ABSTRACT
The Argolid had been a most flourishing centre for the fine arts in Late Bronze Age Greece. Fresco painting, sculpture, architecture had reached a high level of achievement, ivory carving and vase painting reflect the prosperity and connections of the political organization under which they were produced. The vase painters of the Argolid are amongst the earliest to develop this style, beginning, perhaps, in the years not long after 800 bc. The redevelopment of the principal temple in the Argolid seems a fitting way to celebrate contemporary Argive success. The fragments of the metope panels, excellently carved, tell us more about the sculpture of the Argolid, and will therefore be discussed under that heading. Athenian architecture suffered from the absence in the Argolid of white marble, which meant that those parts which for reasons of expense had to be constructed of local stone could not achieve the full quality of the Athenian buildings.
