Introduction
Ancient Greece is known for its art that straddles all periods of their civilization, from the earliest time to the Hellenistic era. One of the most visible aspects of art is the depiction of emotion. The Greeks were not shy to show their emotions or even discuss them, but in classical Greece, most works of art produced during the period appeared serene with little or no emotion. However, with the establishment of the Greek empire, the Greeks encountered different people and learned new things, which made them more realistic in their art. This paper examines Greek art during the Hellenistic era, but from the theme of emotion. The three sculptures discussed are The Terme Boxer (Seated Boxer), The Dying Gaul/ Dying Galatian, and Suicidal Gaul / Gaul and His Wife. In any work of art, emotion is an important element of communicating messages, and because art during the Hellenistic era shows more emotion and realism, it is worth exploring to understand this important period in detail. Therefore, it is evident that during the Hellenistic period, events during the period changed the way sculptors expressed their art to a more realistic theme, including pain and suffering.
Emotion in ancient Greece
The epics of Homer are filled with emotion. The main characters, whether human or non-human, show various emotions such as longing and pride, jealousy, wrath, or desire for vengeance. In the Odyssey, the focus is lust, longing for a home, and fury. Achilles shows emotions such as anger and revenge in the Iliad (Chaniotis, 2012). Those intense emotions are what make the tales so unforgettable and remarkable. When Oedipus learns of what he had done, he shows horror and shame openly. The same open show of emotion is evident when Cassandra learns her fate, but is unable to prevent it.
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Away from the epics, classical Greek philosophers also dwelt on emotions as well. Plato, one of the most famous of the Greek philosophers, speaks of distress, pleasure, confidence, fear, share, love, hate, friendliness, longing, mourning, anger, and a few other emotions are several of his books such as Laws. In Nicomachean Ethics and Rhetoric, Aristotle even tried to categorize the emotions and notes they are directed towards human agents. In short, the ancient Greeks did not find it shameful to show their emotions or even speak about them, and that is evident in some of their greatest pieces of art.
Depiction of emotion in Hellenistic Greek sculpture
Hellenistic period heralded a period of a new style of sculpture known as the Hellenistic Baroque. The most important aspect of this period was the start of complex compositions of the statute. In earlier periods, the sculptures were just placed in a line. During this period, artists begin to put them in groups to communicate a specific message. The best example of this type of art is found at the Great Altar of Pergamon. The images found at the altar shows various emotions, regardless of whether the characters are gods or humans. The show of emotion is another signature element of the Hellenistic baroque art.
The Hellenistic period introduced new elements to art. One of the most important innovations is the emergence of the broad scriptural groupings due to the influence of the eastern cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt. In earlier periods, the Greeks relied mostly on freestanding scriptures that did not show much emotion. A layer of realism emerged, as shown in the following three sculptures. The sculptures are not just showing emotion, but realism (Alexenberg, 2013). They depict life as it is and not in an idealistic sense. The images are not serene, but they are showing pain after a conflict, the sense of betrayal, and failure. Those things are normal, and they give life its dynamism.
The sudden change is due to the cosmopolitan nature of the Hellenistic Greeks. In earlier periods such as classical Greece, they lived in small polis, often separated from the rest of the Greek city by steep hills, mountains, and impassable plains. Their work, therefore, tended to depict gods who they thought were perfect. Thus, serene images were normal as they aspired to a life of serenity like the gods. However, after the establishment of the Greek empire by Alexander, the Greeks started to encounter other cultures, and their worldview changed (Payne, 2008). While they previously dealt with uncivilized barbarians such as Gauls who fought naked, in the Middle East, they came across ancient and sophisticated cultures of the Persia, Babylonia, India, Egypt, Bactria, and even the Chinese. The contacts made them start to view the world from other perspectives.
One of the perspectives they got is that there were other advanced civilizations. Therefore, they were willing to incorporate some of the aspects of the cultures they met. On the other hand, contact with the new people gave them a sense of insecurity. Greeks could no longer claim to be the most powerful and advanced civilization as reality told them that other cultures existed and they were equally advanced in their own ways. The conflicting emotions and knowledge of truth led to the gradual emergence of emotion in Greek freestanding sculptures in the Hellenistic periods.
The Terme Boxer (Seated Boxer)
The Seated Boxer is a work of art produced during the Hellenistic period that falls between 323-31 B.C.E. After Alexander the Great conquered most of the east, including the domains traditionally ruled by Achaemenid Persia, Greek ideas started to spread. However, on the other hand, the Greeks also began to incorporate ideas from the conquered regions to enrich their work of art. One of the influences was the incorporation of raw emotion in art. Traditionally, Greek freestanding sculptures showed little emotion. They sought to present the human body in its perfection, with little or no emotion or defect. However, the human body is rarely perfect.
