The scene of Perseus, located in the Imperial Villa at Boscotrecase, from the late 1st century BCE, proudly displays a popular scene from Greek mythology and serves as an example of influence and interest to the Romans and their culture. The villa is located in Boscatrecase, a small town near Pompeii, and was buried after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Due to the volcanic ash, many of the vivid colors in paintings and frescoes alike were preserved until excavation thousands of years later in the early twentieth century. (Ambler 2018) August Mau, a nineteenth-century German scholar, classifies the style of wall painting in the villa as the Third Pompeian Style, and the wall paintings are approximated to have been created sometime after 11 BCE. Initially, a Roman general …show more content…
The myth paintings are the centerpieces of this room, and both paintings attest to the positive influence of Greek heritage in Roman civilization. The careful detail of the paintings shows the care and appreciation of Greek mythology in the living spaces of the Roman elite. Knowing that the villa initially belonged to Agrippa, the Perseus painting is an example of using a successful hero celebrated by the Greeks that can be correlated with Agrippa himself. The deliberate choice of heroic Greek myths depicted not only showcases the residents' affinity for classical ideals but also suggests a desire to align themselves with the virtues and accomplishments celebrated in Greek mythology. It reinforces that the residents of Pompeii regarded and valued ancient cultures as sources of inspiration, wisdom, and artistic achievement, seeking to integrate them into their own lives and surroundings. The ability to adopt and implement artworks from different cultures in the villa attests to the building’s luxuriousness and the resident’s
Politics in Pompeii and Herculaneum was an essential and important aspect of life. Politics enabled the towns to run successfully and smoothly. There were elections held for politicians, which included the election of two Duumviri and two pairs of Aediles. The comitum, which was made up of roman males who were over the age of 25, voted for who they believed should be the next Aediles and Duumviri. People who were running for the positions or people who wanted someone they liked to be elected would leave messages everywhere to promote and advocate them in hopes for them to be elected. There were over 2000 electoral notices found in Pompeii. This can be shown in source B which is the programmata from the House of Loreius Tiburtinus, Pompeii.
Events which stretch as far back as the reforms of the Gracchi brothers’ meant that the Rome was facing a Republic that was already deteriorating before Pompey had stepped into power. While Pompey’s quest for power was harmful, many other factors were also baleful to the Republic, and were hence instrumental in its decline. Gnaeus Pompeius’s measures to gain power were harmful because it was primarily a paradox to the principles of being part of a Republic with all its notions of shared and short power. The fundamental reason why there were other reasons for the decline of the system are that the military power was given to him, the already weak Senate, and the fact that Pompey was not the only player in the breakdown of the Republic due to the alliances he had made with Crassus and Caesar.
On the afternoon of 24th August 79 AD, a volcano called Mt. Vesuvius erupted, which resulted in destroyed lives of citizens, it was estimated that there were 10 to 12 thousand people who occupied the city .The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and a few others were severely affected by the eruption. The cities are well known for its beautiful landscapes and its temperate climate.Pompeii is based in the south, close to Naples in the region of Campania in Italy.The eruption started a series of events such as pumice,rocks and ashes falling down and caused hot volcanic gases to rise high in the sky, people from around 100 miles away could see the event unfolding.The remains of Pompeii and other cities was frozen in time due to the pyroclastic surges
It is understandable that Vout took on a discursive tone when attempting to explain her point of view regarding the depictions of the youths in the Hellenistic age. The subject’s content is far too broad to be encompassed within a small range of thinking. This observation is evident in Vout’s temporary straying from the main points to wider subjects; however, she always brings her tangents back to the principal objectives. The primary ideas that she focuses on concern the rendering of children in art forms during Hellenistic times. This idea is then divided into differen...
The human figures appear in the flesh color of the original clay, with the details and background painted using black slips. The contrasting sides not only have different stories, but have inconsistent artistic and craftsmanship ability, skill, and style. Because, recreation was so crucial to Greece, the story of Theseus and Helen appeared in many other forms. Although in the other vases I examined the characters were not deliberately labeled, the themes and styles remained constant and hinted at the same myth. Our narrator is consistent with the style of other vases using the red-figure technique, but different in imagery.
Roman portraiture is more realistic than previous idealistic Hellanistic styles. They better depict each subject’s individuality to a degree never seen before. The purpose of Roman portraiture is to address the audience and convey specific messages to them.
The depiction of the Greek and roman myths are given unique insights from different authors. The Hymn to Demeter and Ovid's Metamorphosis provide and insight to Demeter's love for her daughter, Persephone, and explores its affect on the surrounding environments. The theme of separation and isolation is present in both of these myths, however, in Ovid's Metamorphosis, he symbolizes the environment in important events, has characters playing different roles, and empowers female deities.
