Greek material culture reflects the society of its producers through the architecture, personal possessions, and fine art and literature produced by them. From studying and examining the very objects the ancient Greeks produced, an individual can reason what those objects were used for, how they were created, what they were created from, and why they are existent. Furthermore, these reasonings can answer how Greek material culture reflected the society of its producers.
From studying the architecture of ancient Greece, several things can be assumed. The first and most prominent facet which Greek architecture reveals is that the Greeks were a religious people. Many temples located all over Greece, and in Greek cities outside of Greece dedicated to Zeus, Athena, Dionysus, Apollo, and other gods make it quite clear that the Greeks at least reverenced and more than likely worshipped some type of gods. Various inscriptions on the different types of statues and figures contained within the temples give evidence that there was more than a single god, therefore making them polytheists. Concluded from these facts, the ancient Greeks were religious polytheists. Secondly, ancient Greek architecture makes it plausible that the Greeks believed in an afterworld. The tomb, “Treasury of Atreus”, in Mycenae, housed a corpse, most likely that of a ruler, along with many treasures and jewels. The treasures contained within in the tomb, obviously meant for use of the ruler raise questions as to whether they were for him to use in an afterlife. Thirdly, the architecture of ancient Greece reveals that the inhabitants were very intelligent. Through the construction of the column, ancient pillars used as support for temple buildings, airflow throughout the temple was possible, as well as inletting for light. Open ceilings were also incorporated for more light. In addition to the practicality of the columns, they were beautifully designed which required thought and skill. Lastly, ancient Greek architecture leads us to believe that the Greeks were a social and trading people. The large open areas in the middle of Greek city states named agoras were most fit for trading objects, small and large, as well as fit for large social gatherings.
The crafts of the ancient Greeks such as various types of pottery and dishware play a key factor to revealing ancient Greek society. These crafts were created in many different shapes, colors, and sizes, with assigned purposes to most of them. The ancient Greeks' main export was olives, so they developed two special containers for them; one for olives, and one for olive oil. The container developed for olives consisted of a large open mouth, and grew narrower towards the bottom. On the other hand, the olive oil container was much more intricately designed. The spout was narrow, but it was created so that airflow would allow smooth pouring of the oil, while the bottom narrowed out, so that the sediment could deposit. The Greeks also crafted another very ingeniously designed cup, called the kylix. The purpose of this cup was for the partaker to fully indulge himself in the contents of the cup, which was wine. The mouth of this cup was fairly wide and open, and the bowl was quite shallow; the reason being was for the drinker to be able to place his whole face into the cup, breathe the wine, and completely enjoy it. Also handles were attached to the side of the cup, so that the hands of the drinker would not alter the very perfect temperature of the wine. Once again, proof that ancient Greeks were quite intelligent, and that they took their wine-drinking seriously. Secondly, the potteries comprised of many different designs and materials. These designs were the black figure, red figure, and lekythos-“White figure”. Most of the Greek pottery was expensive, and many ancient Greek citizens possessed them, which more than likely meant that they were quite wealthy people. Lastly, the artwork on the pottery gives much insight into ancient Greek culture. Vases and jars with depictions of horses, men teaching students, and homosexual couples provide some information of what the ancient Greeks were accustomed to. Many of these Greek potteries were discovered in many different parts of Europe, suggesting that Greek art and culture was widespread throughout the continent.
By studying the fine art and literature of ancient Greece, an individual can discern how the ancient Greeks thought. Early Greek sculptures such as an Attic Kouros make it evident that Greeks were highly obsessed with the human body. Sculptures were created in which the human body was sculpted into perfection. In addition, the Greeks crafted their statues of the gods in the image of man, giving further reason to believe the Greeks believed the human body was perfect. Also, some statues, such as Pericles with the goddess Athena's tilted helmet, show us that the Greeks linked the attribute of wisdom from Athena and tagged it onto Pericles. It was quite an ingenious way to display such traits. Sadly, not much ancient Greek art imposes upon woman's greatness, which suggests unimportance among Greek women. Lastly, many of the statues were made from high quality materials, a signifying of wealth. As far as ancient Greek literature, many things can be discovered through reading them. Much of Socrate's life was discovered from the writings of Plato. Also from ingenious plays such as Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, it is evident that the Greek gods were highly involved in the lives of the ancient Greeks.
Thus from observing ancient Greek material culture such as architecture, personal possessions, and fine art/literature, we can see how the Greeks may have lived their lives. Not only is it visible how the ancient Greeks may have lived their lives, but also how they thought, what they were involved in, and their influence on the rest of the world. Overall, the material culture of ancient Greece suggests many things such as: the Greeks were very religious, quite intelligent and technologically advanced for their age, enjoyed wine, accepted/dealt with homosexuality, were highly concerned with the human body, and disregarded woman's importance.
