Humanities Vocab: Aegean

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Frieze

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A band of painted designs or sculptured figures placed on walls; also, the central portion of a temple’s entablature just above the architrave

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Fresco

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Painting done on wet or dry plaster that becomes part of the plastered wall

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Linear A

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In Minoan civilization, a type of script still undeciphered that lasted from about 1800 to 1400 bce

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Linear B

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In Minoan civilization, an early form of Greek writing that flourished on Crete from about 1400 until about 1300 bce and lasted in a few scattered places on the Greek mainland until about 1150 bce; used to record commercial transactions

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Ashlar

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A massive hewn or squared stone used in constructing a fortress, palace, or large building

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Shaft graves

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Deep pit burial sites; the dead were usually placed at the bottom of the shafts; a burial practice in Mycenaean Greece

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Oligarchy

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From the Greek oligos, “few”; a state ruled by the few, especially by a small fraction of persons or families

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Muse

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In Greek religion, any one of the nine sister goddesses who preside over the creative arts and sciences Calliope: the 'beautiful of speech': chief of the muses and muse of epic or heroic poetry Clio:the 'glorious one': muse of history Erato: the 'amorous one': muse of love or erotic poetry, lyrics, and marriage songs Euterpe: the 'well-pleasing': muse of music and lyric poetry Melpomene: the 'chanting one': muse of tragedy Polyhymnia or Polymnia: the '[singer] of many hymns': muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, singing and rhetoric Terpsichore: the '[one who] delights in dance': muse of choral song and dance Thalia: the 'blossoming one': muse of comedy and bucolic poetry Urania: the 'celestial one': muse of astronomy

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Olympian deities

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In Greek religion, sky gods and goddesses who lived on mountaintops and were worshipped mainly by the Greek aristocracy Aphrodite (Venus) - goddess of love, lust, and beauty Apollo (Apollo) - has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; archery; medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. Ares (Mars, the Roman god of war and agriculture (whom they had inherited from the Etruscans), but among them, Mars stood in much higher esteem) - the son of Zeus (ruler of the gods) and Hera. Though often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, he is more accurately the god of savage warfare, or bloodlust, or slaughter personified. Artemis (Diana) - She was the goddess of forests and hills,also known as the goddess of the hunt. Wwas often depicted carrying a bow and arrows. The deer and the cypress were sacred to her. In later, Hellenistic times she even assumed the ancient role of Eileithyia in aiding childbirth. Athena (Minerva) - is the shrewd companion of heroes and the Goddess of heroic endeavour. Demeter (Ceres) - is the goddess of grain and fertility, the pure nourisher of the youth and the green earth, the health-giving cycle of life and death, and preserver of marriage and the sacred law Hephaestus (Vulcan) - he was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. Hera (Juno) - Her chief function was as goddess of women and marriage. Hermes (Mercury) - the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travellers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of commerce in general, and of the cunning of thieves and liars.

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Chthonian deities

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In Greek religion, earth gods and goddesses who lived underground and were usually associated with peasants and their religious beliefs

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Hubris

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In Greek thought, human pride or arrogance that leads an individual to challenge the gods, usually provoking divine retribution

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Epic poetry

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Narrative poetry, usually told or written in an elevated style, that recounts the life of a hero

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Bard

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a tribal poet-singer, who composed and recited works, often of the epic poetry genre

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Homeric epithet

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a recurring nickname, such as “Ox-eyed Hera,” used in Homer’s Iliad or Odyssey

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Lyre

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In music, a handheld stringed instrument, with or without a sound box, used by ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Greeks. In Greek culture, the lyre was played to accompany song and recitation

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Lyric poetry

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In Greece: verses sung and accompanied by the lyre; Today: intensely personal poetry

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Lyric

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A short subjective poem that expresses intense personal emotion

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Orientalizing

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A phase of Greek art, particularly Greek vase painting, lasting from about 700 to 530 bce, which drew inspiration from Near Eastern art, including artistic techniques, vessel forms, decorative motifs, and subjects

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Natural philosophy

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Science based on philosophical speculation and experiments or data, founded in Ionian Greece in the 6th century bce; a term that embraced both science and philosophy until about 1800 ce.

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Post-beam-triangle construction

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The generic name given to Greek architecture that includes the post, or column; the beam, or lintel; an the triangular-shaped area, or pediment