---
title: Ancient & Classical Art
description: Ancient and classical art examines the visual cultures of early civilizations, with a focus on Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Learners will understand the stylistic developments, religious functions, and historical contexts of ancient sculptures, pottery, and monuments.
category: arts-design
subcategory: art-history-and-criticism
difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced
url: /subject/ancient-and-classical-art
---

# Ancient & Classical Art

Ancient and classical art examines the visual cultures of early civilizations, with a focus on Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Learners will understand the stylistic developments, religious functions, and historical contexts of ancient sculptures, pottery, and monuments.

## Available Resources

2 Books • 1 Courses • 3 Websites

## Websites

### 1. Perseus Digital Library

Tufts University's Perseus Digital Library, a long-running collection of Greek and Latin texts with translations, plus catalogued images of ancient art, coins, sculpture, and archaeological sites. Learners can study classical artworks alongside the primary sources describing them.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/

**Tags:** classical-art, ancient-greece, ancient-rome, archaeology, primary-sources

### 2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Timeline

The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline pairs objects from the museum's collection with essays organized by region and period, from 8000 B.C. onward. Readers come away able to place a work geographically and chronologically and to see cross-cultural contemporaries.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/

**Tags:** art history timeline, museum collections, world art, chronology

### 3. smarthistory.org

Smarthistory.org provides free, student-friendly art history resources through expert-led short videos and concise essays that analyze major artworks, movements, and cultural contexts from around the world. It features visual analyses, contextual histories, and thematic comparisons suitable for students and educators.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://smarthistory.org

**Tags:** websites, arts-design, art-history

## Courses

### 1. Art History Basics

Explore ancient and classical art! This course covers essential art history, from early civilizations to iconic masterpieces.

**Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free

**Link:** https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ancient-art-civilizations

**Tags:** art-history, ancient-art, ancient-civilizations, classical-art, archaeology

## Books

### 1. Greek Art

**Author:** John Boardman

John Boardman's World of Art survey of Greek art from the Geometric period through the Hellenistic age, covering vase painting, sculpture, architecture and minor arts, so readers can date styles and recognize how Greek artistic conventions developed.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0500201943?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, arts-design, art-history

### 2. Roman Art

**Author:** Nancy H. Ramage, Andrew Ramage

Nancy and Andrew Ramage's illustrated survey of Roman art from its Etruscan forerunners to Constantine, covering sculpture, painting, architecture and minor arts, with the historical, religious and political background needed to read them; no prior classics knowledge assumed.

**Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid

**Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0136000975?tag=edmonddante07-20

**Tags:** books, arts-design, art-history

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