Greek Sculptures, Spirituality, and Classical vs Hellenistic Art

Art and Spirituality: An Introduction

Is art linked to spirituality in any special way? One might find a number of reasons to answer in the affirmative; there does indeed appear to be a profuse series of connections between the two. Art has always occupied a central position in religion. In religious rituals and houses of worship, one can witness sacred dances, sacred symbols, hymns, sacred pictures, tunes, and chants; these art forms have also been utilized as meditation and prayer aids by all religions. These examples of art in religion alone make the former discipline appear intrinsic to connecting with or expressing the divine (Art and Spirituality 1).

Religious art represents a superior art form in both Western medieval Christianity and Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Buddhists and Hindus also view art in the same light. Even religions that regard any imagery of God as idolatrous — such as Islam and Judaism — make use of decorative designs for embellishing their sacred texts and houses of worship. Apart from the formal context of religion, it has traditionally played an equally integral role in both the arts and the broader culture. Within traditional cultures, arts have contributed to transmitting core cultural values and beliefs, which in turn possess a strong spiritual or religious element. Two artworks that integrate spiritual elements are taken up for this study: the Veiled and Masked Dancer and Hermes and the Infant Dionysos.

Hermes and the Infant Dionysos

The statue of Hermes carrying the Infant Dionysos was created by the Athenian artist Praxiteles (c. 390–332 BC), who was the most venerated sculptor of antiquity. Labeled a "sensual" sculptor, Praxiteles is believed to have sophisticatedly represented the female body, as well as that of the slightly effete young man (ephebe). He cannot be described as an artist who sculpted heroes and gods in the traditional heroic mold, as his art echoes the worldly, secular style of the later Classical age. In spite of this sculpture being placed at Olympia — with evidence suggesting it was made specifically for that city — the concept and overall impression is undoubtedly worldly (Hermes with the Infant Dionysus 1). An undulant body carved in a distinct S-curve that defies equilibrium replaces the Classical grace and restraint.

The work depicts Hermes bearing the god Dionysus, in infant form, to the Nine Muses, to be raised. In the statue, Hermes was originally portrayed raising his right forearm and dangling a bunch of grapes before the infant Dionysus; however, that forearm has been lost over the years. An element of humor — the baby Dionysus reaching out greedily toward the cluster — was also added by Praxiteles as an allusion to Dionysus's fate as the Greek god of wine (Praxiteles — Ancient Greek Sculptor 1).

Even though Praxiteles' proportions of Dionysus as an infant were not entirely realistic, the presence of children and babies in the statues of the Late Classical era is suggestive of broader societal transformations toward dominant social sentimentalism and secularism. Classical Greek art initiated a shift toward a more realistic portrayal of the world — even during its initial idealistic stage — thereby signaling a change in philosophers' focus from the supernatural and the conceptual to more pressing worldly concerns. Artists ceased merely "alluding" to human form and began to "describe" it accurately (History of Greece: Classical Greece 1). The focus became mankind — the ultimate source of value in everyday life, in cultural depictions, and in democratic politics. Logic and rational thinking drove this cultural shift at the cost of impulse and emotion.

The Classical Period and Its Cultural Legacy

The most prominent example of this shift from emotion to logic can be seen in the sculptures found on the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. In that intricate array of statues, one can clearly differentiate the "civilized Hellene" from the "Barbarian" through facial expression. Barbarian Centaurs display heightened emotion, whereas Apollo and the Lapith women appear composed even under the most dire circumstances (History of Greece: Classical Greece 1).

An outstanding array of scientific and cultural achievements was produced during the Classical era. Athenians introduced the world to a system of direct democracy unparalleled in its time; the Western governments of the modern era — France, the United Kingdom, and the United States — emulated this model only a millennium later. The logical method of investigating and describing the world, as mirrored in Classical literature, art, and philosophy, became the established foundation that Western culture used as a springboard, beginning with the subsequent Hellenistic Period. The ideas of Socrates, Aristotle, Plato, and other Classical thinkers have served, either directly, in modified form, or in opposition, as reference points for countless Western thinkers over the past two millennia (History of Greece: Classical Greece 1). The physician Hippocrates of Kos is regarded as the "Father of Western Medicine"; his historic Hippocratic Oath continues to be used to this day. The comedies of Aristophanes and the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides are counted among the masterworks of Western culture. It was, in short, an age in which the people of Greece were urged to adopt logical thinking and a rational view of the world — a disposition that fostered a kind of spirituality in which individuals were free to pursue knowledge and progressive thought.

Conclusion

Adopting art as a spiritual tradition disciplines people and teaches them to take time out and develop a relationship with the divine, or with depth of experience, through "conscious creation." They gradually learn to yield to a system that is greater than themselves, to loosen their firm grasp on control, and to develop a sense of playfulness and spontaneity that widens their imaginations to new possibilities (Paintner 5). The activity of art-making promotes wonder and curiosity, and one feels stimulated and revitalized by it. Creative activity is inherently refreshing. The phenomenon of complete presence is described as "a state of altered awareness or flow" in which one loses one's sense of time and becomes fully absorbed in what one is creating — yet remains fully present within it.