Winckelmann like Vasari dealt greatly with the artistic problems concerning representation and imitation of nature including the need for the human beauty in a figure. However he also was interested in art criticism based in historical timelines and causes for the change and evolution of modern art. This greatly seen in this article not only in his thesis that great contemporary art is based in antiquity but also in his explanation for why the Greek art was so well done and why it has risen back into the hands of modern art. First, Greek work came back to contemporary society greatly by the monarch led by Titus who brought authentic work from Greek masters for his artists to learn from and imitate. He also discusses the correlation between the bodies, like that of the Theseus model, with the Greek lifestyle they lived based heavily on training for the Olympic games and the resemblance of youth’s bodies to godlike figures. Great masters of contemporary work use these same bodily model and ideal of beauty in their work. Winckelmann states that their present good taste is due to the fact that they, “partook of good taste at its source.” Overall the Greeks set up rules of art that could be imitated to capture nature and its ideal form of beauty, an idea that many sought to accomplish.
Castriota, David. The Ara Pacis Augustae and the imagery of abundance in later Greek and early Roman imperial art. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995. (P. 64)
The city of Rome delivers rich culture, influential architecture, and beautiful scenery that collectively demonstrate a course of great history and a prominent civilization. There are various structures from Imperial Rome that are highly recognized and mentioned within artistic research. Some examples include the Pantheon, Basilica Ulpia, Flavian Amphitheater, Arch of Titus, and Column of Trajan. Also referred to as Trajan’s Column, the iconic sculpture retains a prestigious appearance as it’s shown with characteristics of empowering height and intricate detail (Fig. 1). When analyzing such a remarkable piece of artwork one should consider the different elements that pertain to the subject matter and historical context. With that in mind, this paper presents the argument that the column is not only a portrayal of the Dacian Wars but also a funerary monument, paradigm of military inspiration, and tribute to Trajan’s reign.
Pompeii is possibly the best-documented catastrophe in Antiquity. Because of it, we know now how the Pompeians lived because they left behind an extensive legacy of art, including monuments, sculptures and paintings. Pompeii lay on a plateau of ancient lava near the Bay of Naples in western Italy in a region called Campania, less than 1.6 kilometers from the foot of Mount Vesuvius. With the coast to the west and the Apennine Mountains to the East, Campania is a fertile plain, traversed by two major rivers and rich soil. However, in the early days, it was not a remarkable city. Scholars have not been able to identify Pompeii’s original inhabitants. The first people to settle in this region were probably prehistoric hunters and fishers. By at least the eight century B.C., a group of Italic people known as the Oscans occupied the region; they most likely established Pompeii, although the exact date of its origin is unknown. “The root of the word Pompeii would appear to be the Oscan word for the number five, pompe, which suggests that either the community consisted of five hamlets or, perhaps, was settled by a family group (gens Pompeia)”(Kraus 7). In the course of the eight century B.C., Greek and Etruscan colonization stimulated the development of Pompeii as a city around the area of the Forum. A point for important trade routes, it became a place for trading towards the inland. Up until the middle of the 5th century B.C., the city was dominated politically by the Etruscans.
Throughout history, many ancient cultures created stories involving great heroes and gods to explain certain aspects of their daily lives. These stories would form an important part of the culture’s religion and are referred to today as mythology. One great hero from ancient Greek mythology is Perseus. According to both ancient standards and today’s standards, Perseus would be seen as a great hero. The many actions that Perseus is said to have done in his adventures prove his heroism.
Venus and Adonis is a famous and twisted love story between a goddess, and the most handsome mortal on earth. It is part of the Greek mythological culture that is not only known for being the basis of the existence of most people in ancient history, but it has still continued to be a phenomenon for those who enjoy the myth’s and stories of these ancient characters. Although this religion and belief system has almost faded to nothing, there are still many people who study its stories and artwork to completely understand what the artist was trying to portray through these characters and their artwork. Artists throughout history have used these mythological beings or characters as a way to tell a story, convey a message of their current society, and carry on the beautiful religion that once was. One of the artworks that has been continuously assessed, is the heart-wrenching painting by Titian “Venus and Adonis” based off of the mythological story of Venus and Adonis in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. This painting was created during the Renaissance Era which is one of the most influential time periods in history as it contributed to the advancement in intellectual thought in not only science and politics, but in art as well. “Venus and Adonis”’ existence on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s walls is of importance because of the beautiful talent and composition of Titian work conveying “an allegory of the perils of life guided by fate rather than reason” (Gentili 1980), and also because of the heavy influence of its time. Titian’s “Venus and Adonis” was a fantastic window to the art and views of the Renaissance era. It shows the growing interest in Greek Mythology but also a growing interest in the education of art using proportions and linear ...
... middle of paper ... ... The Roman’s continued with a more realistic style with such statues as Aristocrat with Ancestors and Marcus Aurelius. In wall paintings at Pompeii, the artists used great color and realism on the people’s faces.
Roman art was also deeply influenced by the art of the Hellenistic world, which had spread to southern Italy and Sicily through the Greek colonies there. The Etruscans and Babylonians can also be seen as inspirations. “With the founding of the Republic, the term Roman art was virtually synonymous with the art of the city of Rome, which still bore the stamp of its Etruscan art” (Honour and Fleming,1999). During the last two centuries, notably that of Greece, Roman art shook off its dependence on Etruscan art. In the last two centuries before Christ, a distinctive Roman manner of building, sculpting, and painting emerged. Indeed, because of the extraordinary geographical extent of the Roman Empire and the number of diverse populations encompassed within its boundaries, “the art and architecture of the Romans was always eclectic and is characterized by varying styles attributable to differing regional tastes and the...