Periods of Development.

The history of ancient Greek art falls neatly into five periods. It begins in the prehistoric Bronze Age, when a civilization flourished on the island of Crete in the second millennium B.C.E., which has the modern label "Minoan." Its artistic traditions were carried on in mainland Greece via the Mycenaean civilization. This civilization flourished until 1200 B.C.E., when it fell victim to raiders and new migrants into Greece, thereby entering a "Dark Age" (1150–700 B.C.E.). Archaeology is gradually making this period less dark, however, for the ceramics of this age continue to shed light on the development of artistic tradition. By the ninth century B.C.E. a new period of Greek art emerged known as "Geometric" after the geometric designs such as triangles, circles, and spirals that decorate the pottery. "Geometric" developed by natural...