Athena (Roman bust after original bronze cult statue, attributed to Kresilas)

Athena, being one of the most well known goddess, was the goddess of many things, including wisdom, just warfare, justice, and the arts. The ancients to name their capital city after her viewed her as powerful. This bust shows her in her dressed in her battle helmet with a stern look on her face showing that she is strong and serious.

Athena (After Myron)

Once again Athena is shown in her battle helmet showing her battle knowledge and abilities. She stands tall and proud; we can only assume she would have originally held symbols of her athleticism in her arms, that are now missing, like her shield and a spear.

Athena flanked by Warriors

This piece is from the archaic period so our typically stern faces goddess has the smile typical of this period depicted. Despite this, her spear, shield, and helmet show us that she is powerful and prepared for battle. The two warriors on either side of her are depicted in the middle of motion; this gives the feeling that Athena might come to life at any moment and join in the battle.

Varvakeion Athena

This marble copy of the original Athena Parthenos is perhaps the best example of Athena’s power and strength. Despite standing in a stiff position she commands your attention. I can only imagine that in its original full scale she would intimidate the viewer.

Nashville Parthenon

Nike of Samothrace

The goddess Nike is often paired with Athena seeing as she is the goddess of victory. This is arguably the most famous sculpture of the winged goddess. Even though she is not directly involved with battle or athletic ability, she is the personification of victory. Victory empowers everyone to continue to push through hard times.

Information about the sculpture

Statuette of Nike

Although many of her identifying features, including her wings, have gone missing, the ideal that she embodies is of enough importance for her presence in the exhibit.

Artemis with a Doe

Artemis is the goddess of the hunt, meaning she was skilled with a bow and arrow giving her athletic abilities. She was also known in myth to be very physical and be a good wrestler. This sculpture shows the goddess as she is about to pluck an arrow from her quiver.

Information about the history of the sculpture.

Artemis Colonna

This depiction of the goddess is a more subdued version than the other. Even though she is not mid hunt you are still aware of her physicality and strength.

Ephesian Amazon

The Amazonian women were a society of people from Greek myth where the women were viewed as the leaders. They were known for their excellent fighting skills and archery skills. To them archery was so important they were said to have one breast removed so they could shoot better. The Greeks lumped these women in with the “barbarians” as people that the they had defeated over and over again in battle, but even with this we see that these women were viewed as a formidable enemy. Even though this sculpture depicts an injured amazon she should still be included because of the physical abilities of her people.

Marble statue of a wounded Amazon

This sculpture is nearly identical to the previous amazon statue but it offers us the same idea of strength and just reiterates it for the viewer.

Head of an Amazon

This bust provides a more simplistic view of the amazon. It shows the stern and strong nature of these women. It also is comparable to other busts or remains of other Amazonian sculptures when it comes to such features as the stylization of the hair. Many are treated in very similar ways, which creates this instantaneous identifier.

Amazonomachy

I feel that this is the best example of the ferocity of the amazons. This woman is attacking a Greek, not defending but attacking. Her posture is aggressive and powerful.

Amazonomachy Book

Video about Amazons and Greek Battles

All the World’s Stage: Origins of Drama and Design of Theaters

Starting in the 5th cen. BCE theaters became prominent part of the Greece community; it was a key to their culture and city layout. The predecessors of theatrical drama were the temples to the gods, in many cases the pediment statues told stories of the gods or of the Greeks. The stories were of significance to the local community but also to the rest of Greece as well, in a panhellenic sense.

Reconstruction of the west pediment of the Parthenon, Athens, Greece.

At its birth Athenian theatre was not a grand social event, nor was it entertainment for when citizens had time; it was an all day affair. The crowds of viewers were massive, around 14,000, and would sit through multiple plays in a row. This was a competition of sorts between playwrights with prizes and rewards set aside for those with the best audience responses. (One might liken this to a more large scale version of College Night here on campus.)

On top of the plays, audiences were subject to civic functions from the city. Since the theaters were built with public funds functions of the local government were held here.

The origins of the architectural theater used by the Greeks is unknown, but based upon design we have been able to gather that the actions of the cult of Dionysus directly correlates to the shape and features. The area where the action took place was known as the “orkhestra,” the base for the modern word orchestra. It was a circular, or semi-circular, flat area that was empty, except for an altar. This type of space is similar to that of a threshing floor which many scholars believe reveals the connection between theatre and the cult of Dionysus. The round shape of the the theater allowed each person to be on equal in terms of view of the production; this is best shown at Epidaurous.

An aerial view of the theater.

Image of the 2013 Epidaurus Festival.