You are a future architect – speak about your plans and your contribution to the architecture of your native city.

- It took 120 years to build the temple.
- It was destroyed and rebuilt thrice.

TEXT 4. FROM THE HISTORY OF EGYPTIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE

PART 1 / EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE

To begin with, Egypt, the cradle of the arts of architecture and the seat of the earliest known civilization presents the astonishing picture of a society which went all the way from primitive life to the high level of the civilization by the middle of the third millennium B.C, and then lost its creative power but retained its status for another 2,500 years.

By studying the architecture of this civilization we find two very big difficulties. The first is an enormous length of time, and the second is the scarcity of information. It is difficult to push the true history architecture back so far without trespassing upon ground which belongs to archaeology. However remains of their architecture are incredibly conserved; this is due to the fine quality of the building stones which Egyptian used, to the dry climate, and to their desire to erect monuments which would endure for ever... and it is! Today we can see them on the edge of the sprawling suburbs of Cairo; we have to imagine the emptiness that must have once existed.

Egyptian most outstanding architectural achievements are its massive funerary monuments and temples built of stone for permanence, featuring only post-and-lintel construction, corbel vaults without arches or vaulting and pyramids. This architecture gave the world the earliest buildings in dressed stone, invented the column, capital and cornice. Features peculiar to the ancient Egyptian architecture also include the obelisk, the steeply battered pylon, the symbolical lotus column and incised relief decoration without any structural relevance.

The pyramids of the old Kingdom, 2700–2300 B.C., majestically planted on the desert edge, are the most spectacular of all funerary works. They were built to serve the god-king pharaoh and his large retinue of priests, to contain the kings’ burial chambers and their mummies. They were reputed to be adepts in the Mysteries, with an occult power over the two worlds of the living and the dead. The three pyramids are said to have been built by the pharaohs Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus, probably over five thousand years ago. The largest is the Great Pyramid of Cheops which consists of an almost solid mass of masonry in a bulk of some 2–3 million cu. metres (85 million cu. feet).

An integral part of this complex of pyramids at Giza is the mysterious, crouching sphinx, which the ancient Egyptians called Hu. It was the Greeks who gave it this name. Sphinx means “strangler” in their tongue, for they no doubt confused it with their own female-headed, female-breast monster, who destroyed those unfortunates unable to solve their riddles. The Egyptian sphinx was no such creature, however, and was supposed to be the material form into which the Egyptian Sun-god Ra would incarnate in order to protect his worshippers. The face is not that of a woman – it is a portrait of the Pharaoh Chephren in his royal headgear and false beard. The figure was carved entire from the living rock and is about 72 metres (240 feet) long and 20 metres (66 feet) high. To this day people speak of the underground passages which are supposed to be cut into the rocks below, and of the treasure contained in its hidden chambers.

The erosion of the Sphinx remains us that the ancients would have seen something very different from what meets eyes in this remarkable place. Originally there were concourses of temples, mausoleums, ritual chambers and smaller pyramids in ordered profusion around, and there would have been a careful landscaping of tree and plants. There would also have been the Jura limestone which originally covered the outer surface of the pyramids; this was removed by the Arabs only some six centuries ago, and used to build their mosques in Cairo. Now of course the unprotected walls are crumbling into decay, and one may only imagine the surface of smooth white light which was known to the ancients. Of course, the pyramids were very old even for those people we call the ancients. Whilst most modern authorities suggest that the Great Pyramid was constructed around 3350 B.C., the age of all pyramids is much disputed. Many argue that the inscriptions upon which dating is based were added much later by those who merely restored or modified the buildings. The Sphinx, for example, is of uncertain date, and the inscription between its paws makes us clear that even by 1414 B.C. it was old enough to be completely covered by the desert sands.

Egyptian architecture was developed and constructed using mathematical principles of algebra and geometry that were later adopted by the Greeks, as well as other cultures. The pyramids could not have been built without the knowledge of mathematics. All Egyptian architecture and art was made following proscribed rules and procedures. The humans depicted in the artwork had to be painted or drawn in a very particular and proscribed way. Early Egyptians developed a calendar and a rudimentary Zodiac, which were also used and altered by succeeding cultures. The pyramids are the best example of the knowledge of Egyptian stonemasons, and their metalworkers were exemplary. Even during the period of the Old Kingdom Egyptians were able to produce the world’s first large-scale monuments in stone, such as Zoser’s necropolis at Sakkara, built 2760 B.C. by Imhotep, the earliest architect. The six great steps of the Step Pyramid indicate how the pyramidal form evolved as a brilliant inspiration from the simple mastabas or rectangular tombs of the earliest Egyptian dynasties.

