Bronze is an alloy of tin and copper. It is relatively stronger than

Bronze is an alloy of tin and copper. It is relatively stronger than many other metals. Quite interestingly, about half of all Greek sculpture produced during antiquity was made of bronze, which is quite in contrast to the much popular image of Greek sculpture as white marble statues. The strength and durability of bronze combined with a simple method of forging made it a better weapon than lead, stone, tin, copper or wood. Bronze, therefore was first used as a weapon by the Greeks and many other cultures of the time. The characteristics of bronze made it popular among the leaders of various states. Bronze was thus used as a significant metal to raise armies by cities and states. In addition to its being used to make weapons, bronze was also used to make many other articles, like statues, etc. There are, however, very few ancient bronze statues that survived until today. This can be attributed to what can be referred as the “wartime meltdown process”. The bronze articles, including the statues, were melted to make war weapons like shields, swords, spears, and armor whenever there was a war. Bronze working evolved and proved to be more versatile than marble for sculptures, so it contributed immensely to the transition of Greek sculpture into the Classical Period.

The quality and strength of bronze allowed it to be static and hold the most complex shape, which gave the sculptors the freedom to innovate and experiment with less rigid poses. The sculptors during the Archaic Age could never innovate or experiment with poses and were, therefore, confined to the Eastern-influenced stringency of poses like the kore and kouros. This was primarily due to the characteristic of the materials, like marble or terra cotta clay, which would crack if, say, the hand was extended or would even collapse if the body was twisted to show an action. Bronze also had the capability to hold leaden weights inside the hollow feet or legs, thus allowing all kinds of structural poses, which were not possible with marble or clay. This was also because bronze was very light but, at the same time, very strong.

Nevertheless, sculpting life-sized bronze statues was definitely a Herculean task. The complexity involved required techniques that took years and years of innovation and experimentation to master. Also, the amount of bronze required to create such life-sized bronze statues was immense, and the metal would get distorted by its weight if used as a huge, solid mass. This lead to the development of hollow sculptures because casting hollow sculptures was the only solution to this problem of the metal distorting under its own weight. It is believed that the Mesopotamians first developed this casting technique. However, the development of the technique is also attributed to the Greeks around 550 BC. However, there is a possibility that the Greeks might have acquired the metalworking techniques from the Egyptians of the time.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. Challenge a widely accepted theory
B. Describe the discovery of a metal.
C. Describe the use of a metal
D. Compare one metal with another
E. Present evidence to support the author’s viewpoint on a particular metal.



2. The author includes all of the following in the passage EXCEPT

A. Bronze contributed to fifty percent of Greek sculpture.
B. Bronze made better weapon than many other metals.
C. The bronze statues were used to make war weapons during wartime.
D. The techniques of hollow sculptures solved the problem of metal distortion.
E. The Mesopotamians were the first to use bronze.



3. The “wartime meltdown process” (Highlighted) refers to

A. The melting of the war weapons at the end of the war
B. The melting of metal articles to make war weapons
C. The melting of the bronze sculptures to make war weapons
D. The process of identifying redundant bronze statues and melting them to make war weapons
E. The melting of war weapons like shield, spears and arrows to make statues.