ipernity: Greece One of our two Mother Civilizations by Jacques

A Country of Art, of archaeological wonders, of Christian Orthodox traditions, of beautiful and pleasant people, of gourmet cuisine, rich of myriads dreamly islands to have leisure and vacations! I present here alternative images of the local omnipresent Christian Orthodox religion mixed with archaelogical wonders, scenes of Greek life or landscapes. From wikipedia: The art of ancient Greece has exercised an enormous influence on the culture of many countries from ancient times until the present, particularly in the areas of sculpture and architecture; In the West, the art of the Roman Empire was largely derived from Greek models; In the East, Alexander the Great's conquests initiated several centuries of exchange between Greek, Central Asian and Indian cultures, resulting in Greco-Buddhist art, with ramifications as far as Japan; Following the Renaissance in Europe, the humanist aesthetic and the high technical standards of Greek art inspired generations of European artists; Well into the 19th century, the classical tradition derived from Greece dominated the art of the western world. The art of Ancient Greece is usually divided stylistically into four periods: the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic; As noted above, the Geometric age is usually dated from about 1000 BC, although in reality little is known about art in Greece during the preceding 200 years (traditionally known as the Dark Ages), the period of the 7th century BC witnessed the slow development of the Archaic style as exemplified by the black-figure style of vase painting; The onset of the Persian Wars (480 BC to 448 BC) is usually taken as the dividing line between the Archaic and the Classical periods, and the reign of Alexander the Great (336 BC to 323 BC) is taken as separating the Classical from the Hellenistic periods; In reality, there was no sharp transition from one period to another; Forms of Art developed at different speeds in different parts of the Greek world, and as in any age some artists worked in more innovative styles than others; Strong local traditions, conservative in character, and the requirements of local cults, enable historians to locate the origins even of displaced works of art.