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ncient Greek art occupies a special place in the history of art through the ages. Many of the
cultural values of the Greeks, especially the exaltation of humanity as the “measure of all things,”
remain fundamental tenets of Western civilization. This humanistic worldview led the Greeks to create
the concept of democracy (rule by the demos,the people) and to make seminal contributions in the
fields of art, literature, and science. Ancient Greek ideas are so completely part of modern Western habits
of mind that most people are scarcely aware that the concepts originated in Greece more than 2,500
years ago.
The Greeks, or Hellenes,as they called themselves, appear to have been the product of an intermin-
gling of Aegean peoples and Indo-European invaders. They never formed a single nation but instead es-
tablished independent city-states, or poleis (singular,polis). The Dorians of the north, who many believe
brought an end to Mycenaean civilization, settled in the Peloponnesos (MAP5-1). The Ionians settled
the western coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the islands of the Aegean Sea. The origin of the Io-
nians is disputed. Some say the northern invaders forced the Ionians out of Greece and that they then
sailed eastward from Athens to their new homes. Others hold that the Ionians developed in Asia Minor
between the 11th and 8th centuriesBCEout of a mixed stock of settlers.
Whatever the origins of the various regional populations, in 776BCEthe separate Greek-speaking
states held their first ceremonial games in common at Olympia. The later Greeks calculated their
chronology from these first Olympic Games—the first Olympiad.From then on, despite their differences
and rivalries, the Greeks regarded themselves as citizens ofHellas (the ancient name of Greece), distinct
from the surrounding “barbarians” who did not speak Greek.
Even the gods of the Greeks (see “The Gods and Goddesses of Mount Olympus,” page 101) differed
in kind from those of neighboring civilizations. Unlike Egyptian and Mesopotamian deities, the Greek
gods and goddesses differed from human beings only in that they were immortal. It has been said that
the Greeks made their gods into humans and their humans into gods. The perfect individual became
the Greek ideal—and the portrayal of beautiful humans became the focus of many of the greatest
Greek artists.
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