In the Middle Kingdom, 2134–1650 B.C., the gigantic pyramid gave place to smaller-scale pyramid tombs. Earlier styles were slightly simplified and less durable materials were used. But the sarcophagus in the tomb chamber assumed vast dimensions and might weigh as much as 150 tons.

Great buildings began to be erected once again in the New Kingdom, 1570–1085 B.C. The most notable monuments are the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut (the only woman-pharaoh) at Deir el Bahari (1480 B.C.), with its pillared halls, colonnades and gigantic ramps connecting the different levels. The magnificent Great Temple at Karnak is devoted to Amon as the universal god of Egypt. The main glory of the Great Temple is the colossal hypostyle hall, started by Amenhotep III. This temple was linked with the Temple of Mut and the large Temple of Amun at Luxor by processional ways flanked by sphinxes.

The final revival took place under the rule of the Ptolemies, whom Alexander the Great had established on the Egyptian throne. Numerous temples survived from this period are the temple of Horus at Edfu and the temples on the island of Philae.

PART 2 / EGYPTIAN ART

The art of the Egyptians reflects every aspect of their lives. Depicted in tomb and temple drawings are scenes of everyday living, models of people and animals, glass figures and containers, vases and jewelry made from gold and semi-precious stones. Many wonderful pieces of art and artifacts were found in the royal tombs, which were richly decorated, for example, over three thousand five hundred items were recovered from the burial of Tutankhamun, and many are breathtaking in their beauty and a testament to the skill of Egyptian craftsmen.

The wall and pillar drawings are perhaps the best known. In these drawings, it can be seen that people are going about the everyday business of baking, fishing, boating, marketing, and meeting together in family groups. A variety of perspectives is often combined in Egyptian art; however, the side view is the most often seen. The artists used bright colors of blue and red, orange and white to develop pictures that tell of the life of the deceased individual. The artist would first sketch a design on a piece of pottery, and if the design was satisfactory, it would be sketched on the wall with charcoal. Colors could then be used to fill in the completed picture. Paints were made from naturally occurring minerals and artificially prepared mineral substances. Paint brushes were sticks with fibrous wood with frayed ends. Walls were covered with mud plaster, then with lime plaster. By the time of Ramses II, artists were able to shade colors to achieve a layered effect. Wall paintings were then protected by a thin layer of varnish (the composition of which is still not known).

Sculptors were important artists in Egypt. Statues were made of kings, queens, scribes, animals, and gods and goddesses. Frequently, human and godlike attributes and symbols were combined. The work of the artist was seen in other media as well. Alabaster, a white and translucent stone, was often used for making vessels and containers. Pottery was made of ceramics and clay. Pottery glazed with minerals was used to make beads, amulets, pendants, and other jewelry. Craftsmen made glass for inlayed designs and for some containers. Workers were able to make articles out of lead, gold, silver, and copper. Such metals were used to make pins, tweezers, razors, axes, knives, spears, sculptures, and jewelry.

Egypt became to be influenced by some other nations which brought the end of the Ancient Egyptian culture. They were conquered by the Greeks in 332 B.C. As a result of this they became a province of the Greek empire and they were influenced by the Greek culture both in their art and in their lifestyles, however their religion was respected by the Greeks. In 30 B.C. they were conquered by the Roman Empire. This brought the final end to the Ancient Egyptian culture. They no longer had pharaohs, they no longer built pyramids, they no longer followed their traditional rules in their art. Their old culture slowly but surely disappeared and all that is left is the ancient Artifacts...

PART 3 / THE MYSTERIES OF THE KING TUTANKHAMUN’S TOMB

Tutankhamun, or better known as King Tut, is an 18^th dynasty pharaoh who inherited the throne at a young age. His reign was short-lived and upon his death he quickly faded into the sands of Egypt. Once forgotten, King Tut now remains one of Egypt’s grandest icons. He continues to hold the world’s fascination and yet he still continues to puzzle the world's leading experts. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun caused a sensation and raised the profile of Ancient Egypt with modern tourists and scholars. The treasures of Tutankhamun have been marveled at since their discovery by Howard Carter on November 4, 1922. The emptying of Tutankhamun's tomb lasted several years and made possible the recovery of about 3500 articles, confirming the tomb as the most exceptional archeological discovery ever made in Egypt. His tomb had been robbed at least twice before its discovery by Howard Carter but based on the items taken (including perishable oils and perfumes) and the evidence of restoration of the tomb it is likely that these robberies took place fairly soon after the pharaoh's burial. The tomb was probably saved from further incursions because its entrance was buried under debris and chips of stone excavated during the construction of other tombs and washed there during the infrequent floods which occasionally swept the area. It also seems that worker's accommodation was built above the location of the entrance during the Ramesside period implying that the Egyptians themselves did not know there was a tomb beneath them.