The seated Boxer is an example of an art that shows deep, complex, but normal emotion based on the human experience. The sculpture shows elements of an ideal hero of the high classical style and the Hellenistic representation of human experience. The perfect ideal body and curly locks are reminiscent of the classical ideals, but the twisted body is Hellenistic. Thus, the sculpture seeks to meld two contrasting ideas into one. The elements of human emotion are the broken nose and bloody patches. It is normal for boxers to get injuries during the fight and that the work of art clearly shows that (Hunter, Rengakos & Sistakou, 2014). Despite the injuries of the boxer, the muscles are tense, and he is about to get up again for the next round. The boxer is far from winning and might be losing, which is very different from the classical hero who never lost.
Another vital element of the figure is the seated position. The position is a paradox because athletes are supposed to be in action, and the boxer is at rest and seated (Inabinet, 2011). However, the athlete is showing signs of human weakness with his injuries. The texture is idealized, but not exaggerated. The burrowed faced shows tiredness and uncertainty about the possible result of the next round of the fight. He is tired and but not at the point of defeat as his body still appearing physically powerful. Overall, the sculpture is typical of Hellenistic art that sought to depict the human experience by showing emotion.
The Dying Gaul/ Dying Galatian
The image shows a dying warrior after a battle. In ancient Greece, people were used to scenes of warriors dying after hand-to-hand combat with their enemies who were often numerous. Also, many Greeks served as mercenaries to foreign powers such as the Persians. The warrior depicted must have fought in many of those ancient wars and received a mortal wound, for which he is dying now. The man is slumped to the ground, dying from a wound in his thigh. He is bracing his body with his right arm, shoulders, and the head is slumped, and the brow is furrowed. The image evokes empathy from viewers.
The taut muscles and twisted torso communicate the anguish of the man. The muscles are sculpted, and the objective is to highlight the pain that is visible in his face. The man is dying from a painful death, and any man, whether a friend or an enemy would sympathize with his condition. His mental status suggests that he is nearing comma. At any time, he can fall flat on the ground, as it is apparent that he can no longer support his body easily (Arenson, 2016). The scene evokes the horrors of war, but importantly, it depicts the personal tragedy of war as individuals suffer and eventually die. Thus, while war might have noble goals, in the end, it is the ordinary soldiers fighting who suffered and died.
Suicidal Gaul / Gaul and His Wife
The image above is part of the Pergamene Gauls which is a statue group thought to have been erected by Attalos I of Pergamon at around 230 and 220 BC as he commentated his defeat of the Galatians and Seleucids. The group of statues shows life-sized scenes from the war, while a few statute groups also show mythological and historical battles. The image of the suicidal Gaul is the most famous for what it represents, namely bravely. In ancient Greece, bravery was esteemed, and Gallic warriors were famous for their ferocity and bravery in battle, although Greeks despised them as barbarians.
The Gaul chooses to kill himself and his wife instead of being imprisoned. In the sculpture, he has already killed his wife, and now it is his turn to die. He stares upwards as he prepares his sword to end his life. He has an anguished expression, and his mouth is parted while his eyebrows are raised and nostrils flared. The slack position of the wife and lax facial muscles and blank and staring eyes indicates she is dead, although there is no visible evidence of a wound in the body (Dominiczak, 2013). The pose by the Gallic warrior is evocative, indicating he was given an equestrian warrior above him one final, defiant look as he plunges the sword into his threat to end his life.
The three sculptures discussed in this paper shed light on what was happening during the Hellenistic period. Serene Iconography gave way to realism, where people show strong emotions. The art in this period also did not show families prominently as it happened in earlier periods. While the reason for the change is not apparent, it is possible that the artists decided to leave family interactions to the privacy of the home. Another possible explanation is the decline of the polis and the rise of the individual after the Peloponnesian war. The war liberated Greeks from the tyranny of the polis and exposed them to the outside world beyond their immediate city.
As discussed earlier, exposure to the outside world undermined their prejudices about other people. While the Greeks thought, they were the greatest and most powerful civilization, and the evidence made them reassess that view after encountering other civilizations that were equally advanced. The world was not full of barbarians as they commonly thought. The realism made them approach their work with greater realism and with a sharper eye for the truth (Novakova & Gucik, 2014). Thus, the war is not just about victory, but also loss. Also, even in victory, individual soldiers suffer and encounter loss. The Gallic soldiers had a reputation for being tough soldiers, but the soldiers, but in suicidal Gaul, it is evident that soldiers are not invincible.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Hellenistic period in Greek culture introduced new elements of art that show the most emotion. The emotions are a representation of realism, where the artist shows emotions such as sorrow or tiredness. By showing those emotions, the artists sought to represent their work more realistically in line with their greater understanding of their world. While the gods might be serene, the ordinary person often shows complex emotion in response to events taking place in their world.
References
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