AP Art History : Ancient Through Medieval Architecture
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Analyzing Ancient Greek And Roman Architecture
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of ionic order temple construction?
A tiered base at the bottom of the column
Alternating triglyphs and metopes in the frieze
A decorative and often elaborate volute
Relief sculpture running the length of the frieze
A narrow and stylized column
Alternating triglyphs and metopes in the frieze
Triglyphs and metopes are a characteristic of the doric order temple, but were abandoned by the time the ionic order became the favored architectural tradition in favor of an uninterrupted frieze that could house relief sculpture.
Example Question #1 : Architecture
Why did the Doric order fall out of style during the height of Classical Greece?
Influence from the Macedonian empire encouraged architects to consider new building techniques.
The Classical tradition favored narrower and more aesthetically pleasing proportions.
Fourth-century Athens lacked the proper building materials to continue building in this tradition.
The popularity of the Corinthian order grew such that the Doric order fell out of favor with Greek architects.
The Peloponnesian War destroyed all of the existing Doric-order temples in the major acropolises across Greece.
The Classical tradition favored narrower and more aesthetically pleasing proportions.
The Doric order was heavy and squat. It was followed in the fourth century by the Ionic, which boasted more slender columns and longer proportions. It was considered more aesthetically pleasant than the Doric order, so Classical Greeks desired it more than the Doric order at the height of the artistic tradition from this period.
Example Question #1 : Analyzing Ancient Greek And Roman Architecture
The image above is an aerial view of the Temple of Athena Nike on the Athenian Acropolis (410-405 B.C.).
(Image by José-Manuel Benito from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Athena_Nike.)
What about the Temple of Athena Nike makes it unique as compared to the other buildings on the Athenian Acropolis?
It housed an altar for animal sacrifice and was said to constantly burn incense.
It has a cult statue of Artemis as well as Athena.
It is made entirely of marble and is the first fully Ionic temple on the acropolis.
It was supposedly built at the site at which Zeus's thunderbolt struck the ground.
Only priestesses were permitted to enter, and it was the site of female worship.
It is made entirely of marble and is the first fully Ionic temple on the acropolis.
You can see that the building is Ionic by noting the bases on the columns (the larger circles around the outside of the circles that denote columns). Most other buildings on the acropolis were made of limestone, but the small size of this temple allowed architects to use pentelic marble.
Example Question #2 : Architecture
What is misleading about the architectural and sculptural evidence that remains of the Greek artistic tradition?
The surviving sculpture and architecture is white, but would have actually been brightly colored.
None of the other answers is correct.
The architecture that remains does not properly demonstrate the depth of Greek commitment to their polytheistic religion.
The sculpture that remains undervalues the importance Greek senators held in the community.
The surviving pieces do not demonstrate properly the opulence of the empire.
The surviving sculpture and architecture is white, but would have actually been brightly colored.
There is evidence that the white piece found in Greece were actually brightly colored, giving us an image of Greece that is much different than the white marble we think of when we think of Classical Greece.
Example Question #3 : Architecture
Which of these statements about Greek temples is most accurate?
They were built as gathering places for worshipers
They were designed to be seen from the outside, where they emphasized balance over mystery
They were designed by competing architects, each trying to outdo the previous in scale and design
They were designed to be increasingly more beautiful as the worshiper went deeper into the temple area
They were only made of stone
They were designed to be seen from the outside, where they emphasized balance over mystery
Temples epitomized the Greek way of life. They formed a balanced and aesthetically pleasing background to the daily lives of the Greeks, not necessarily places of active worship for the masses. They were built to be seen from outside, where their harmony spoke of the rationality of life.
Example Question #5 : Architecture
The Parthenon in Athens is characterized by which of the following?
Straight lines
A perfectly square floor plan
Slight curves in the steps and columns
Corinthian columns
A lack of human motifs
Slight curves in the steps and columns
The Greeks discovered that the human eye will interpret certain straight lines as curved and vice versa. When someone looks at a long row of columns they will appear to be crooked. To compensate for this they made the columns bulge outward and the steps curve slightly.
Example Question #4 : Architecture
What is a major difference between Greek and Roman temples?
Roman temples were built on the ruins of previous structures
Roman temples were also used as marketplaces
Greek temples never veered from the established orders, while Roman temples were more varied
Greek temples were meant to be viewed on all sides, while Roman temples were to be viewed from the front
Greek temples had columns with slight bulges, while roman ones did not
Greek temples were meant to be viewed on all sides, while Roman temples were to be viewed from the front
The Romans copied many stylistic elements from Greek temples. There was, however, a major difference. Greek temples were built freestanding and without regard for the other buildings around them. Roman temples, on the other hand, were built in conjunction with large municipal building projects and their final design took this into account.
Example Question #5 : Architecture
Greek Doric temples _________________.
were unstable and tended to collapse, leading to a new design: the Ionic temple
were built without a sense of proportion
emphasized tall and slender architecture
doubled as meeting places of governing bodies
were still strongly influenced by wooden temple design
were still strongly influenced by wooden temple design
Even centuries after temples were built from stone, they were still strongly influenced by their wooden predecessors. Characteristics that the original temples had, for structural reasons were copied in the stone forms. For instance, the round columns imitated tree trunks, and the square triglyphs above the columns were meant to look like horizontal beams sticking out of the face of the building.
Example Question #4 : Architecture
The central area of a Greek temple, or cella, was _________________.
the place where the public would often gather to offer sacrifices
more ornate than the rest of the temple
more simply decorated than the outside of the temple
was sometimes omitted
was empty, emphasizing the invisible nature of Greek deities
more simply decorated than the outside of the temple
The cella was the room that housed the statue of the patron deity. It was a place reserved almost exclusively to the priests. Many temples did have an antechamber to the cella where people could leave votive offerings.
Example Question #2 : Analyzing Ancient Greek And Roman Architecture
The relative width to length of the standard Greek temple ____________________.
was determined by which deity it was dedicated to
was determined by this formula (front columns : side columns = n : n2 - 3)
was roughly twice as long as it was wide
was determined by the formula (front columns : side columns = n:n + 5)
was determined by the formula (front columns: side columns = n:n + 1)
was roughly twice as long as it was wide
The formula used to determine the relative length and width of most temples was front columns: side columns = n:n2+1. This meant that the temple would be roughly twice as long as it was wide. The Greeks used mathematical equations as the basis for many of the proportions of their buildings, feeling that this added to their beauty.
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