Tutankhamun's tomb escaped the systematic clearance of tombs in the area conducted during the Twentieth Dynasty motivated in part by a desire to re-house the mummies of pharaohs in a few locations so that they could be better guarded and in part by a rather less worthy desire to recycle their precious grave goods. Thus because Tutankhamun was not included in the Abydos kings list, and his tomb entrance was lost below rubble and later habitations, it was relatively intact when it was re-discovered.

Theodore M. Davis and his team uncovered a small site containing funerary artifacts bearing the cartouche of Tutankhamun in 1907. Shortly after he excavated the tomb of Horemheb which he assumed was also the tomb of Tutankhamun. In his book detailing his findings ("The Tombs of Harmhabi and Touatankhamanou") he famously states "I fear that the Valley of Kings is now exhausted". He was, of course, very wrong. Howard Carter was employed by Lord Carnarvon to search the area for any remaining tombs, but he did not narrow his search to the Tomb of Tutankhamun until he was running out of time. Carnarvon had made it clear that he would only fund one more year of excavations when Carter struck gold with his discovery of the tomb in 1922.

The tomb of Tutankhamun was one of the smaller tombs of the Valley of the Kings as Tutankhamun was a fairly minor king who had a very short reign. The tomb is located in an area not usually associated with royal burials perhaps because it may have originally been intended to be the tomb of his Vizier, Ay. Despite its small size, the tomb was crammed with beautiful artifacts, leading many to speculate on the wonders that would have been placed in the tomb of a pharaoh such as Ramesses II or Thuthmosis III. Over three thousand five hundred items were recovered from the burial of Tutankhamun, and many are breathtaking in their beauty and a testament to the skill of Egyptian craftsmen. However, it is now thought that more than half of the jewellery had been stolen from the tomb before it was opened by Howard Carter.

The tomb does not follow the design of the other pharaonic burials of the time. However, Howard Carter suggested that the layout, although apparently different from that of other New Kingdom tombs, replicated the lower sections of more traditional royal tombs. Sixteen steps descend to a sealed and plastered doorway (often erroneously alleged to be the location of the Curse of Tutankhamun). Beyond this doorway a single descending corridor led to a second sealed door and a rectangular antechamber with a small chamber leading off from the west wall. The doorway in the north end of the antechamber leads to a small burial chamber, the floor of which is around a metre lower than that of the preceding chamber. Another annex (the treasury) extends from the east wall of the burial chamber back towards the entrance.

Only the burial chamber in the tomb of Tutankhamun was decorated which is unusual because in royal tombs almost all of the walls were generally painted with scenes from the Amduat (the Book of the Dead). In this case, the burial chamber had a golden background and was decorated with scenes from the Opening of the Mouth ritual and the Amduat (Book of the Dead), and with depictions of Tutankhamun with various gods. There is, unsurprisingly, no reference to the Aten.

The apes of the first hour of the Amduat are depicted on the west wall. On the North wall Tutankhamun appears before the goddess Nut and the royal ka embraces Osiris. Further along the wall there is a depiction of Ay wearing the blue war crown of a pharaoh (indicating that he became pharaoh shortly after the death of the young king) performing the Opening of the Mouth ritual before the mummy of Tutankhamun. On the east wall a spell from the Amduat (Book of the Dead) appears, along with a depiction of the funeral procession of Tutankhamun. His mummy is drawn along on a sledge during the funeral procession and he is followed by two of his viziers to the king and a third individual t hought by many to be Horemheb. The decoration on the south wall depicts Tutankhamun with Anubis and Hathor and a further scene depicting Tutankhamun being welcomed into the underworld by Hathor, Anubis and Isis. The ceiling was decorated with a depiction of Nut with her wings spread to embrace the resting place of the pharaoh.

