincingly creating the illusion of motion.

Sculptors also started to create statue groups to take their sculptures to the next level and have several characters interact with one another, typically in very emotional fashion.

It should be noted that during the Hellenistic period, Classical statues were still widely appreciated and copied. The same can be said of the Roman Imperial period.

Roman Imperial period (late 1^st century BCE ～ late 5^th century CE)

Fig. 5: Lansdowne Hercules ⌛ 2nd century CE 📍 Tivoli (Italy), currently in the Getty Villa (Malibu, California, USA)

During the Roman Imperial period, statues from the Classical, Hellenistic and to a lesser extent Archaic period were copied and distributed on a larger scale than ever before.

That is not to say that people were only copying earlier Greek sculptures during the Roman period: Many new, original statues were also created. [Fig. 5] for example is believed to be an original Roman depiction of the young Hercules, although the style of the statue is clearly influenced by art work from the Classical period.

[The Augustus of Prima Porta] on the other hand is a Roman original that seems to draw more from the Hellenistic period. You could even say that many of the clay votive figurines that were incredibly common during the Roman period, were original Roman creations with an Archaic touch [Fig. 6].

Fig. 6: Roman votive figurines of MINERVA ⌛ 1st～2nd century CE 📍 currently in the Gallo-Romeins Museum Tongeren (Belgium)

Apart from copying Greek art and improvising within the limits of the three Greek styles, the Romans also added entirely new elements to their statues. Perhaps most distinctly Roman is the extreme realism that can be seen in Roman portrait busts. In the so-called [“warts-and-all”] style, the pursuit of idealising the subject is almost completely abandoned and beauty is to be found in the incredibly lifelike portrayals of real individuals.

Another typically Roman feature in sculpture, are drilled pupils. [Fig. 7] During the Imperial period, especially from the early 2^nd century CE onwards, it becomes more and more common for sculptors to drill holes for the pupils, whereas earlier sculptors usually preferred to have the irises and pupils painted on. [IV] 

Fig. 7: Marble head of woman, probably someone belonging to the imperial family; Note the holes for the pupils! ⌛ 2nd century CE 📍 unknown site in Macedonia, currently in the National Museum of Slovenia

Towards the end of the Roman era, nudity becomes rarer in sculpture again, and faces with big eyes and more cartoonish features make a come-back as Roman art gradually transitions into Byzantine and Medieval art. 

Fig. 8: Bust of an old man; Note the large eyes and cartoonish features! ⌛ 3rd century CE, but adaptations were made during the 4th century to make the character look less Roman and more Christian (TOGA was chiseled away) 📍 currently in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki (Greece)

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Sources

[I] Alessio, A. et al. (1982) Hellas’ Goden en Mensen. Paleis voor Schone Kunsten – Brussel: p18.

[II] Tanenhaus, Sam et al. (2011) The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge: A Desk Reference for the Curious Mind. St. Martin's Press: p21.

[III] Alessio, A. et al. (1982) Hellas’ Goden en Mensen. Paleis voor Schone Kunsten – Brussel: p24.

[IV] Fischer, Julia C. Art in Rome: From Antiquity to the Present. Cambridge Scholars Publishing : p64.