Cl 100
Art Museum Reflection

Introduction
As a class assignment, I recently went to the Art Institute of Chicago last Friday. In hindsight, this was a little late to be going, but I found the trip to be enriching nonetheless. I browsed over several sections, like the Indian and Native American, but I spent most of my time in the Ancient Mediterranean area, chiefly the section displaying ancient Greek art. My task was to find several different items, each representing an aspect of Greek civilization. After a process of elimination, I chose four items that I felt best depicted the daily lives of Greeks in the past. In this paper I will attempt to briefly identify them.
Part I- An item of custom
The first item I chose was one that showcased Greek cultural norms. For this I chose a grave stele depicting a small child playing with his pets. According to the museum, this artifact was made sometime around 330 B.C.E., so it is from the transition time between the Classical and Hellenistic Periods. It was found in Athens and the museum identification number is 88.2012. It was donated anonymously (AI info).
Relatively intact, the image on its front is very easy to interpret. It is very clearly a young Greek boy, playing with his pet dove and dog. He holds the dove outstretched in his right hand and the dog appears to be jumping towards it, perhaps out of excitement. This stele is about 3-4 feet high and maybe a foot and a half wide. At one point it was painted, because there is a very feint trace of the colors red and blue.
In Greek culture, stele had several uses. Some like those of the god Herma, were used as marker points and had information on distances and where you were at the time. Others were decorated and used in festivals. As I mentioned before, this particular one marked the grave of an individual. In fact it is very likely that the boy on the stele is the one for whom it is for. It was not uncommon for stele and other markers to be used at graves, the more opulent and extravagant the better because this was a reflection on the wealth of the individual and their family (Ros, PPT, 5.5, slide 65). This is not unlike our modern use of headstones, which in many cases are stele although they do not go by that name.
Stele are an important part of Greek civilization because death was very prominent back then. Mortality rates were very high, especially for children, so it would not have been uncommon for a young child to die. On top of showcasing death in Greek society, it also gives us a look at a few other aspects. For instance, from this image we are able to see what kind of pets would have been commonly kept by Greeks. Small birds like doves were common as well as dogs. We can also get a feel for what a young boy would wear during this time period, based on his outfit. This particular stele is similar to the grave stele of Melisto, one of the examples used in class to show a grave marker so it is a common example of this aspect of Greek life (Ros, PPT 4.1, slides 2 through 5).
Part II- A representation of the social groups
The next item I choose is a kylix. This kylix is from Athens around the year 510 B.C.E, so it is from the Late Archaic Period. It is likely a work attributed to the Skythese Painter and uses the red-figure technique. Because it is completely preserved, the scene depicted is clearly seen to be a nude athlete (which was fairly common) preparing to throw a discus (Ros, PPT 5.5, slide 31). Being a cup, it is not very large, maybe 8in across and because it is a kylix it isn’t very tall, standing at maybe four or five inches It was gifted to the Art Institute by Stefan Hornak and was previously part of the Villa Collection from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu California. The museum identification number is 83.AE.247 (AI info).
I chose this item to represent the social group men for two reasons. For starters a Kylix is a type of drinking cup that was used primarily at symposiums. Symposiums, which literally means ‘drinking together’, were drinking parties. (Ros, PPT 5.3, slides 2 and 3). Since almost all scenes of them on pottery show only male guests, it is believed that they were an exclusively adult male event, although women only ones are a possibility. Drinking was common among most Greeks, but was a favorite pastime among men so I felt this was a worthy representation of this part of Greek society.
My second reason for choosing this item was because of the drawing on it. It is a male athlete that is likely participating in the Olympic Games. The original Olympic Games, which along with being the first recorded date in written Greek history, likely began in the year 776 B.C.E. At this time, only Greek men could participate in them so they were exclusively the domain of this social group.
Because this artifact not only represents Greek social gatherings, but an important Greek festival and social group as well, I thought it was a good representation of Greek civilization. For starters it is a real life example of a kylix, so I was able to get a feel for what vessels Greeks used to drink wine. I was surprised by how wide it is, because I can see myself having trouble balancing the liquid inside it if I was drinking from one. This leads into symposiums which were an important part of Greek life. At them guests would debate issues like politics, spend time with their friends, gossip and discuss things like poetry and writings. Because of this, they were a place where ideas were created and exchanged, therefore playing a big role in daily life. Lastly, this kylix depicts an Olympic athlete. Aside from being a major religious festival to the god Zeus, the games are probably one of the most well known aspects of Ancient Greek culture. As such, I think this is a worthy representation of the Ancient Greeks.