The antechamber chamber of the tomb of Tutankhamun was described by Carter as being in a state of "organized chaos", containing around seven hundred items including the components of four chariots, a collapsible sunshade, a number of senet boards, four ritual couches, a gilded wooden half-length bust of Tutankhamun wearing a flat crown and two near life-size wooden figures that flanked the north wall in which the concealed entrance to the burial chamber was located. One statue depicted Tutankhamun wearing the Nemes head cloth. The other represented his ka wearing an Afnet headdress. Both have skin is coloured with black resin (symbolizing regeneration) and hold a staff and mace. Their clothing and jewellery are gilded with gold and their sandals and uraei are made of gilded bronze. The burial chamber contained a series of gilded wooden shrines which almost entirely filled the room. Squeezed in beside the shrines Carter found eleven paddles for a solar boat, containers for perfumed oils and lamps decorated images of the God Hapi. The annex leading from the burial chamber was used to store perfumed oils and ointments along with food and wine.

The outer sarcophagus was made from two slightly different coloured blocks of granite. It seems that the lid did not originally match the body of the sarcophagus, perhaps being intended for the burial of a different pharaoh. At each corner one of Isis, Nephtys, Serqet (Serket) and Neith protect the body of the king. Inside the sarcophagus a further three mummiform sarcophagi enclose the body of Tutankhamun, the innermost is composed of 110.4 kg of pure gold. Inside the last sarcophagus the mummy lay, wearing the funeral mask made of gold lapis lazuli, carnelian, quartz, obsidian, turquoise and glass which is arguably one of the most famous pieces of Egyptian art. And one more striking item – may be as astonishing as the golden sarcophagus - a garland of flowers placed around the neck of Tutankhamun's mummy. Botanists found it included cornflowers and mayweed that were fresh at the time the decoration was made. These flowers produced not only a poetic legend about the last present from Tutankhamun’s wife to her dead husband but became the final piece of evidence about his death’s time."The cornflower and mayweed on the garland around the mummy were in flower in March and April, which tells us the time of year he was buried," said Nigel Hepper of the Royal Horticultural Society at Kew Gardens. Because the flowers could have been collected only between the middle of March and the end of April, and as the complex process of mummification lasted 70 days, this meant Tutankhamun probably died in December or January.

Many of the objects in the treasury were originally discovered by Carter but were not opened or removed from the tomb. In 2007 further exploration of this chamber recorded that it contained eight baskets of fruit from the Doum Palm (also known as the gingerbread tree or thebaica). This tree was originally native to the Nile valley and was traditionally offered at funerals. Archaeologists also discovered fifty clay pots marked with Tutankhamun's official seal which may have contained money for the pharaoh to use in the afterlife. These have not yet been opened. One of the jars recovered from his tomb still had the remnants of a perfumed oil within it. The perfumed ointment found in the tomb of Tutankhamun was a combination of pure coconut oil with spikenard and frankincense.

The mummy of Tutankhamun still rests in his tomb within a temperature-controlled glass case. In November 2007 the face of Tutankhamun was revealed when his mummy was removed from its golden sarcophagus for display in a climate-controlled glass box (to prevent decomposition as a result of the humidity and heat generated by tourists). The story of his life, the secret of his death, the mystery of his curse and treasuries – so many riddles still remain and fascinate our imagination, so many stories surround this pharaoh that at times it can be daunting…

TEXT 5. ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN ANCIENT GREECE

PART 1 / GREEK ARCHITECTURE

Architectural ideas spread from Egypt, across the Mediterranean, to Crete and Greece. Around 1300 B.C. the Greek hill towns of Tiryns and Mycenae were strong and primitive, built of craggy rocks. But by the 5^th century B.C. architecture was beautiful and elegant. Architects still used the same simple structures, of flat beams supported on columns, as the Egyptians did, but had learned to design them with perfect refinement. Greek architecture that survives from as early as 1,200 B.C. is still being studied by architects for its ingenuity and genius. Most of what we know comes from the late archaic period around 500 B.C. Typically, in the early Classical period, Greek architecture was more about function than design, but few will contest the inherent beauty of a well-designed building that has lasted thousands of years.

Most of our knowledge around Greek architecture comes from temples, the most common and perseverant breed of buildings that we have access to today. For the Greeks, temples were not only places to worship the gods but also impressive symbols of their society and culture. Temples were essentially storage places for the artifacts (statues, helmets, candles) and symbolic treasures that people associated with and dedicated to the patron god or goddess of the temple. Temples were either structured as a rectangle lined with two rows of columns, of which there were three kinds: Ionic, Doric and Corinthian. Doric architecture was traditionally austere and formal, Ionic was more relaxed and ornamental, and Corinthian was rare but by far the most decorative. We can learn the most by studying the iconic columns that characterize each order.

