Aesthetikos - The Greek Concepts of Art

James Jordan, Ph.D.

Although the Greeks had no word for Art per se, they did have several important concepts which are a part of western civilization's concept of art: Aesthetikos (aesthetics), Tekne (technique), and several philosophies on the nature of Art by Polykleitos, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle,  and others.  In the development of art, the Greeks believed the most important factor in the appreciation of the arts is the instinct within us that seeks something of eternal value.  Greek art is characterized by the representation of living beings.  It is concerned both with formal proportion and with the dynamics of action and emotion.  Its primary subject matter is the human figure, which is also the form of the divine. 

A.  Classical Theories of Aesthetics

      1.  Polykleitos of Argos & The Canon (of Ideal Proportions)       

Polykleitos - Spear Bearer (Roman copy after bronze of c.450-440 BCE)

The Greeks studied human appearances and selected those attributes they considered the most desirable. Such as regular facial features, smooth skin, and body proportions, and combined them into a single ideal of physical perfection.  About 450 BCE, the sculptor of this statue, entitled Spear Bearer, Polykleitos of Argos developed a set of mathematical rules for constructing the ideal human form.  He set these rules down in a treatise (now lost) called The Canon (kanon - "measure, rule, or law.")  The significance of this Canon of ideal proportions is that in Greek philosophy, this represents Greek idealization principles in art, thru the use of mathematics.  This quest for the ideal is also seen in the philosophy of Socrates (c.470-399 BCE) and his student Plato (c. 429-347 BCE), both of whom argued that all objects in the physical world were reflections of ideal forms that could be discovered through reason.

       2.  Euclid

The Discobolus(450 BC After Myron, classical period)

Another example of this ideal proportion can be seen in the Discobolus.  The proportion that was used by Euclid the mathematician was the Golden Mean, where the proportion of side A to side B is the same as the proportion of side B to side A plus side B.  The smaller rectangle and the larger one are therefore in the same proportion.  This rectangle is also known as the Golden Section.

      3.  Plato

The first aesthetic theory of any scope is that of Plato, (c. 429-347 BCE) a little after but about the same time period as the Discobolus.  Plato believed that reality consists of archetypes, or forms, beyond human sensation, which are the models for all things that exist in human experience.  The objects of such experience are examples, or imitations, of those forms. The artist copies the experienced object, or uses it as a model for the work. Thus, the artist's work is an imitation of an imitation.  In his Republic, Plato went so far as to banish some types of artists from his ideal society because he thought their work encouraged immorality or portrayed base characters, and that certain musical compositions caused laziness or incited people to immoderate actions.  If we compare this to our own revolutionary modern art and music as an art form, we can understand the concerns Plato had for his society.

      4.  Aristotle

• IMAGE:  Epigonos - Dying Gallic Trumpeter (c.225 BCE)

Plato's student, Aristotle (384-322 BC) also spoke of art as imitation, but not in the Platonic sense. One could imitate "things as they ought to be," he wrote, and "art partly completes what nature cannot bring to a finish."

For example, here - entitled "Dying Gaul or Gaullic Trumpeter." Nature is certainly a part of dying - however, the emotional impact of seeing someone die, is distinctly human.  The artist has imitated a real-life aspect of war and dying, but has portrayed the act of dying as an ideal of sacrifice, bringing the act itself to an elevated, emotionally complete "finished product."

"Dying Warrior" is another example of this Heroic style which elevated the act of dying to a heroic, almost mythological ideal.  

Because Aristotle held that happiness is the aim of life, he believed that the major function of the arts is to provide human satisfaction.  In the Poetics, his great work on the principles of drama, Aristotle argued that tragedy so stimulates the emotions of pity and fear, which he considered morbid and unhealthful, that by the end of the play the spectator is purged of them. This catharsis makes the audience psychologically healthier and thus more capable of happiness.

      5.  Others

Other early philosophers such as Plotinus (3rd Century CE), born in Egypt and trained in philosophy at Alexandria, gave far more importance to art than did Plato.  In Plotinus's view, art reveals the form of an object more clearly than ordinary experience does, and it raises the soul to contemplation of the universal.

B.  Mythological Explanations of Creativity

       1.  The Muses: CALLIOPE, CLIO, EUTERPE, MELPOMENE, TERPSICHORE, ERATO, POLYHYMNIA, URANIA, THALIA

But the Greeks also had an unusual concept about the process of art and especially about the inspiration process in art.  The Muses were nine goddesses, daughters of the god Zeus, king of the gods, and of Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory (if my memory serves me correctly).  The Muses were believed to inspire all artists, especially poets, philosophers, and musicians.   (The Greeks also saw the arts and sciences as being related, from which we still use the division of university colleges as "Arts & Sciences.")  They were said to come at special times of reverence or in dream states and whisper in the ear of the artist - the divine inspiration.  Today's artists and musicians often stilll use the phrase, "A visit from the muse," in reference to this need for inspiration. We get our words "amusing, and musician" from this concept.

       2.  The Three Graces: EUPHROSYNE (Mirth) JOY; THALIA (Good Cheer) CHARM; AGLAIA (Splendor) BEAUTY

But it didn't stop there.  The Greeks also believed in The Three Graces, who were the three goddesses of joy, charm, and beauty.  They were the daughters of the god Zeus and the nymph Eurynome.  The Graces presided over banquets, dances, and all other pleasurable social events, and brought joy and goodwill to both gods and mortals.  Like the Muses, they were believed to endow artists and poets with the ability to create beautiful works of art. The Graces were rarely treated as individuals, but always together as a kind of triple embodiment of grace and beauty. In art they are usually represented as lithe young maidens, dancing in a circle.  This is a metaphor for a trinity of heavenly power, it's manifestation of earthly beauty, and the divinity needed to transform one into the other. 

As the Nine Muses faded in popularity, the concepts were kept alive through the Three Graces as a simpler metaphor for creativity.  In the near future we will see images of the Three Graces appear in the works of Botticelli, Rubens, and others.