Greek ornament is relevant today

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Greek ornament today is becoming extremely relevant in the design of clothing, household items, architecture, furniture decoration, costume jewelry and even tattoos.

This happens because it was in Greece that back in the 9th-8th centuries BC, vessels appeared, decorated with graceful silhouette, girdle, ray-like or geometric repeating patterns.

Greek ornament

At first, vases in Greece were decorated with plain, encircling products, patterns. Basically, the Greek ornament contained a geometric pattern: zigzags, triangles, combinations of horizontal and vertical segments of straight lines. Gradually it became more difficult. And now, between the friezes - the so-called horizontal stripes - figures of animals and people began to be located. Today, Greek patterns and ornaments are widely used in contemporary design art. Very often, the bedspreads are decorated with Greek ornaments. Photos of modern dishes decorated in a similar style conveyperfection and beauty of cutlery - they look rich and elegant.

The main distinguishing features of the Greek ornament

1. This is, of course, a clear symmetry, the correctness of geometric shapes.
2. Using mythology plots.
3. Plots taken from the surrounding nature, but reworked, so to speak, stylized.
4. Widespread use of the meander - round or square - with the inclusion of braids and pearls; egg-shaped variants of patterns - ova.
5. Friezes are often decorated with elements such as stylized images of aloe leaves, vines, honeysuckle flowers, laurel leaves, olive tree and water plants.
6. The image of a bull's head is common as animal motifs.

Origin of ornament details

Everyone knows that in ancient times, when there was no written language yet, a person transmitted his emotions and knowledge through certain signs. That is why each line in the figure, each dot or circle carried certain information. The circle, for example, was the personification of the Sun, and the square symbolized the Earth. Ancient people depicted mountains with a triangle, and development or movement with a spiral. And at first, these elements were used specifically for writing.

Putting various symbols on the bottom of the dishes or on the reverse sides of the jewelry, the person thereby constituted an amulet for the future owner of the thing or imposed a conspiracy for good luck in hunting,love happiness. But then someone noticed that the inscriptions, made up of short but repetitive signs, contain, in addition to the main function, aesthetic value. Thus, the first Greek ornament appeared, which was applied not to the part of the object hidden from human eyes, but to its surface, so that each person could delight his gaze with the correctness of lines, the elegance of patterns, and immerse himself in the harmony and expressiveness of the pattern. And the plots taken from mythology, in addition, still contain an element of knowledge. And if someone is lucky enough to look at a real ancient Greek object, decorated with ornaments - for example, an ancient Greek amphora - then he is unlikely to remain indifferent: ancient masterpieces of Greek ornamental painting are covered with such aesthetic, elegant, highly artistic patterns.