Greek art

Greek art is the result of the combination of different elements of Greek culture during its development, elements that were the basis of Western culture. With the human body as the fundamental motif of their works, they looked for a way to express movements and emotions through it, associating it constantly with myths of the period, literature and daily life in Greece. Greek art models have been classics for those of us who live today, and their architectural styles have been recreated for many years.

What is Greek art?

Greek art is a mixture of elements that together formed the basis of Western and Greek culture through the adoption of ancient cultures and the perfection of the elements it included, creating a new and innovative art.

Greek art characteristics

Greek art is a broad and interesting subject, its main features and characteristics are as follows:


Greek art was part of Hellenistic culture and was not a homogeneous type of culture because it had a wide variety of tribes that at the same time were united by common ancestors who shared the same language and religion. The historical antecedent that marks the starting point of Greek art was the Dorian Invasion in the 12th century B.C. It arose together with the Athenian democracy crisis and the Peloponnesian wars that were already shown in dramatic type of sculpture of the time that together with realism tried to manifest human feelings without leaving aside the religious part.


The historical origin of Greek art goes back to the movements carried out by people during the Bronze Age, a period between the I and II millennia before our times, approximately in the years 1100 and 100 BC. The invasions to the Balkan Peninsula by the Achaeans created different colonies in which the Greeks imposed their civilization giving as a result a civilization with similar characteristics.

Greek art stages

Greek art importance

Greek art is the basis of European and Western culture setting a precedent that remains today, its classical models and sculptures have been created throughout history. In addition, it was the basis of neoclassicism, which we see represented in different public and solemn buildings.


The main element was the limestone or marble columns. They built theatres, stadiums and racetracks, but the most important component was the temple that guarded the divinity statue. Its temples were rectangular and had rooms with the image of a God. The columns had to have three parts: the architrave, the frieze and the cornice and enjoyed great proportion and harmony.


It was their main artistic manifestation and they focused on human body that represented different heroes, divinities and people. They gave great importance to proportion, balance and beauty using marble and bronze. They went from representing static figures to creating figures with movement and realism.


Religious, civil and funerary subjects were considered an art. They painted on boards and ceramics maintaining the pattern of lines and drawings full of colors. They used tempera painting and encaustic with fresco painting. The most used colors were red, yellow, black and white. Legends and historical battles, portraits, caricatures and landscapes were presented.

Representatives of Greek art

Outstanding works

Written by Gabriela Briceño V.
1 estrella2 estrellas3 estrellas4 estrellas5 estrellas (Ninguna valoración todavía)

Recommended for you