Kouros - Type of statue featuring life sized male nudes in a stance in which the left foot
is placed in front of the right.
Muses - Goddesses of
... [Show More] inspiration for literature, art, and science.
Doric order - The simplest of the classical Greek architectural styles, featuring
unadorned columns with no base.
Post and lintel - Classical Greek architectural design that features two upright posts
supporting a crossbeam called a lintel.
Frieze - A broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, usually on a wall
near the ceiling.
Entablature - The horizontal layers of material of a building that are supported by
columns or walls.
Pediment - The triangular upper part of the front of a building in the classical style.
Capital - The top part of a column between the shaft of the column and the entablature.
Catharsis - The purging of a spectator's strong emotions through experiencing tragedy;
one of Aristotle's concepts.
Hubris - Greek word for excessive pride, presumption or arrogance (originally toward
the gods).
Epic - A long poem recounting in elevated style the deeds of a legendary hero; any
narrative work (novel, drama, film) dealing with epic themes.
Canon - A set of rules developed by the Greek artist Polykleitos for creating perfect
proportionality in the human figure.
Diction - Wordchoice; can be classified as formal or informal, or denotative or
connotative.
Hellenic - A synonym for Greek.
Skepticism - A philosophy that maintains that there can be no certainty in human
knowledge and that mankind should continually be involved with finding the truth.
Allegory of the Cave - Plato's extended metaphor in The Republic that contrasts the way
in which most humans perceive reality and Plato's idea of the true form of reality.The Forms - Plato's concept that there are ideal essences (the Forms) of objects or
things.
Philosopher King - A hypothetical ruler, or Guardian, of Plato's ideal city state.
Golden Mean - Aristotle's term for the desirable middle between two extremes, between
excess and inadequacy.
Lyre - A string instrument like a U shaped harp known for its use by the classical
Greeks.
Humanism - The study of the creative and intellectual contributions of all human
cultures.
Polytheism - The belief in multiple gods; religion based on more than one god.
Classicism - Aesthetic attitudes and principles found in the art, architecture, and
literature of ancient Greece and Rome.
Democracy - Government of direct rule by the people, a form developed by the Greeks.
Republic - Government where supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to
vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly.
Socratic Method - Analytical method of reasoning developed by Greek philosopher
Socrates that asks a progression of questions in pursuit of the truth.
linear perspective - The creation of the illusion of depth based on the fact that parallel
lines or edges appear to converge, and objects appear smaller as the distance between
them and a viewer increases.
Protestant Reformation - A religious movement of the 16th century to reform the Roman
Catholic Church that resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.
chiaroscuro - The creation of the illusion of depth through gradations of light and shade.
dialect - A form of language which is particular to a group of people, such as those
belonging to a region or social class [Show Less]