CHAPTER FOUR ART OF THE ANCIENT AEGEAN

Multiple Choice

1. What have archaeologists found most helpful in determining dates for their Aegean finds?

A. pottery from Kamares

B. the volcanic eruption on Thera

C. geographic descriptions in the Iliad

D. shipwrecks in the Mediterranean

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of ancient Aegean art.

Topic: The Bronze Age in the Aegean

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

2. Girl Gathering Saffron Crocus Flowers (Fig. 4-1) demonstrates Aegean cultural practices related to

A. a woman’s entry into adolescence.

B. domestic role of women.

C. the harvesting of food.

D. marriage ceremonies.

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 4.b Interpret the meaning of works of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: Chapter Introduction

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

3. Which of the following is characteristic of Kamares ware?

A. painted military scenes

B. extreme thinness

C. delicate glazing

D. relief carvings

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The Minoan Civilization on Crete

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

4. In which millennium BCE was the potter’s wheel introduced to the Minoan world?

A. fourth

B. third

C. second

D. first

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 4.c Relate Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: The Old Palace Period, c. 1900–1700 BCE

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

5. In the Harvester Rhyton (Fig. 4-9) the men might have been marching to the beat of a

A. drum.

B. flute.

C. trumpet.

D. sistrum.

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 4.b Interpret the meaning of works of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

6. What features suggests a main difference between Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations?

A. towers

B. citadels

C. crenellations

D. bunkers

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.e Interpret ancient Aegean art using appropriate art historical methods, such as observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Helladic Architecture

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

7. Which term is used to describe the precisely cut blocks used to build Mycenaean tholos tombs?

A. rhyton

B. ashlar

C. faience

D. cyclopean

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: Mycenaean Tombs

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

8. Which culture’s artistic characteristics seen in the wall paintings found at Akrotiri demonstrate in color and detail a sophisticated decorative sense?

A. Minoan

B. Trojan

C. Mycenaean

D. Cycladic

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 4.b Interpret the meaning of works of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: The Spread of Minoan Culture

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

9. Scholars who think a confederation of aristocrats ruled Minoan civilization during the Old Palace period interpret the “palace” complex at Knossos as

A. the residences of several ruling families.

B. sites of religious ceremonies or rituals.

C. an administrative complex.

D. a commercial district.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.b Interpret the meaning of works of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: The Old Palace Period, c. 1900–1700 BCE

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

10. Which of the following was an architectural feature of the “palace” complex at Knossos?

A. marble columns

B. fortified outer walls

C. corbeled ceilings

D. flat roofs

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

11. Aegean artists created exquisite luxury goods from imported

A. gold.

B. beeswax.

C. glass.

D. marble.

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 4.c Relate Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: The Spread of Minoan Culture

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

12. The Bull’s-Head Rhyton (Fig. 4-10) would have been used

A. to pour ritual libations.

B. as a votive statue.

C. to carry water.

D. as a tomb guardian.

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 4.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts used to discuss Bronze Age Aegean art, artists, and art history.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

13. Scholars believe the Bull Leaping mural from the palace of Knossos on Crete represents

A. a popular form of entertainment.

B. a scene from Minoan legend.

C. a fertility ritual or initiation practice.

D. a dance of sorrow.

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 4.b Interpret the meaning of works of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

14. Which cultural influence can be seen in the metalworking skills used to make the Vapheio Cup (Fig. 4-13)?

A. Minoan

B. Mycenaean

C. Egyptian

D. Near Eastern

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 4.c Relate Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: The Spread of Minoan Culture

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

15. According to art historian Gail Hoffman, what features on Head with Remains of Painted Decoration (Fig. 4-3) are related to Cycladic rituals of mourning the dead?

A. painted eyes

B. presence of a necklace

C. red lines

D. floral motif

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The Cycladic Islands

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

16. Which city’s walls were rebuilt three times?

A. Knossos

B. Mycenae

C. Pylos

D. Troy

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts used to discuss Bronze Age Aegean art, artists, and art history.

Topic: Helladic Architecture

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

17. The great lions of the Lion Gate at Mycenae were inserted into the

A. the posts.

B. the lintel.

C. the corbelled arch.

D. the flanking walls.

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 4.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts used to discuss Bronze Age Aegean art, artists, and art history.

Topic: Helladic Architecture

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

18. What were the earliest tomb structures on mainland Greece called?

A. tholos tombs

B. beehive tombs

C. shaft graves

D. passage graves

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 4.c Relate Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean artists and art to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.

Topic: Mycenaean Tombs

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

19. The first example of dressed stone in the Aegean is at

A. Thera.

B. Mycenae.

C. Akrotiri.

D. Knossos.

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The Old Palace Period, c. 1900–1700 BCE

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

20. The beautiful Harvester Rhyton (Fig. 4-9) may have been covered with

A. niello.

B. gold leaf.

C. serpentine.

D. fresco.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

21. What defines the styles used for depictions of sea life decorating works like Octopus Flask (Fig. 4-11)?

A. energetic

B. stoic

C. serious

D. idealistic

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 4.e Interpret ancient Aegean art using appropriate art historical methods, such as observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

22. In comparison to the Harvester Rhyton (Fig. 4-9), the figures on the Warrior Krater (Fig. 4-26) do not have the

A. majestic scale.

B. vibrant energy.

C. static march.

D. calm expression.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.e Interpret ancient Aegean art using appropriate art historical methods, such as observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: Ceramics

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

23. The Statuette of a Male Figure (Fig. 4-8) has been interpreted as a(n)

A. soldier.

B. prisoner.

C. young god.

D. athlete.

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 4.e Interpret ancient Aegean art using appropriate art historical methods, such as observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

24. What is the metalworking technique that fuses minute balls of precious metal to a surface?

A. fresco

B. relief

C. filigree

D. granulation

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The Spread of Minoan Culture

Difficulty Level: Easy

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

25. Art historian Thomas Strasser identified the subject of the so-called Flotilla Fresco as

A. a fishing expedition.

B. a specific seascape of Thera.

C. a volcanic eruption.

D. the approach of a Mycenaean warship.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 4.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of ancient Aegean art.

