Chapter Five Art History AP Vocabulary

1. Demos
a. The Greek word for the people. The root word for democracy.

2. Humanism
a. Philosophy branch that places emphasis on human beings and value rational though over
adherence to religious teachings.

3. Hellenes
a. Another name for the Greeks. Comes from another name from mainland Greece, Hellas.

4. Polis
a. A city-state in ancient Greece.

5. Symposium
a. An ancient Greek banquet attended only by men; but there also female servants and
prostitutes.

6. Krater
a. An ancient Greek bowl used for mixing wine and water.

7. Amphora
a. An ancient Greek jar that has two handles and is generally used for storing this, mainly wine
or oil.

8. Meander
a. An ornament, usually in bands but also covering broad surfaces, consisting of interlocking
geometric motifs. An ornamental pattern of contiguous straight lines usually at right angles.

9. Attributes
a. A distinctive aspect of a person. For example, a scar on someones arm.

10. Frieze
a. A part of the entablature; sandwiched between the architrave and the cornice. Also, the
sculpted party in a building.

11. Kore
a. Greek for young woman.

12. Kouros
a. Greek for young man.

13. Daedalus
a. Believed to be the inventor of carpentry; built the labyrinth for Minos, king of Crete.

Chapter Five Art History AP Vocabulary
14. Encaustic
a. A painting technique in which pigment is mixed with wax and applied to the surface while
the mixture is still hot.

15. Acropolis
a. Is Greek for high city. In ancient Greece, it was the site the citys most important temples.

16. Foreshortening
a. The use of perspective to make a visual contradiction by making an object appear closer or
farther than it actually is.

17. Archaic smile
a. A smile that appears on all Archaic Greek statues from 570 to 480 BCE. The smile is to
make the sculpture seem alive or more human like.

18. Gigantomachy
a. The ancient Greek mythology, the battle between the god and the giants. The gods were led
by Zeus and the giants lead by Alcyoneus.

19. Contrapposto
a. Also called weight shift because the weight of the body is on one foot, creating tension on
one and relaxation on the other.

20. Chiastic
a. Cross balance seen in sculptures (Doryphoros).

21. Lekythos
a. A flask containing perfumed oil. Were often placed in Greek graves as offerings to the
deceased.

22. White-ground
a. A Greek painting style in which the figures would appear on a white background.

23. Emblema
a. Central panel with figure representations. (Hellenistic)

24. Pebble mosaic
a.