Chatsworth House at Derbyshire in England is surely one of its greatest treasure houses for the visual arts. Annually it draws thousand and thousands of art-lovers, collectors and casual visitors, both young and old. One of the most popular spaces in the house is the sculpture gallery of the 6th Duke of Devonshire, which includes a simply sensational sculpture by Filippo Albacini 1777 – 1858 of Achilles, the ancient Greek hero modeled after the classical ideal.
The perceived wisdom and wealth of the people who occupied the Mediterranean region in ancient times, is both captivating and compelling. In almost every field of their endeavour the ancient Greeks were pioneers. Their considerable achievements in literature, thought and science are only a part of a wonderful legacy that belongs to the world at large.
It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) who said ‘the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance’. He noted that temples, sculpture, and paintings reflected the individual tastes of their creators and patrons, an idea that opened the way for their being considered as ‘works of art’ at all, rather than just religious, ritual or political images.
Greek sculpture was the first and only ancient art to break free from conceptual conventions, exploring how art might imitate nature, or even improve upon it. There was no conscious striving towards realism at first. Portrait statues designed as grave markers were meant to summon up remembrance of the youth and vigour of the deceased. Until six centuries before the Christ event they were quite rigid in their stance, fists clenched hanging at their sides with legs and feet standing together. Man’s capacity for learning, adapting and improving becomes evident when suddenly and visually there is a break-through from the conceptual to the observed. The statues quite literally take a giant step forward, into the future of art as movement becomes an integral aspect of their form. Greek craftsman were evolving a new style, one that would be based primarily on the male nude. His form would dominate the visual arts of the western world for nearly two and a half millennia.
In Greece Mycenae was a natural rock citadel and capital of the legendary King Agamemnon. One of the last ventures overseas of the Mycenaean Greeks was the reputed major expedition against Troy. Legend tells us King Agamemnon besieged the ancient city for ten years before taking it by deceit.
German businessman Heinrich Schliemann 1822 – 1890 as well as others have excavated the site. They found a well-fortified citadel with strongholds for soldiers, weapons and officials, as well as storerooms for grain in case of siege. The wealth of the community had been invested in their King, whose treasures like Egyptians were placed in his tomb.
Schliemann funded his own search for the Greek heroes as recorded by ancient Greek poet Homer in his work The Iliad, He wanted to see if they had actually existed and that legend was in reality based in truth. His excavation of the site thought to be the Troy of legend found impressive architectural remains with more than six cities all rebuilt on one spot, including a royal treasure of gold.
Archaeologists during the twentieth century disputed the level Schliemann thought was the legendary setting for the battle for Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships . Then there was the deathly duel that took place between Achilles and Priam’s son Hector. This was when Achilles received the arrow into the tendon of his heel that took his life.
Greek civilisation was built on the foundation of the heritage established during the Mycenaean period. It confirmed its character by building on the legacy of the intellectual ideas, philosophies and values each of its city states established as they came together as one great combined creative force.
We only have examples of outstanding ‘works of art’ today from antiquity because from their earliest beginnings they appealed to man’s acquisitive instincts. Over the centuries it became a passionate pursuit indulged in by those who valued their beauty and timeless aesthetic.
According to Cambridge dictionary the word classic means of the first class of acknowledged excellence; it pertains to the standard achieved by ancient Greek and Latin authors or their works, or the culture, art, architecture of Greek and Roman antiquity.
Temple of Concord, Agrigento
The earliest temples in the ancient Greek world were made of wood, which were easily destroyed. Eventually they were rebuilt in stone exemplifying and exaggerating the Greek architect’s skill in producing a building that displayed great proportion and strength. The Greek lyric poet Pindar (522-440BC) described Agrigento as the ‘eye of Sicily’ where the well-preserved remains of the Temple of Concord reveals it was meticulously calibrated. Its harmonious proportions project the kind of standard for temple architecture that developed around 450BC at Athens, which by then was at the centre of the Greek world. This was the so-called “golden century” of Athenian Democracy, when Athens came under the guidance of its brilliant statesman Pericles (490-429BC).
A nobleman with inherited wealth Pericles had the vision and power to create a new Athens, one that would become the envy of the ancient world. At Athens during the peace 40,000 citizens supported Pericles’ ambitious building programs. To Pericles Athens owed the great buildings of the Acropolis, including The Parthenon, Erechtheum, Propylaea and Odeum, as well as numerous other public and sacred edifices.
The quality and enrichment of the Parthenon and its sculptures sets it apart from all other temples. There is a freehand quality about the way in which its architects and artisans breathed life into the building and its sculptures, which when they were new were all highly coloured. Sparseness moulded its enterprise and it became the place where many believe that its artists and architects have never been more successfully caught between a meeting of the human with the divine.
Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept 2010, 2011
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