The two principal orders in Archaic and Classical Greek architecture are the Doric and the Ionic. Of the architectural varieties found in Greece, Doric is traditionally the most austere and formal, plain and sturdy. Doric columns are the simplest of the columns, topped by a circular disk beneath a square. The sides, or shaft, of the column are plain and consist of 20 panels. There is no ornate or special base that defines the Doric column: it is very plain, simple, and strong. The Doric order was popular in mainland Greece as well as colonies in Sicily and southern Italy. In the earliest ones the columns were massive and placed close together. Later on they became lighter and more graceful and were spaced further apart. The Doric columns were design to lean gently inward, for perfectly straight perpendicular pillars would appear to slant forward. The columns also deceived and satisfied the eye through a little swelling in the shaft which provides a visual sensation of regularity when viewed from below. The capitals are composed of two parts consisting of a flat slab, the abacus, and a cushion-like slab known as the echinus. On the capital rests the entablature, which is made up of three parts: the architrave, the frieze, and the cornice. The architrave is typically undecorated except for a narrow band to which are attached pegs, known as guttae. On the frieze are alternating series of triglyphs (three bars) and metopes, stone slabs frequently decorated with relief sculpture. The pediment, the triangular space enclosed by the gables at either end of the building, was often adorned with sculpture, early on in relief and later in the round. Among the best-preserved examples of Archaic Doric architecture are the temple of Apollo at Corinth, built in the second quarter of the 6^th century B.C., and the temple of Aphaia at Aegina, built around 500–480 B.C. To the latter belong at least three different groups of pedimental sculpture exemplary of stylistic development between the end of the 6^th century and beginning of the 5^th century B.C. in Attica. The Parthenon, perhaps the most famous and the most beautiful building of ancient Greece, was built in the Doric order. This temple, dedicated to Athena the goddess of wisdom, was built on a rocky hill in the centre of the city. An “acropolis”, as this high place was called, was the religious centre of any Greek city. At the bottom of the hill was the “agora”, or meeting place, where the commercial and political life of the city went on. The statue of the goddess inside the Parthenon was one of the most famous works of the sculptor Pheidias. It was about 12 metres (39 feet) high, made of gold and ivory, and the eyes were precious stones. The part of the building above the marble pillars (called the entablature) was carved with all kinds of figures taking part in legendary or historical scenes.

The architectural style of Greece as expressed in the Doric order developed into another order in the 6^th century. The origin of the Ionic order can be traced to the influences of the architecture of Western Asia with its plant elements in the capital and the relief decoration on the frieze. In the Ionic order of architecture, bases support the columns, which have more vertical flutes than those of the Doric order. Ionic capitals have two volutes that rest atop a band of palm-leaf ornaments. The abacus is narrow and the entablature, unlike that of the Doric order, usually consists of three simple horizontal bands. The most important feature of the Ionic order is the frieze, which is usually carved with relief sculpture arranged in a continuous pattern around the building. Ionic columns are more complex and delicate than their brother Doric columns. Featuring taller and thinner shafts than Doric columns, slender and fluted, the Ionic order produces a more feminine aesthetic in comparison to the other orders. Ionic columns also featured something called an entasis, a slight bulging towards the top that makes them look straight from eye level to rectify the narrowing effect of perspective. Friezes were plain, and the tops, or capitals, were shaped like scrolls. Ionic architecture is less straight and stout than Doric, with more room for curved lines and softness. Typically, Ionic buildings have slanted roofs as well. The temple of Diana at the city of Ephesus which is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world was built in this style. It had 100 columns, 36 of them wonderfully sculptured round the bottom. The other famous examples of the Ionic order are the Erectheum, a temple from the middle Classical period, built on the Acropolis at Athens, the Temple of Athena Nike, which is also built there, and the Temple of Apollo at Didyma.

In general, the Doric order occurs more frequently on the Greek mainland and at sites on the Italian peninsula, where there were many Greek colonies. The Ionic order was more popular among Greeks in Asia Minor and in the Greek islands. A third order of Greek architecture, known as the Corinthian, first developed in the late Classical period, but was more common in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Corinthian capitals have a bell-shaped echinus decorated with acanthus leaves, spirals, and palmettes. There is also a pair of small volutes at each corner; thus, the capital provides the same view from all sides. Corinthian columns have a much more complicated capital than the other two, with rich carving in the shape of leaves of the acanthus, a plant which grows in Mediterranean countries, so the capital of the top of the column is notoriously decorative. Corinthian architecture is the most ornamental of the orders, the columns also use entasis to make them appear straight to the eye, the shafts are fluted and the roofs of Corinthian-style buildings are flat. The Corinthian order is the least common in Greece, found more often in Roman temples. The first Greek monument built in the Corinthian order is the choragic monument of Lysicrates near the Acropolis, as for the other examples they are the Temple of Apollo Epicurious at Bassae in Arcadia (the outside is Doric order, featuring one Corinthian column freestanding in the middle), and the Temple of Olympian Zeus (also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus), a colossal ruined temple in the centre of the Greek capital Athens that was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods.

