Influences on Greek Architecture and Art

             Introduction: Philosophy, religion, and mythology have played crucial roles in human development and settlement. In ancient Greece, philosophical geniuses such as Plato and Socrates influenced the way in which buildings were constructed, statues were formed, and paintings were created. Mythology also influenced the culture of ancient Greece with its beliefs in human-shaped gods. Greek architecture and art were a reflection of the beliefs, convictions, and philosophical ideas held by not only the artist who created the masterpieces but also the civilization which admired them. IngĂ©nues philosophers such as Socrates and Plato were capable of producing influential, as well as revolutionary, literary works such as the Republic and the Symposium which altered previously held perceptions. Such works also at times inspired artists to create the works which they are now revered for. Greek artists used revolutionary ideas fabricated by such philosophers to create revolutionary artwork such as statues without arms and statues exhibiting significant amounts of nudity and utilized Greek mythology to produce statues merging animals and humans like that of the Centaur.
            
             Mythology: In ancient Greece, mythology and religion were closely intertwined. Greek religion is best known through the myths of the gods in the Odyssey by Homer. The gods of the classical Greek culture were human in form and had distinct personalities. Many of the gods are known more familiarly by the names given to them by their Roman counterparts. Such renowned gods are Zeus, the god of the sky and the weather (known as Jupiter to the Romans), Ares, the god of war (known as Mars to the Romans), and Aphrodite, the goddess of love (known as Venus to the Romans). The majority of the gods, as well as the majority of the religion of the Greeks, was adopted from the civilizations which they had conquered.# The Homeric gods have clear...

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