Geometric art

Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages, 900–700 BC. Its center was in Athens, and from there the style spread among the trading cities of the Aegean. The Greek Dark Ages lasted from 1100 to 750 BC and include two periods, the Protogeometric period and the Geometric period (or Geometric art), in reference to the characteristic pottery style. The vases had various uses or purposes within Greek society, including, but not limited to, funerary vases and symposium vases. Funerary vases not only depicted funerary scenes, but they also had practical purposes, either holding the ashes or being used as grave markers. Relatives of the deceased conducted burial rituals that included three parts: the prothesis (laying out of the body), the ekphora (funeral procession), and the interment of the body or cremated remains of the body. To the Greeks, an omission of a proper burial was an insult to proper dignity. The mythological context of a proper burial relates to the Greeks' belief in a continued existence in the underworld that will disallow the dead to maintain peace in the absence of a proper burial ritual. Aside from its funerary use, the Greeks also utilized various vessels during symposiums. The Greek symposium was a social gathering that only aristocratic males were allowed to attend. Vessels, such as wine coolers, jugs, various drinking cups, and mixing vessels, were decorated with Greek, geometric scenes. Some of the scenes depicted drinking parties or Dionysus and his followers. The symposia would be held in the "andron," which was a man's only room. The only women allowed into this room were called "hetaera," or female sex-workers who required payment from their regular, male companions. During the Protogeometric period (1030–900 BC), the shapes of the vessels have eliminated the fluid nature of the Mycenaean; creating a more strict and simple design.