Humanities Vocab: Hellenic

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Hellenic

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Relating to the time period in Greek civilization from 480 to 323 bce, when themost influential Greek artists, playwrights, and philosophers, such as Praxiteles, Sophocles, and Plato created their greatest works; associated with the Classical style

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Maenad

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A woman who worshiped Dionysus, often in a state of frenzy

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Dionysia

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Any of the religious festivals held in ancient Athens honoring Dionysus, the god of wine; especially the Great Dionysia, celebrated in late winter and early spring in which tragedy is though to have originated

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Phalanx

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Rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, or similar weapons The term is particularly (and originally) used to describe the use of this formation in Ancient Greek warfare The word phalanx is derived from the Greek word phalangos, meaning the finger.

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Classic (Classical)

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Having the forms, values, or standards embodied in the art and literature of Greek and Roman civilization; in music, an 18th-century style characterized by simplicity, proportion, and an emphasis on structure

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Classicism

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A set of aesthetic principles found in Greek and Roman art and literature and emphasizing the search for perfection or ideal forms

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Tragedy

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A serious and deeply moral drama, typically involving a noble protagonist brought down by excessive pride (hubris) and describing a conflict between seemingly irreconcilable values or forces; in Greece, tragedies were performed at the festivals associated with the worship of Dionysus

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Chorus

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In Greek drama, a group of performers who sang and danced in both tragedies and comedies, often commentating on the action; in later times, a group of singers who performed with or without instrumental accompaniment

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Orchestra

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In Greek theaters, the circular area where the chorus peformed in front of the audience; in music, a group of instrumentalists, including string players, who play together

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Skene

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A small building behind the orchestra in a Greek theater, used as a prop and as a storehouse for theatrical materials

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Satyr-play

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A comedic play, often featuring sexual themes, performed at the Greek drama festivals along with the tragedies

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Old Comedy

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The style of comedy established by Aristophanes in the 5th century bce, distinguished by a strong element of political and social satire

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Modes

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A series of musical scales devised by the Greeks and believed by theme to create certain emotional or ethical effects on the listener

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Idealism

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In Plato’s philosophy, the theory that reality and ultimate truth are to be found not in the material world but in the spiritual realm

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Platonism

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The collective beliefs and arguments presented in Plato’s writings stressing especially that actually things are copies of ideas

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Ionic

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The Greek architectural order, developed in Ionia, in which columns are slender, sit on a base, and have capitals decorated with scrolls

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Doric

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The simplest and oldest of the Greek architectural orders, in which temple columns have undecorated capitals and rest directly on the stylobate

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Corinthian

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The third Greek architectural order, in which temple columns are slender and fluted, sit on a base, and have capitals shaped like inverted bells and decorated with carvings representing the leaves of the acanthus bush; this style was popular in Hellenistic times and widely adopted by the Romans

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Severe Style

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The first sculptural style of the Classical period in Greece, which retained stylistic elements from the Archaic style

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High Classical Style

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The style in Greek sculpture associated with the ideal physical form and perfected during the zenith of the Athenian Empire, about 450-400 bce

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Fourth Century style

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The sculptural style characteristic of the last phase of the Hellenic period, when new interpretations of beauty and movement were adopted

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Contrapposto

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In sculpture and painting, the placement of the human figure so the weight is more on one leg than the other an the shoulders and chest are turned in the opposite direction from the hips and legs

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Praxitelean curve

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The graceful line of the sculptured body in the contrapposto stance, perfected by the Fourth Century style sculptor Praxiteles

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Humanism

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An attitude that is concerned with humanity, its achievements, and its potential; the study of the humanities; in the Renaissance, identified with studia humanitatis