Ancient Civilisations

Introduction

The ancient civilisation I have decided to study and research more of today is the ancient Greek civilisation. I have touched on the Greeks already in one of my previous blog posts but here I will be going into more detail and looking at different elements that I can use and merge with others.

Architecture

Greek architecture includes a lot of pillared structures and ceilings held up by numerous concrete pillars, typically white or beige in colour. Greek architecture is some of the most distinctive architecture in the ancient world. Greeks also seemed to have a preference for marble, in some cases marble wasn’t available, they would commonly use limestone covered in a layer of marble dust. Greek architecture has a lot of detail and ornamentals to it, especially public places of importance. There are a few examples of where the Greek’s would build structures based on the Greek gods. These buildings would appear as significant.

Clothing

Similarly to their architecture, Greek clothing would typically be white in colour, often paired with gold accessories. Greek fashion also included colours such as red, blue and green. These colours were hard to obtain however, so would be worn by those wealthy or significant enough. Greek clothing was primarily just piece of fabric draped over the body, decorated with ornate patterns. The clothing was typically light and breezy. Furthermore, they were not particularly fond of the concept of shoes.

Weapons

Ancient Greek weapons and armour were primarily geared towards combat between individuals. Their primary technique was called the phalanx, a formation consisting of massed shield wall, which required heavy frontal armour and medium-ranged weapons such as spears. Their weapons consisted of primarily swords, shields, battle axes, spears and some siege weapons such as the ballista. Greek armour was often a chest plate, helmet and some protection for the legs and forearms.

Patterns

Ancient Greek patterns are very compact and repetitive. Often seen creating a square shaped pattern, or wave-like pattern in a circle shape. They also used plant/flower like ornamental designs and patterns in things like their clothing, weaponry and architecture.

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Shapes

Greek pottery shows a lot of different examples of ancient Greek shapes and sizes used in their society. However, other than that I can’t find a lot of examples of shapes used in ancient Greece.

Materials

Greeks used materials such as marble and limestone in their architecture. They also used wood and clay around 8th to 6th century BC. These materials were used in early buildings and common houses. They would use a type of limestone called Pink of Epirus limestone, as it’s name suggests, this type of limestone was quarried in ancient times in Epirus and is identified by a yellowish colour with shades of pink. This limestone contains veins of grey and red running through it.

Typography/Artwork

The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late ninth or early eighth century BC. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet and was the first alphabetic script in history to have distinct letters for vowels as well as consonants. The alphabet with letters that we are familiar with has a unique look to it, one that can almost instantly be automatically associated to Greece.

Artwork from ancient Greece could often be found on vases and pottery, perhaps displaying a story or lesson. The artwork consists of patterns, people performing different actions and animals.