Glossary Term: Greek
Much of Western European art has a strong link to ancient Greece. Greek artists used narratives, or stories, and made many portraits and other representational subjects.

Greek architecture is famous for its temples. These temples were often only big enough to house a cult statue and were not meant to be places for large gatherings of people. A typical Greek temple had a long, inner chamber surrounded by columns. There were three main types of columns: the simple Doric, the graceful Ionic and the ornate Corinthian.

Greek sculpture portrayed gods and goddesses as well as mortal humans. Over the centuries, Greek artists became better at showing their subjects in more active poses, and more lifelike as well.

Most of what we know of Greek painting comes from the work we have on pottery. We also know it from writings and Roman copies of Greek artwork. The most common subjects for these artists were scenes from mythology and everyday life.

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