Part III- Depiction of a Greek myth
My next artifact is a depiction of a Greek myth. It is a volute krater that tells the story of Heracles’ ascension to Mt Olympus, where he is to join the twelve Olympians as an equal. This krater traces its origin to Magna Graecia, particularly the modern-day Italian region of Apulia. The creator is believed to be the Underworld Painter, and it was made around 330 B.C.E, so again at the crossroads between the Hellenistic and Classical Periods. This piece makes use of the red-figure technique, as the characters on it are all in red, while the background is black. It was anonymously donated and its museum identification number is 17.2012 (AI info). Scences depicting the life of Heracles are not uncommon in Greek art, as there was another example of this particular event. Museum item 122.2012 also shows the ascension. This also includes Athena and her chariot, as well as the lighting of the pyre, which is done by Heracles friends to end the excruciating pain brought on by poison added to his cloak by the centaur Deianira (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/bio.html.) . As previously mentioned, this krater depicts the accession of Heracles. At his death, the gods on Mt. Olympus deemed him worthy of their company, for his deeds as a mortal. The scene includes Athena picking him up in a chariot drawn by four flying horses. This apparently was not long after his funeral ceremony as there are two women carrying water to put out his pyre, for he was cremated. Meanwhile in Olympus, the gods sit, waiting eagerly for Heracles’ arrival. Also going on at this time is the crowning of Aphrodite by Eros. This was likely done to forecast the marriage of Hebe and Heracles, once he arrives on Olympus. Hebes is the goddess of youth (theoi.com, “Hebes”). I found this item to be a good representation of Greek civilization for several reasons. First off, it is a krater, which as we learned in class, is a vessel used to mix water and wine (Ros, PPT 5.3, slide 3). This was important in ancient times because Greeks very rarely drank straight wine, something only done by their barbaric neighbors. As such kraters played an important role in daily life. Secondly, and most important, this artifact tells the tale of Heracles’ accession. Heracles, Hercules in the West, is a Greek hero that embodies the desired traits of manliness, strength and courage. Through his completion of the twelve trails and other tasks, he is able to earn enough favor with the gods that they grant him immortality and a seat amongst them. In some cults he is even worshiped as a god (theoi.com “heracles”). If any Greek hero should be chosen to represent ancient mythology, it should be Heracles.
Part IV- Personal Favorite
The last item I chose was two items that the museum refers to as, “A Pair of Protomes Depicting the Forepart of a Griffin.” The two date back to the late Archaic Period, between 625 and 575 B.C.E. They likely came from the Greek island of Samos and are made with bronze and bone or ivory inlay. They were donated to the institute by the Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund. The museum identification number is 1994.38.1-2. (AI info).
The two have a green texture with the bronze starting to show from underneath. Both appear to be wearing tiny crowns and have very defined ears and eyes. Their mouths are open, almost as if they are screeching. Both are very small and the same size, no more than 6 inches tall. At one point in their lifetime, the pair decorated a ceremonial stand, given to a sanctuary by a very wealthy individual to show his status and faith. Expensive offerings were common as the better the gift, the greater the reward given by the god to whom the offering was made (Ros, PPT 4.6, slide 5). The griffin is unique from most of the aspects of Greek mythology we’ve discussed in class in that it’s origin isn’t Greek-it came from elsewhere. Its legend originated somewhere east, and it was known to be a mighty guardian of untold treasures. They had the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. In Greek mythology they dwell somewhere to the northeast, in mountains known then as the Rhipaean mountains (theoi.com “Griffins”).
The reason I found the Griffins so fascinating is they are actually based on something real. Their origin is probably based off the finding of beaked dinosaurs in the Gobi desert (AI.info). People passing through the area would have had no way of knowing this and to explain their existence, made stories up. They continued to be passed on until eventually they became an accepted part of Greek mythology.
Griffins play a role in ancient Greek civilization because they appear frequently in art. Aside from the example I found at the museum, Griffins appear on several pieces of pottery and mosaics, their most common form being in battle with their enemies, the Arimasp Warriors (theo.com “M16.3 Gryphomakhia”). Conclusion
All in all, I really enjoyed my visit to the Art Institute. I think it really helped to broaden my horizons and actually see the things we talk about in class. Being able to look at and almost touch, items that were created thousands of years ago was just incredible and I hope to one day actually visit the places they came from.

M16.3 Grypomakhia- “Griffins vs. Arimasp Warriors” (Part IV)

Pair of Griffin heads (Part IV)

Ascension of Heracles (Part III)

Olympic kylix (Part II)

Grave stele (Part I)

Munich 2360 “Athena and Hercules leave the funeral pyre” (Part III)