The architectural order governed not only the column, but also the relationships among all the components of architecture. As a result, every piece of a Greek building is integral to its overall structure; a fragment of molding often can be used to reconstruct an entire building. Although the ancient Greeks erected buildings of many types, the Greek temple best exemplifies the aims and methods of Greek architecture. The temple typically incorporated an oblong plan, and one or more rows of columns surrounding all four sides. The vertical structure of the temple conformed to an order, a fixed arrangement of forms unified by principles of symmetry and harmony. There was usually a pronaos (front porch) and an opisthodomos (back porch). The upper elements of the temple were usually made of mudbrick and timber, and the platform of the building was of cut masonry. Columns were carved of local stone, usually limestone or tufa; in much earlier temples, columns would have been made of wood. Marble was used in many temples, such as the Parthenon in Athens, which is decorated with Pentelic marble and marble from the Cycladic island of Paros. The interior of the Greek temple characteristically consisted of a cella, the inner shrine in which stood the cult statue, and sometimes one or two antechambers, in which were stored the treasury with votive offerings.

Many other ages have copied Greek architecture. The Romans took it over, though they added ideas of their own, and columns like the Greek ones are often used in more modern buildings, as in the front of the White House in Washington, D.C., or the British Museum in London. So, the greatest contribution of Greek Architecture is the use of the columns, which we still use today. Greek architecture has influenced all architectural movements of the world along centuries, as for example the movement of Renaissance and the Neoclassical style. They also contributed the development of limestone, marble, and concrete as a building material. Many of the architectural masterpieces of the world were influenced by the Greek architecture, using some elements such as the Doric, Ionic or Corinthian ancient Style.

PART 2 / GREEK ART

Greece has a rich and varied artistic history spanning some 5000 years. It goes in the Cycladic and Minoan prehistorical civilization, and gave birth to Western classical art in the ancient period. Greek artists achieved a level of sophistication that is arguably unmatched by any other contemporary civilization in the West. Indeed, it is easy to see why ancient Greek art has been an example for artists throughout the ages. Highly noticeable is the emphasis on order, harmony, and balance, as well as a focus on celebrating and idealizing the human figure. In a few words Greek art captured a moment of beauty for all eternity.

The Greek culture of the first centuries after the Greek invasion of the Balkan peninsula is represented in small artistic objects excavated from tombs. The most usual art forms were vase painting, made by geometrical designs, and small religious figurines in clay. A monumental element began to appear in Greek art about 600 B.C. when architecture and sculpture ceased to use wood and clay and began to make use of stone. The small sanctuary started to evolve into the vast Greek temple. One of the oldest temple buildings is the Temple of the goddess Hera at Olympia (a valley in ancient Greece where a great number of temples, altars and statues were concentrated, the place where the ancient Olympic games were held). It is a construction with wooden pillars of about the 7^th century B.C. The vases, sculpture and architecture were amazing innovations, and artists forever afterward owed an enormous debt to the ancient Greeks.

It is important to notice, that Greek art is mainly expressed in four forms: architecture, sculpture, painting, and painted pottery. As for architecture, it includes houses, religious buildings like temples and tombs, and public building like city walls, theaters, stadia, and stoas. Sculpture shows a great variety of small figurines and life-size statues, but also relief sculptures which were on the sides of buildings, and also tombstones.

Mycenaean Art occurred from roughly 1550 to 1200 B.C. on the Greek mainland. Although the Mycenaean and Greek cultures were two separate entities, they occupied the same lands, successively. The latter learned a few things from the former, including how to build gates and tombs. Besides architectural explorations including Cyclopean masonry and "beehive" tombs, the Mycenaeans were awesome goldsmiths and potters. They raised pottery from merely functional to beautifully decorative, and segued right out of the Bronze Age into their own insatiable appetite for gold. Around 1200 and the Homeric fall of Troy, the Mycenaean culture is followed by an artistic phase known both as Sub-Mycenaean and/or the "Dark Ages". This phase, lasting from 1100–1025 B.C., saw a bit of continuity with the previous artistic doings, but no innovation. The Proto-Geometric era from 1025–900 B.C., saw pottery beginning to be decorated with simple shapes, black bands and wavy lines. Additionally, both technique in creating, and shapes of pots were being refined. The early period from Greek art history which is called theGeometric Art (900–700 B.C.) shows how ancient artists adorned many of their works (vase paintings in particular) with precise geometric patterns. During the Archaic period (700–480 B.C.), Greek artists came into contact with ideas and styles from outside of Greece. It was also a time when vase painting and sculpture began to reflect Greek ideals.

