April 12, 2012
Art History

Clash of the Titans (1981) Cultural Accuracy

The classic cinematic masterpiece “The Clash of the Titans” tells the tale of Perseus, one of the first great hero’s of ancient Greece. The film has excellent set and costume design with very accurate depictions of ancient Greek culture. From comparing the art and architecture featured in the film to the examples we learned about in class and other examples I found myself, the film appears to be set around the high to late Greek classical period and also features influences from the Near East. Perseus is supposed to have founded Mycenae, meaning the era the movie appears to take place in is closer to the time the tale originated than when it supposedly takes …show more content…

The theater is furnished with contrapposto statues of naked women, some statues with uniquely heavy contrapposto stances such as the Aphrodite of Melos by Alexandros of Antioch-on-the-Meander circa 150-125 BCE (Figure 5). Because of their progressive creative poses, these statues appear to be from the classical to early Hellenistic period circa fourth century BCE. This makes these statues the latest and most out of period pieces in the movie [Stokstad]. The shield Perseus receives from the gods is gold with a bird emblazoned across the front like that found in the pedimental sculptures at the Temple of Aphaia (Figure 6).
Thetis is the patron god of Joppa, and as such her temple there is as grandeur as the most impressive found in ancient Greece. The temple of Thetis is in the classical Greek style with a large marble Athena-esque statue of Thetis. Double-stacked Doric columns constitute the inner structural support, with a medieval style single register façade of a procession of men carved along base of statue. The statue of Thetis holds a winged fairy in her hand, and features a large green curtain behind her. This structural support design is very similar to that of the Temple of Aphaia in Aegina, Greece which dates back to about 500 BCE (Figures 7, 8).
The lair of Medusa appears to be from the prehistoric Minoan culture as it has columns that appear very ancient because their thickness and top-heavy form as well as featuring a geometric