The art of classical and Hellenistic Greece created an aesthetic canon which remained a constant in Western art. In this book the author examines the origins of this tradition - the art of the Greek world between the geometric period of the early Iron Age and the conquest of Greece by the Romans in the first century BC. He also looks at all the art forms: vase painting, picture painting, sculpture, metalwork, architecture and interior decoration, tracing the development of each from the beginning. Close analysis of selected works, and detailed descriptions of the methods and materials used, give the reader an insight into the characteristics of each succeeding style, while a chapter on the historical background puts the development of Greek art into the context of the rest of the ancient world.