Topic: The Spread of Minoan Culture

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Short Answer

1. What defines the style of the Cycladic Island works of art?

Answer: The abstract female figures were geometric and made from polished marble with folded arms.

Learning Objective: 4.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts used to discuss Bronze Age Aegean art, artists, and art history.

Topic: The Cycladic Islands

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

2. Why is the term labyrinth appropriate for the Palace of Knossos?

Answer: The structure’s complicated layout includes a central courtyard and many suites of rooms arranged around central spaces.

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

3. What makes Minoan wall painting an eloquent art form?

Answer: The works are dynamic, showing people and animals in natural poses. The forms have delicate colors and curving outlines.

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The Spread of Minoan Culture

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

4. What scene is shown in the most famous painting of Knossos, the Bull Leaping mural?

Answer: Two women are flanking the bull and a male figure is in mid-jump. The painting may represent an initiation or fertility ritual that included both men and women.

Learning Objective: 4.b Interpret the meaning of works of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

5. What is exceptional about the materials of the Statuette of a Male Figure and how may it have functioned?

Answer: The work is an example of multi-media and has amazing anatomical details. It could have been a representation of a god or a votive sculpture.

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: The Minoan Civilization on Crete

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

6. Give two reasons that the Harvester Rhyton is exceptional.

Answer: It is so small and includes a lot of figures, which adds to the implied motion and energy of the work. It also may have been covered with gold leaf.

Learning Objective: 4.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts used to discuss Bronze Age Aegean art, artists, and art history.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

7. How did the Mycenaean tomb develop from the shaft grave to the tholos tomb?

Answer: Shaft graves were large pits and developed into large above ground burial chambers resembling mounds, or beehives, using corbeling.

Learning Objective: 4.a Identify the visual hallmarks of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.

Topic: Mycenaean Tombs

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

8. What iconography appears on the Lion Gate at Mycenae, and what was its possible purpose

Answer: The central column is flanked by two lions that may have looked out at anyone approaching the gate. The lions represent power and the column may represent a king or a kingdom. They were meant to intimidate the approaching visitor.

Learning Objective: 4.b Interpret the meaning of works of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: Helladic Architecture

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

Essay

1. How would you compare and contrast the art of the Minoans with the art of the Mycenaeans?

Answer:

1. The Minoan works of art can be described as elegant and sophisticated.

2. Minoan works show no images of war. They emphasize the cultural stability and abundance of nature.

3. Mycenaean works of art can be described as elegant and sophisticated, taking after the Minoans while also incorporating bulky architecture.

4. The Mycenaean works feature violent scenes, showing themes of power.

Learning Objective: 4.e Interpret ancient Aegean art using appropriate art historical methods, such as observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: The Minoan Civilization on Crete; The Mycenaean (Helladic) Culture

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

2. Compare the “palace” complex of Knossos with the Mycenaean citadel.

Answer:

1. The Knossos palace incorporated many levels, with large open courtyards. airways, and waterways.

2. The Mycenaean citadel was fortified and had several thick walls.

3. The Knossos palace was a place of worship, trade, and royal apartments with decorative paintings.

4. The Mycenaean citadel included a large megaron with columns and decorative paintings.

Learning Objective: 4.e Interpret ancient Aegean art using appropriate art historical methods, such as observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.

Topic: The Old Palace Period, c. 1900–1700 BCE; The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE; Helladic Architecture

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

3. Trace the development of luxury goods from the Aegean world from the Cyclades islands to Crete and then to the Greek mainland.

Answer:

1. Precious stone, such as marble, was used in Cycladic island sculpture.

2. The Minoans imported gold to adorn themselves and works of art.

3. Minoan ceramics were extremely fine and show the skill and elegance of the style.

4. Gold was also found in Mycenaean tombs in the form of masks for the dead.

Learning Objective: 4.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts used to discuss Bronze Age Aegean art, artists, and art history.

Topic: The Cycladic Islands; The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE; Helladic Architecture

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

4. Discuss the evidence that suggests the Minoans and Mycenaeans both traded with cultures from the Near East and Egypt. Give specific examples.

Answer:

1. Shipwrecks have been found that include Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Minoan works.

2. Works of gold, especially jewelry, have been found on the island of Crete and must have been imported.

3. Iconography of ships and goods are still represented in wall paintings.

4. The daggers found in Mycenaean tombs show many sophisticated metalworking techniques adopted from abroad.

Learning Objective: 4.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of ancient Aegean art.

Topic: The Bronze Age in the Aegean; The New Palace Period, c 1700–1450 BCE; The Spread of Minoan Culture; Mycenaean Tombs

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It

5. Describe the iconography in Aegean art, and give at least three examples.

Answer:

1. The bull is a common example of iconography symbolizing power and kingship.

2. Dolphins, octopi, and other sea creatures are commonly found on murals and ceramics, symbolizing abundance and nature.

3. Lions can be seen in Mycenaean works of art and most likely symbolize power and kingship.

4. Ships and weapons appear in Aegean art frequently and could symbolize trade and/or war.

Learning Objective: 4.b Interpret the meaning of works of Bronze Age Aegean Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.

Topic: The New Palace Period, c. 1700–1450 BCE; The Spread of Minoan Culture; Helladic Architecture

Difficulty Level: Difficult

Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It