Essay on Greek Architecture

Ancient Greece became a very influential civilization. Founded by the Minoans who first moved to the island of Crete in around 2000 B.C and lasted to about 1400 B.C. The Minoans developed an advanced civilization and expressed their culture in their constructed palaces. Great monuments were reached at Greece’s Golden Age from around 500 B.C to 300 B.C. They created long lasting contributions in subjects such as Philosophy, Military, Health, and Government.

Greek creators used precise mathematical calculations to establish height, width, and length of their creations. The Greeks put their hard work and effort into creating majestic public buildings as a place for men to meet and discuss politics. Pictured in Document 1 is the Parthenon, “Architecture was very important to the ancient Greeks. One of the most famous examples of Greek architecture is the Parthenon...Modern architecture is often modeled after Greek architecture.” (Document 1) Greek Architecture has influenced modern day architecture in the use of columns, statues inside of buildings, detail to symmetry and geometric proportion. “If two straight lines cut one another the vertical, or opposite, angles shall be equal.” (Document 4) Today all over the United States, you see can find buildings that are modeled after the Ancient Greek architecture. Some examples are seen in capitals of states/countries, colleges/universities, government buildings, and even some houses namely The White

The great Minoan civilization of Crete formed around palaces such as those at Knossos, Phaestus, Ayia Triada, and Tyliossos. The extremely important Palace of Minos at Knossos gives us crucial evidence of a continuous architectural brilliance and highly developed artistic sense, bringing together all aspects of architectural style, art, and innovation during the Minoan period between 1700 BCE and 1580 BCE and continuing until the invasion of the Achaeans in the 12th century BCE (Britannica Encyclopedia). The most famous palace is the palace of Minos of Knossos which demonstrates a specific arrangement of blocks:

Minoan civilization was advanced for their time and they had many great achievements. As a result of being an island nation, they built a large sea empire based on trade. There were two versions of Minoan writing: An older script called Linear A, which has never been deciphered. Newer than Linear A, but much older than ancient Greek, which it is the earliest form of, was Linear B, which has been deciphered. The center of their empire was a huge palace located in a place called Knossos. Knossos had a working plumbing system. The palace was between 3 and 4 stories tall, which was large for the time. The minoans painted frescoes on walls of the palace and created art on

As the saying goes, great art is mad with its own loveliness. Over the decades, Greek-inspired architecture has been seen all over the world. Ideas are often borrowed while constructing buildings, monuments, and even houses. Greeks mostly used wood, limestone, unbaked bricks, terracotta and metal for construction. Most architecture were inspired by religion, politics, and form of recreation. Of all designs from Greek architecture three of them have withstood the test of time and their application can be seen today. They include Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian order. However, each order is distinct from the other and one cannot differentiate unless trained. This paper will look at Doric and Corinthian orders while comparing and contrasting them. It will also trace their prevalence and popularity throughout history.

Mycenaean- emerged in Greece, rocky and arid climate, with small plains lying between ranges of hills meant it was only able to grow grains, grapevines and olive trees, transport came through the sea, most supplies had to be imported, as result the rise and fall of the society was closely tied to commercial and political situations with other regions, Greek culture is a blend of indigenous people and Indo-European language speakers, was a static nation living in the stone age till 1600 B.C.E., adopted Minoan ideas of palaces, centralized economy, administrative bureaucracy, writing, architecture, pottery and vase painting, it is believed piracy funded the nation, fortified palaces were built on hills surrounded by walls, graves were beehive shaped, great sailing abilities, evidence suggests that Minoans pioneered sea routes, then Mycenaean people used the same routes and eventually replaced them completely with trade

Generally, the ancient Greek art is known to be significant in influencing its culture and even that of other countries. The influence of this ancient art is very common in architecture and sculpture areas. For example, in the Roman Empire, their art was shaped by the Greek models. Considering any architecture or sculpture in the ancient Greek Art, one can clearly understand the culture of the Greek in certain periods. To this end, this research paper considers the architecture of the Minoan Crete, period.

