Stone Age Greek Sculpture
The first sculpture we know of from Greece is small figurines molded out of clay or carved out of limestone, about 5-10 inches tall.
The statues are generally of women, and the women are generally very fat. They have big thighs and big breasts. Archaeologists call them "steatopygous" figurines, which means they have big butts. Possibly these figurines served some sort of religious purpose, maybe as fertility charms to make the crops grow.
But that's not the only kind of sculpture from the Stone Age. There's another kind from later in the Stone Age. On the Cyclades islands, between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea, there are tall, lifesize white marble statues of people (and more small figurines as well). They seem to have been made mainly to put in people's graves.
They were originally painted so they didn't look blank like this - they had painted on eyes and mouths and perhaps clothes.
This is a Cycladic figurine of a man playing a flute - or anyway, some kind of pipes, like a double recorder.
To find out more about Stone Age sculpture in Greece, check out these books from Amazon.com or from your local library:
Greek Art and Archaeology (3rd Edition), by John G. Pedley (2002) This is NOT a children's book, but it has a lot of good information and is pretty readable. Plus, the author is really an expert in this field.
Early Cycladic Sculpture: An Introduction, by Pat Getz-Preziosi (1994). Published by the Getty Museum.
Deities, Dolls, and Devices: Neolithic Figurines from Franchthi Cave, Greece, by Lauren E. Talalay (1993). By a specialist, for specialists.
GIFT IDEA: Bronze Cycladic Figurine for your garden. List Price: $149.95 New Price: $79.99. You save: $69.96 (47%).
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This page was reviewed for accuracy by Ioannis Georganas in March 2005.
