Art lovers exploring Athens for the first time

The Greek works of art are indeed of somewhat restricted dimensions, yet they are unrivalled in perfection in the eyes of those who can feel and appreciate their perfection. The subject will not be elaborated, only two significant points of comparison will be mentioned:

Greek antiquities consist of theatres where the People were taught, Stadiums for the games in which they participated, and Temples where they worshiped their Gods. On the contrary the above mentioned colossal antiquities pivot round the life of the "King". While in Greece, statues and commemorative steles were set up for the artists and sages, the architect that constructed the colossal temple elsewhere was depicted with his arms cut off at the elbows. Indeed after the construction was completed the "King" had the arms cut off the artist architect so that he might not design and erect a similar building in the future..

Greek art is the expression of a turning point in the history of Western civilization. The conventions and rituals which gave rise to the art of older civilizations did not disappear, but they were transformed by rational thought and by individual will. The work of art, whether a temple or a statue, was, as in earlier cultures, real as an object of worship. But this work of art also now expressed man's individual observations of the natural world and his desire to understand reality in this different context. Greek art is as a result a compact synthesis of opposites, a harmony between profound passion and rational order.

Regarding the social structure and the regime: Already during these centuries democratic regimes were established in various Greek cities south of the Olympus. A respect for human existence and the individual form the basis of the regimes. Of course, it should not be taken that the Greek city-states were communities of angels. There were then, precisely as in modern times, the rich and the powerful who in many ways exploited the weaker and the poorer.