38. Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon

           

Great Alter of Zeus and Athens at Pergamon
Asia Minor (represents-day Turkey) Hellenistic Greek. c. 175 B.C.E. Marble 

The alter of Zeus with its richly decorated frieze, a masterpiece of Hellenistic art. It's a masterful display of vigorous action and emotion—triumph, fury, despair—and the effect is achieved by exaggeration of anatomical detail and features and by a shrewd use of the rendering of hair and drapery to heighten the mood.

Left to Right: 

Reconstructed Great Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon       

East frieze: Athena (being crowned from behind by a winged Nike) slaying Alcyoneus the Giant

East frieze: Zeus fighting 3 giants with eagles and lightning bolts.

East frieze: Athena gigantoleteira (giant-slayer) slaying the main giant (pictured here,) Alkyoneus with her snakes (biting head pictured in far bottom left corner.) Pergamon Museum, Berlin

Form

1. 35.64 by 33.4 metres
2. White marble remains; would've been painted brilliantly in its age
3. High relief sculpture creates great drama, shadow, contrast
4. More prominent gods and figures are in higher relief

Function

1. Worship of the Greek pantheon of Gods and their dominance over their enemies
2. Optimism of the Greek spirit in confronting the unknown and unfamiliar cultures (like the Giants)
3. Representation of Greek prowess and might
4. Sacrifices may have been offered at the top of the stairs

Content

1. A battle of the Greek mythological pantheon of gods vs. the Giants to determine the controller of the universe
2. Athena
1. Fights Alkyoneus, the main giant, as his mother looks on in horror
2. Appears confident and triumphant as she fights
3. Being crowned from behind by a winged Nike
4. Uses battle snakes to aid in defeating the giants
5. Earned name Athena "gigantolteira" = slayer of the giants 
3. Zeus
1. Battles 3 Giants at once, with the help of an eagle (above) and his lightning bolt 
2. Cloaked in realistically ruffled robes
3. 2 of the three giants he has already defeated; they lie in (youthful) ruin around him 

Context 

1. Created during the Hellenistic Period (c. 200-150 B.C.E.) in Pergamon, modern-day Turkey, 20 miles from the coast. 
2. Alexander the Great "Hellenized," or spread Greek influence, from Egypt to the Indus Valley during his reign.
3. When Alexander the Great died, his four generals inherited his land and reign.
4. One of the generals saw the hilltop of Pergamon as geographically desirable, and therefore built the city of Pergamon.
5. In the 1800s, the Prussians wanted to achieve/mimic French and British culture, so they created the Pergamon Museum. 
6. The Pergamon Museum of Berlin recreated the Altar of Zeus and Athena at Pergamon very realistically (lots of artistic effort by the Museum.)
7. In ancient Pergamon, the altar would've been surrounded by a library of 200,000+ scrolls, a royal palace for the king, and a garrison for soldiers.
8. The altar was never fully completed because King Prusias II attacked Pergamon in 156 BCE.

Themes

1. Divinity
1. Power of the gods, role of the gods
2. Reverence towards and fear of the gods
2. Religion
1. Rituals and performance - sacrifice
2. Worship
3. Preserving history, myths, and legends - preserving culture

Cross-Cultural Connections

1. Chavin de Huántar
1. Specifically the relief sculptures and carvings --> served a religious purpose to commemorate
1. Sacrifices might have been performed
2. Yaxchilán
1. Similar to Chavin de Huántar
1. Using sculpture and carvings to commemorate religion and myths

Primary Sources

1. Khan Academy Video: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/ancient-art-civilizations/greek-art/hellenistic/v/the-pergamon-altar-c-200-150-b-c-e 

 

2. From Pergamon to Sperlonga: Sculpture and Context (Hellenistic Culture and Society) by Langford Conference of the Department of Classics 1997 Florida State (Corporate Author), Nancy Thomson De Grummond (Editor), Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway (Editor) University of California Press ( 2001) ISBN: 0520223276