Ancient Greek painting is just as important as architecture and sculpture of the Greek world. But, unfortunately, most of it has been lost, and especially the paintings of the classical period are almost completely lost. It has always been associated with architecture and sculpture. Both sculptures and architectural elements were painted in a way that is well known to us, since there are thousands of traces of colors on architectural elements and sculptures that survive today, and allow us to have a complete picture of Greek painting.

In fact, the use of color on these three-dimensional surfaces led the painting to portrayal, depiction of space and shading. Painting was also associated with mosaic arts and pottery, of which we also have innumerable samples, since in many cases mosaics imitate original paintings and in each case stylistically imitate the paintings of each period. Finally, it is connected with the art of scenography.

We have more sources than original works, because factors such as the painting of Roman times, the influence of Greek painting on the painting of the Etruscans, as well as the descriptions of ancient writers such as Pliny the Elder, Pausanias Plutarch, Lucian, Athenian, Aristotle, Plato, Xenophon and more appear.

Minoan painting was the first important period of painting in Greece. It is associated with the architecture of palaces and is characterized by cheerful colors, naturalism and delicacy in the rendering of forms.

Mycenaean painting is related to the Minoan one and even imitates it to some extent. Its main patterns are also frescoes of palaces. In pottery painting it also imitates Cycladic patterns.

Cycladic painting, which flourished in parallel with the Minoan one -despite the fact that there is a strong presence of naturalistic patterns in it- it is more anthropocentric than the Minoan one, which connects it with the later classical art. The use of color in pottery started early in the Cyclades, while polychromy was introduced in the mid-Cycladic period. At the same time is noted the discovery of lime mortar and the development of monumental painting.

Archaic painting, just like painting during the previous periods, remains a two-dimensional kind of painting. Sometimes (especially in painting of the architectural elements of temples) the four basic colors (black, white, red, and ochre) of Polygnotus are used, and sometimes colors such as blue, green or yellow without mixing colors and shading. The purity and clarity of the forms and the internal rhythm of the composition are paramount.

Important painters of the Archaic era were: Telephanes from Sicyo the Corinthians Cleanthes, Aridikos, and Ecphantus, Philocles probably from Naukratis, Cimon from Kleones.

The most noteworthy samples from the Archaic era are the four signs found in a cave in Sicyon (the colors used are red, brown, blue, black and white), remains of a fresco in the temple of Apollo in Thermo, Aetolia (clay metopes, etc) and the five murals from Posidonia (in today's Paestum, Italy). Numerous traces of colors on architectural elements and sculptures were also found.

Painting of classical period (just like during the Archaic period) is a “common good” directly related to worship and it overall expresses the ideals of the polis (city-state) and the worldview of ancient Greeks. Classical painting introduces light shading and proceeds to the structure of space and to a more detailed outline of the forms.

Polygnotus’ contribution to the development of classical painting was determining. He came from Thassos and his father Aglaophon was also a painter. Polygnotus, along with Micon, took the most important steps in the depiction of space. The most important offer of Polygnotus, though, was the extensive use of the colors which exist naturally in nature (and not in an illusory way, such as the color of the sea, which looks blue while it is transparent).

The clear and intense colors like red, yellow, blue, etc., exist in nature in a ratio of less than 1/1000. The painting had to imitate the colors of nature. This is the famous “Polygnotus’ tetrachromacy”. These colors are: white, black, maroon, ocher and all the colors made after these (for example gray, brown, green, yellow, orange, pink, etc.).

The use of “Polygnotus’ colors” characterizes the entire ancient Greek painting centuries before Polygnotus himself. The offer of Polygnotus lies in the further analysis of these colors, in the production of more color gradations on this color scale. These colors give the sense of continuity and unity of agreement and coherence. They have also been called the “four colors of Love”.

Plato also states that if one does not use Polygnotus’ colors when painting a face, he will lose the natural complexion of the human face.

Agatharchus, who was the most significant scenic designer of the 5th century, had written a treatise from which Democritus and Anaxagoras drew evidence and wrote studies on “the way in which surface-level painted objects appear in the image either as protruding or as emerging from its depth.” Apollodorus of Athens, Parrhasius of Ephesus and Zeuxis of Heraclea of Magna Graecia introduced the technique of shading, while Euphranor wrote a book about symmetry and colors.

Finally, our growing knowledge on ancient Greek painting as an autonomous art but also on the painting of temples and public buildings in general and other events (pottery painting, etc.), complete our understanding of the Greek spirit in the centuries.