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These works have a stiff and ridged appearance similar to that of the Egyptian sculpture. 

very large shift from the stiff Archaic to a more realistic and sometimes idealistic portrayal of the human figure.  Females, after the 5th  century B.C., were depicted nude, often with flowing robes.  The robes gave the sculpture the idea of movement and realism in an effort by the artist to show humans more realistically.  

The Greeks portrayed a young, vigorous, and athletic person in their works.   These works idealized the individual and in a way, attempted to capture the idea of youth and strength in their design. 

It would be easy to discuss many of the ancient Greeks inventions that took place which were associated with warfare. Almost everybody is aware of the fact that Alexander the Great and his conquests were some of the most renowned throughout all history. In just a short period of time, he and his army overtook most of the then known world and if his life would not have been cut short, he would have continued his conquests. There were, no doubt, many ancient Greek inventions which helped to make his conquests successful. The one invention that I will discuss, however, is the canon.  It is thought that they were one of the first to use a Canon although it did not use gunpowder. By using compressed air, these canons were able to hurl a projectile over long distances.  One well-known ancient Greek invention is the Antikythera mechanism. Believe it or not, this was a type of calculator that is thought to have been invented some 2000 years ago. As a matter of fact, many people consider this to be the world's first computer, although it was nothing like the computers that we see today. Through the use of a complex system of gears, it was able to calculate the relative positions of the sun, moon and stars whenever a date was entered. This is one of the ancient Greeks inventions that was truly far ahead of its time. The ancient Greeks were also well known for their work that took place under water. Aristotle first described this type of contraption some 2400 years ago. It is thought that this is one of the ancient Greeks inventions that was used in order to salvage the floor of the ocean for various items. It is unknown what other applications this ancient Greek invention had but it was ingenious that they were able to come up with the concept.  Another one of the ancient Greek inventions that is rather interesting is that of the shower. Although nothing was known about germs at that particular time, the Greeks thought that it was a healthful practice to wash the body with water. The fact that there were showers during this time period is recorded in various art murals that have been excavated . It is hard to know what other ancient Greeks inventions were in existence during that time. One thing's for certain, they were a society that was rather enlightened and well ahead of their time. Perhaps with some more archaeology work on our part, we may be able to discover that they were behind some other ingenious ideas as well.

studying the world around them.

Rich families became patrons and commissioned great art. Artists advanced the Renaissance style of showing nature and depicting the feelings of people.

vernacular literatures.

The atmosphere of these bustling, trafficking cities called into existence a practical commercial spirit, a many-sided, independent, secular life which in many respects was directly opposed to medieval teachings and ideals.

So far-reaching and transforming was the influence of the old world of culture upon the nations of Western Europe that the Renaissance, viewed as the transition from the mediaeval to the modern age, may properly be regarded as beginning with its discovery, or rediscovery, and the appropriation of its riches by the Italian scholars.

It was a political, intellectual, and artistic life like that of the cities of ancient Greece.

Florence, for example, became a second Athens

Italy the birthplace of the Renaissance was the fact that in Italy the break between the old and the new civilization was not so complete as it was in the other countries of Western Europe.

Italians were closer in language and in blood to the old Romans than were the other new-forming nations

direct descendants and heirs of the old conquerors of the world

first task of the Italian scholars the recovery and appropriation of the culture of antiquity.

existence in the peninsula of so many monuments of the civilization and the grandeur of ancient Rome

-a recovery and appropriation by the Italians of the long-neglected heritage of Graeco-Roman civilization.

The movement here consisted of two distinct yet closely related phases, namely, the revival of classical literature and learning, and the revival of classical art

intellectual and literary phase of the movement

"Humanism,

study of the classics, the literae humaniores, or the "more human letters," in opposition to the diviner letters, that is, theology, which made up the old education.

Petrarch, the First of the Humanists.-- [Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374

He was the first scholar of the mediaeval time who fully realized and appreciated the supreme excellence and beauty of the classical literature and its value as a means of culture.

He could not read Greek, yet he gathered Greek as well as Latin manuscripts

During all the mediaeval centuries, until the dawn of the intellectual revival, the ruins of Rome were merely a quarry. The monuments of the Caesars were torn down for building material, the sculptured marbles were burned into lime for mortar.

they could better understand people and the world

classics – the works of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

"To each species of creature has been allotted a peculiar and instinctive gift. To horses galloping, to birds flying, comes naturally. To man only is given the desire to learn."

investigation of nature

promotion of secular, or non-religious values, often put them at odds with the church.