The city of Knossos is one of the major archaeological sites in Greece and attracts a great number of visitors each year, mostly because of the famous stories of King Minos, Theseus, the Minotaur and Ariadne. It was one of the first cities on European soil and was the center of one of the most brilliant Greek civilizations - the Minoans. From what remains of this city, the foundation, a few walls, fragments of frescoes, pithoi, fallen stones from columns we can learn much about the splendour of this great ancient

In order to explain the influence the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures had on the later Greeks it is important to understand the beginnings of Greek culture. The first known civilization of Greek culture were the Minoans, consequently, there is not a lot of information about this group (The Flow of History, 2007). The language used by the Minoans is referred to as Linear A, the language is said to have been the foundation for later Greek language. The Mycenaeans broadened the Linear A language to make it their own, it is known as Linear B.

All civilizations that have ever existed in the world have had their own unique forms of art that distinguish each from the other. This has been evident in trends such as culture, religion, economics and even art and architecture. The influence that Ancient Greeks had on architecture is enormous and has influenced modern day architecture all around the world. They were the first to look at buildings as not only a place to live, work and worship the Gods, but also a way of communicating to generations and civilizations to come, ancient Greek beliefs and philosophy. More specifically, the Greek temple is the most distinguished and influential form of public religious architecture in the history of

The first great age of Minoan Crete was the Old Palace period(2000-1700B.C),during which huge labyrinthine palaces were built at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Zakros. In these palaces the power and wealth of the island were concentrated, and around them the political, social, economic and religious life of the island revolved. The manner in which these buildings and their various servicing systems were constructed is quite remarkable. In 1700 B.C. a great earthquake shook the island and the palaces were laid in ruins. In a very short time, however, new palaces were built on the ruins of the old in an architectural style expressive of the Minoan love of nature and desire to live in a world of light and charm.

Greek architecture was the pinnacle of technology in ancient Greece. The Greeks most distinctive architectural feature was columns. In the Parthenon, there are numerous columns which supported the top. The Greeks were also known for using marble. Many Greek banks, temples and city halls consisted of marble. Why are these techniques used today? Cylinder columns are great for supporting roofs as opposed to any other shapes. Marble is used today mainly for its beauty but is also a strong and expensive material. Another Greek trait in their buildings is symmetry. Humans naturally find beauty in symmetry which is why the world uses symmetric buildings in the majority of its government buildings, banks, and even homes. Overall, the Greeks used marble, cylinders, and symmetry not only to give it an appealing look, but also to give it a good sense of structure and support.

Ancient Greek architecture is one of the most fascinating learning experiences to exist. You can learn so much from it including their life style because of the patterns on the temples and pottery they created. One text that explains their architecture is “Ancient Greek Art” which tells the reader the material they used and why. Another passage is the myth of “King Midas and the Golden Touch”. This myth is about a king who gets greedy and wants everything gold, however it does not work out when he turns his daughter gold. He realizes that beuty isn’t everything and the original castle was unique like other Ancient Greek Architectures that have been ruined or broken down.

An ancient Greek architect sits in the light of a burning candle concentrating. His head is exhausted from all the planning and designs he’s created, but he can’t help to feel the excitement rushing through his veins. He is about to help birth one of the most striking, and compelling cities of all time. Greek buildings are seen as flamboyant, and are looked up to. People want their cities to be just as brilliant as the Greek’s. Ancient Greek architecture inspired modern design, public structures, and buildings of high importance.

Knossos, in simplistic terms, is an ancient Minoan palace and surrounding city on the island of Crete, where it was sung of by Homer in his Odyssey. The marvelled settlement was established in 1900 BCE and was later destroyed by a combination of factors, such as earthquakes and invading Mycenaean’s. However, it was rebuilt to its former glory. The palace covered an area of 22,000 square meters, which was complimented by multistorey buildings with an elaborate layout. Before its discovery, Knossos was considered as a city of myth. Evidently, this immediately changed once this ancient society was unearthed to reveal the mysteries that were for years left unknown. To this day, the reconstructed palace is on display for tourists from around the world to gain an insight into the ancient Minoan society.