 GREEK ART OF THE FIFTH CENTURY B.C.:
THE WIENER GALLERY
This gallery presents some of the Museum’s finest marble grave markers dating from the mid-fifth century B.C. through the early fourth century B.C. These include the well-known relief of a girl with doves that conveys some of the ideal beauty and sweetness of expression that is found in figures on the great architectural frieze that embellished the upper walls of the Parthenon in Athens. Other beautifully carved funerary reliefs such as that of a young woman and her servant, and another of an entire family group, give a sense of the unprecedented flowering of art and culture taking place during the fifth century in Athens.
During this period, Athens became preeminent in Greece under the leadership of the statesman Perikles, who directed much of the wealth pouring into the city toward building projects such as the Parthenon and other buildings on the Athenian Akropolis. Drama flourished with plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides presented at festivals in honor of Dionysos. Toward the end of the century, Socrates laid down the foundation not only of moral philosophy but also of logic. The cases with clay and bronze vases, small bronze statuettes, glass vessels, gold jewelry, and terracotta figurines in this gallery are arranged to provide an overview of Athenian society, in which all citizens played an active role in public life. Included are objects that illustrate aspects of education, political activity, daily life, and the rich intricate myths and legends that surrounded the Olympian gods and Greek heroes.
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