Cyclades
 AEGEAN:  [Cyclades]  [Crete]  [Minoan] [Mycenaean] 

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On this page:  {Intro}
               {The Usual Suspects} (art thingies)
               {Religion}
               {Chronology}


Cyclades
Intro

The so-called Cycladid Islands consist of about 20 islands
off of the South-East coast of Greece in the Mediteranina/Aegean
sea. The islands are primarily identified by things found there
and include the following islands (listed North to South) and
listed after it are key finds.

    Syros - "the frying pan"
    Paros
    Naxos  
    Keros - "figure of a woman", "Seated harp player"
    Melos
    Thera (and the site known as Akrotiri)


Again it is important to remember the "Theran Hypothesis" that
about 1450bce an island volcano on Thera exploded. There is 
ancilliary evidence from ground extracts from Ireland and
California (among others?) that the date of the explosion
could be as early as 1630-1620bce. This introduces a slew
of about 200 years into dating of *any* artifacts in the
region. The only recourse is if there are artifacts that
were traded with (eg) the Egyptian Empires of the Middle
and New Kingdoms; thus ranging from the 12th down to the
18th dynasties. In such cases, the objects *may* have some
documentation in the more accurately dated Egyptian histories.

According to The Saskatchwean Museum of Antiquities, 
   
    The sculpture produced by the artisans of the  
    Cyclades islands was very unique compared to 
    the art being produced by the Egyptians and 
    Mesopotamians.  These sculptures, commonly 
    called Cycladic idols, were often used as 
    grave offerings, which points to the obvious 
    role of religion in society.  All of the idols 
    were made of Parian marble.  
       -[Downloaded 2008.01.31 at 8:11 pct]-

As well the Cycladic Museum in Greece offers this:

     http://www.cycladic-m.gr/

Images

Images are well-known in Art History, and these are 
primarily downloaded from the Cycladic Museum in Greece
(alt text is from the same site)

   -[www.Cycladicl-m.gr]-

  
  Seated Figurine. The man, with elongated head and
  long, relief nose (which is now chipped away) recalls
  the folded-arm type of female figurines from the 
  same period. The statuette (15 cm high) is entirely
  carved out of a single piece of marble: the daring 
  protrusion of the right arm, the man's entirely 
  separated legs and the realistic rendering of the
  stool are good indications on an artist confident 
  in his [sic] skills. 2800-2300 BCE, White marble,
  Catalog number Col. No 286,


And one of the most common found artifacts....

  
  Female Figure. Stanidng at 1.40 m, this masterpiece
  of Cycladic sculpture may qualify as a statue. 
  It follows the standard type, with the arms folded
  over the abdomen and the long feet, soles slopping
  downwards. It is because of the latter feature that 
  some scholars assume that the figurines were meant 
  to be reclining rather than standing. 
  
  The only difference between this large statue and 
  its [sic] smaller 'sisters' is that the figures 
  ears are rendered in relief, as two curved crescents
  along the elongated head. 2800-2300 BCE, white 
  marble, Catalog # Col. No. 724.

This image is similar to that as the one in Stokstad; which 
she gives with a height of 63.4 cm.

The text on the museum site is interesting as well:

  The majority of Cycladic Figurines show women, 
  nude with the arms folded over the belly. We 
  do not know whether they were meant to show
  mortals or deities, or even whether the 
  Islanders venerated a number of deities, like 
  the later-period Greeks, or simply worshipped
  one "Mother Goddess". In this case, the figurines
  may have been conceived as representations of 
  the Goddess, or companions to her.

As Stokstad points out:

  The Cyclades, especially the islands of Naxos
  and Paros, had ample supplies of a find and
  durable white marble. ... These figures are
  often found lying on graves. 

  To shape the stone, sculptors used scrapers 
  and chisels made from obsidain from the 
  island of Melos and polishing stones of 
  emery from Naxos. The introduction of 
  metal tools may have made it possible 
  for them to carve on a larger scale, but
  perhaps because the stone fractured so
  easily, they contnued to limit themselves
  to simplified sculptural forms.
                        [Stokstad, P. 132]

REF: Stokstad, Marily (2002). Art History - 2nd Edition, Volume 1.
                       Harry N. Abrams, Inc, Publishers,
                       ISBN 0.8109.0610.4, LCCN N'5300.S923'2001


  

The Usual Suspects

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Religion



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Chronology


Links

google:    "cycladic art" 

   -[Saskatchewan Museum of Antiquities]-

   -[Museum of Cycladic Art in Greece]-

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