| Archaic style | The style in Greek sculpture, dating from the seventh century to 480 b.c., that was characterized by heavy Egyptian influence; dominated by the kouros and kore sculptural forms.
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| architrave | [AHR-kuh-trayv] The part of the entablature that rests on the capital or column in Classical post-beam-triangle construction.
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| ashlar | [ASH-luhr] A massive hewn or squared stone used in constructing a fortress, palace, or large building.
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| bard | A tribal poet-singer who composes and recites works, often of the epicpoetry genre.
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| capital | In architecture, the upper or crowning part of a column, on which the entablature rests.
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| cella | [SELL-uh] The inner sanctum or walled room of a Classical temple where sacred statues were housed.
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| chthonian deities | [THOE-nee-uhn] In Greek religion, earth gods and goddesses who lived underground and were usually associated with peasants and their religious beliefs.
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| cornice | In architecture, the crowning, projecting part of the entablature.
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| Doric | The simplest and oldest of the Greek architectural orders, in which temple columns have undecorated capitals and rest directly on the stylobate.
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| entablature | [en-TAB-luh-choor] In architecture, the part of the temple above the columns and below the roof, which, in Classical temples, included the architrave, the frieze, and the pediment.
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| entasis | [EN-ta-sis] In architecture, convex curving or enlarging of the central part of a column to correct the optical illusion that the column is too thin.
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| Epic | A poem, novel, or film that recounts at length the life of a hero or the history of a people.
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| fluting | Decorative vertical grooves carved in a column.
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| fresco | A painting done on wet or dry plaster that becomes part of the plastered wall.
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| frieze | [FREEZ] A band of painted designs or sculptured figures placed on walls; also, the central portion of a temple's entablature just above the architrave.
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| Homeric epithet | A recurring nickname, such as "Ox-eyed Hera," used in Homer's Iliad or Odyssey.
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| hubris | [HYOO-bris] In Greek thought, human pride or arrogance that leads an individual to challenge the gods, usually provoking divine retribution.
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| humanities | In the nineteenth century, the study of Greek and Roman languages and literature; later set off from the sciences and expanded to include the works of all Western peoples in the arts, literature, music, philosophy, and sometimes history and religion; in Post-Modernism extended to a global dimension.
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| kore | [KOH-ray] An Archaic Greek standing statue of a young draped female.
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| kouros | [KOO-rus] An Archaic Greek standing statue of a young naked male.
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| Linear A | In Minoan civilization, a type of script still undeciphered that lasted from about 1800 to 1400 b.c.
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| Linear B | In Minoan civilization, an early form of Greek writing that flourished on Crete from about 1400 until about 1300b.c. and lasted in a few scattered places on the Greek mainland until about 1150 b.c.; used to record commercial transactions.
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| lyre | In music, a hand-held stringed instrument, with or without a sound box, used by ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Greeks. In Greek culture, the lyre was played to accompany song and recitation.
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| Lyric poetry | A short subjective poem that expresses intense personal emotion.
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| metope | [MET-uh-pee] In architecture, a panel, often decorated, between two triglyphs on the entablature of a Doric Greek temple.
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| muse | In Greek religion, any one of the nine sister goddesses who preside over the creative arts and sciences.
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| natural philosophy | Science based on philosophical speculation and experiments or data, founded in Ionian Greece in the sixth century B.C.E.; a term that embraced both science and philosophy until about 1800 C.E.
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| oligarchy | From the Greek oligos, few; a state ruled by the few, especially by a small fraction of persons or families.
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| Olympian deities | In Greek religion, sky gods and goddesses who lived on mountaintops and were worshiped mainly by the Greek aristocracy.
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| Orientalizing | A phase of Greek art, particularly Greek vase painting, lasting from about 700 to 530 B.C.E., which drew inspiration from Near Eastern art, including artistic techniques, vessel forms, decorative motifs, and subjects.
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| pediment | In Classical-style architecture, the triangular-shaped area or gable at the end of the building formed by the sloping roof and the cornice.
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| post-beam-triangle construction | The generic name given to Greek architecture that includes the post, or column; the beam, or lintel; and the triangular-shaped area, or pediment.
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| relief | In sculpture, figures or forms that are carved so they project from the flat surface of a stone or metal background. High relief projects sharply from the surface; low relief, or bas relief, is more shallow.
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| shaft graves | Deep pit burial sites; the dead are usually placed at the bottom of the shafts.
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| stereobate | In Greek architecture, the stepped base on which a temple stands.
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| stylobate | [STY-luh-bate] In Greek temples, the upper step of the base that forms a platform on which the columns stand.
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| triglyph | [TRY-glif] In Greek architecture, a three-grooved rectangular panel on the frieze of a Doric temple; triglyphs alternated with metopes.
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