The invasion of Greece by the Persians and subsequent counter-attack and expulsion of the enemy from Greece are events which divide the archaic from the classical period (from 480 to the second quarter of the 3^rd century) in which Greek art reached its culminating point. Designers in Greece produced architectural forms which proved to be a basic source for designs for the following 25 centuries throughout the world. Often referred to as the "Golden Age" of Greece, the Classical era was a time when perfection was achieved in the arts –the Parthenon was constructed during this fruitful period. In the Hellenistic period of Greek Art history (323–31 B.C.), new ideas permeated Greek art, and emotion, drama, and realism began to influence the appearance –and subject matter –of Hellenistic sculpture. The secular architecture of the Hellenistic period proved far more vital. A few excavations have revealed to us the appearance of the Hellenistic towns such as Pergamum, Popeii and Herculaneum. Among these one of the most significant is Pergamum where large sections of the town were excavated, including the royal palace, the market place, the gigantic altar of Zeus with its famous frieze and the temple of Athena at the top of the hill on which it was built.

It is also worth noting that Greek art has inspired imitations and revivals over the centuries. The ancient Romans were influenced heavily by Greek art, and in time Renaissance painters, architects, and sculptors rediscovered the glories of Greece.

PART 3 / FINDING THE WALLS OF TROY

The ancient Greek poet Homer wrote of the city of Troy, but in medieval times its location was forgotten, and many doubted that it existed at all. An enthusiastic amateur, Heinrich Schliemann (1822–1890), was determined to find the fabled city. He actually did find the site, and a great treasure trove besides. However, his rather unscientific approach to archaeology led to mistakes and misinterpretations that continue to provoke controversy today.The poet Homer lived almost 3,000 years ago, and his Iliad is considered to mark the dawn of Greek literature. Several of the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were based upon it. The Iliad is an epic woven together from shorter oral poems, and tells the story of a time when Greece was at war with a city on the coast of Turkey, across the Aegean Sea. The name of the city was Troy.

The civilizations of the ancient Mediterranean often fought over trading alliances, wealth, and territories. According to legend, however, the Trojan War, which took place a few hundred years before Homer's time, was a 10-year conflict over a beautiful woman named Helen. Helen was the wife of Menelaus, the king of the Greek city of Sparta. Paris, the son of the Trojan King Priam, carried Helen off to Troy with the assistance of the goddess Aphrodite. Then Agamemnon, the brother of Menelaus and ruler of another Greek kingdom called Mycenae, led an army to Troy to bring Helen back to Sparta.

The Iliad covers a period of 54 days during which a conflict develops between Agamemnon and the Greek hero Achilles, who is under his command. Achilles withdraws from the battle, until his best friend Patroclus is killed by Hector, another of Priam's sons. Determined to have revenge, Achilles kills Hector outside Troy, and his funeral is the last scene in the epic. The fall of the city of Troy is described in Homer's later work, the Odyssey.

Homer himself is shrouded in mystery; as with Shakespeare, scholars debate whether a man by that name actually wrote any or all of the works attributed to him. The location of Troy was unknown after about 400 A.D., and many doubted that it had existed at all outside the realms of fable. But for centuries, upper-class schoolchildren were taught a curriculum that stressed classical literature, including Homer.

Heinrich Schliemann was born in 1822, the son of an impoverished German clergyman. According to his autobiography, he was introduced to stories of Troy by his father, and was captivated by the romance of the world Homer portrayed. Schliemann's formal schooling was cut short in early adolescence by the need to support himself. But he continued to study, and was especially proficient in languages, eventually teaching himself 18 of them. Schliemann was also a very successful businessman, and at the age of 41 was able to retire to pursue his interest in archaeology, and especially his dream of finding the city of Troy. In the 1860^s, Schliemann turned his life completely around. Not only did he quit his business, he divorced his first wife. In a letter to a Greek friend, he put in his order for a new one. She must be poor, but well educated, someone who shared his passion for Homer. He wanted someone beautiful, who had black hair and looked Greek. The friend managed to find a woman who met these specifications, and later that year Schliemann and Sophia Engastromenos were married. She was to be his partner in archaeology as well as in life. Schliemann toured the Aegean with Homer as his guide. From the descriptions in the Iliad, he became convinced that Hissarlik, Turkey, was the site of ancient Troy. It took him two years to get a government permit to excavate there, and he had to finance the dig himself. He also had to promise to turn half his finds over to a Turkish museum, and leave any ruins in the same condition in which he found them. When the digging finally began in 1871, these promises were completely ignored.

