Geometric Style Greek Pottery (900-725 BCE)

Geometrical ceramic art flourished in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Going far beyond the circular designs of the earlier protogeometric period, geometric pottery includes some of the finest surviving works of Greek visual art. Vases were often made according to a strict system of proportions. In some examples (eg. the amphora [c.750 BCE] in the the Athens National Museum), the height is exactly twice the width, and the neck is exactly half the height. In addition, the choice of which decorative patterns go where was also carefully conceived, as partical designs help emphasise specific portions of the vessel and articulate its shape. Geometric ceramic art has been likened to the formulaic epic poetry of Homer (Iliad), which was composed during the same era.