The cause lies deeper in the fundamental
make-up of the Greek mind, and its eternal aspiration toward mental,
moral, and physical ideals. Perfect mind, perfect body, perfect
conduct in this world were sought-for ideals. The Greeks aspired to
completeness. The course of education and race development trained
them physically as athletes and warriors, mentally as philosophers,
law-makers, poets, artists, morally as heroes whose lives and actions
emulated those of the gods, and were almost perfect for this world.
ART MOTIVES: Neither the monarchy nor the priesthood commanded the
services of the artist in Greece, as in Assyria and Egypt. There was
no monarch in an oriental sense, and the chosen leaders of the Greeks
never, until the late days, arrogated art to themselves. It was
something for all the people.
In religion there was a pantheon of gods established and worshipped
from the earliest ages, but these gods were more like epitomes of
Greek ideals than spiritual beings. They were the personified virtues
of the Greeks, exemplars of perfect living; and in worshipping them
the Greek was really worshipping order, conduct, repose, dignity,
perfect life.
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