Schliemann worked in an era when archaeology was mostly treasure-hunting. Some of the most advanced archaeologists were beginning to understand that excavation is a destructive process. It must be done slowly and carefully, while recording detailed information, to learn as much as possible. But Schliemann was not among these pioneers of scientific archaeology. He attacked the Hissarlik site as enthusiastically as he did everything else.

Ruins were uncovered soon after the excavation began. But Schliemann reasoned that the ancient city he was looking for would be deep under the layers of aeons. He had his workers dig down to the lowest level and push aside the intervening rubble. It wasn't until a year later that he realized he had gone too far. Settlement at the Hissarlik site predated the Troy he sought by as much as 1,700 years. And his excavation had damaged or destroyed everything in the path of his deep trenches.

In 1873, digging in a newer layer, he found a palace he was sure was of the right period. He also found a paved road and a sacrificial altar. This, he was convinced, was the real Troy of the Iliad. But the archaeological community, not convinced of Schliemann's credibility, paid little attention. Then, one day Schliemann's pick struck a shiny object. Immediately he dismissed his workers, and continued digging. He unearthed jewelry of gold and silver, goblets, plates and vessels of gold and copper, and a shield. This hoard, which Schliemann called "Priam's treasure," attracted a great deal of publicity. Schliemann became a famous archaeologist almost overnight. He smuggled the treasure out of Turkey and displayed it in his house in Athens. A later photograph of Sophia Schliemann draped in the heavy jewelry became one of the most famous images of its time.

Schliemann eventually gave the treasure to the Berlin Museum. More than 50 years after his death, during World War II, the entire hoard disappeared. A long-standing rumor that it was hidden away deep in Russian vaults was proven true when these began to open up at the end of the Cold War. In April 1996, the treasure went on display in Moscow.

Yet scholars agree that "Priam's treasure" never belonged to the king for which it was named. It was a remnant of a much earlier culture. The bedrock layer in which Schliemann dug first, called Troy I, dates from about 3,000 B.C., the Early Bronze Age. Its ruins include brick walls and crude pottery. After Schliemann realized he had excavated too deeply, he found the treasure in the next layer up, now called Troy II, a city of stone walls with artifacts of finely worked metal. But this was still about 1,000 years before the events of the Iliad.

After Schliemann's death in 1890, his widow vowed that his work would continue. She funded further excavations by Wilhelm Dörpfeld (1853–1940), who was more scientific in his orientation. He found nine separate cities, one atop the other, at the Hissarlik site. He believed that the sixth of these was the Troy of the Iliad. It was larger than its predecessors, with high limestone walls protecting its perimeter.

In 1932, a University of Cincinnati expedition led by Carl Blegen (1887–1971) studied the site. Like Dörpfeld, Blegen found nine layers, but recognized that Troy VI had been destroyed by an earthquake. This meant it wasn't Priam's city, fallen in a war or raid. The city now believed to be the Troy of legend is the next layer, Troy VII. It is built of similar materials, as if rebuilt after the earthquake. But it lasted only about 100 years before being destroyed by fire and looting.

Troy VIII, which stood while Homer actually lived, was a small Greek village. Troy IX was the city of Ilium, ruled by the Greeks and later by the Romans. Alexander the Great held athletic games there in the 300^s B.C. to honor Achilles, from whom he believed himself to be descended. The city lasted until the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great in the 300^s A.D.

So, is the discovered Troy the “real” Troy? Scholars disagree on whether it is the location of the war on which the legends were based. In fact, the legends may have been based on a series of wars, or on fragments of memory, or on imagined events. What we do know is that the Troy Schliemann, Dörpfeld, and Blegen rediscovered is real, and tells us a lot about how people lived over many centuries.

Troy is still being discovered today. Beginning in 1988, archaeologists from the University of Tübingen, Germany and the University of Cincinnati, under the direction of the late German archaeologist Manfred Korfmann, found many exciting things, including a Mycenean cemetery at Besik Bay, south of Troy, which suggested the landing place of the invading Greeks in the Trojan War. They found that the city extended out onto the plain, where fences and ditches kept enemies out, and found ample evidence of late layers built by the Greeks and Romans who themselves believed that the Trojan War had happened there, and was their own history.