Research Paper On Ancient Greek Architecture

Both the Greeks and the Romans made a number of contributions to western culture in the field of architecture, many of which can still be seen to this very day. Architecture played a pivotal role in both the religion and daily life of ancient Greek society. The Greeks produced some of the world’s most enduring architectural monuments, many of which are still standing today. These include the Parthenon, the Temple of Zeus, and the Temple of Poseidon. Perhaps one of the largest contributions of the ancient Greeks to western civilization in regards to architecture was their development of the three fundamental architectural systems of design, the Doric, Iconic, and Corinthian orders. The following excerpt from an article

Doric style of architecture has been the most famous. It is used all over the world today. It is found in Parthenon and Acropolis and can be distinguished from other orders as it has vertical column and a plain roof. Colonies of south Italy and Sicily have also used it. Doric order is, however, the simplest. Roman Doric is the most common form today. This column consists of around capital which has a narrow neckband. It has a shaft that may be plain or fluted and normally rest on a base. Its entablature is structured to have a distinctive frieze with triglyphs which are an upright projecting grooved panel. This triglyph is normally set in line with each column. There

Due to Alexander’s great conquests into Egypt and Asia, money was plentiful for the Greeks and new cities had to be built and beautified. This is where we first see new cities being laid out on grids which were introduced by Hippodumus of Miletus in fifth century B.C. However this is just one accomplishment in architecture during the Hellenistic Age. One place we see a change from Classical Greece to Hellenistic is how architects began to move away from the balanced tension and idealism that we saw in the fifth century B.C. With this, they moved toward the sentimental, emotional and realistic mode of the fourth century B.C. One place where we see this is in the marble statue called the Laocoon (see pg. 89) which was carved in Rhodes in the second century B.C. and then later taken to

When you think Greek architecture, you think stark white columns and sculpted temples, but many famous buildings today were inspired by this style. Many of the buildings in Washington D.C. such as the White House and Capitol Building were influenced by Greek architecture. You can see Greek architecture in other places as well. Their impression on our society can be seen in almost every city. Greek architecture can be observed everywhere, not just in well-known buildings. Their architecture has left a larger mark on the world than any other

Much of the architecture in Washington D.C. was inspired by the buildings and temples in Ancient Greece, which can be seen in various monuments and memorials in the city. Take the Lincoln Memorial, for example. Henry Bacon, the architect responsible for its creation, drew influences from classical Greek architecture when designing the memorial. In particular, Bacon found inspiration from the Parthenon, an Athenian temple. When looking for the reasons behind choosing this particular temple for the memorial’s inspiration, it can be found that it was to honor Abraham Lincoln and his belief in democracy and equality. “What better way existed to remember a man who struggled to defend democracy, than to model his tribute after one found in the birthplace of democracy?” writes the National Park Service in reference to Bacon’s decision for using the Parthenon as a model for the building. However, the Lincoln Memorial is not the only building in America that draws influence from classical Greece in its architecture. Numerous buildings in cities all around the US have columns inspired by the columns seen in various buildings in Ancient Greece. There are different types of columns that were utilized in architecture in Ancient Greece; the styles that are most commonly seen in modern buildings include Corinthian, Doric, and Ionic column styles. Out of the three, the Corinthian style is the

Onto our next subject, we will look at the Greeks and the influence they have had on Architecture in Western Civilization. A simple observation of the Acropolis and you can see familiar designs and influence in western architecture from the columns to the moldings found in buildings today for example, the White House is filled with columns and moldings imitating Greek design. It’s easy to see why we have adopted the strong yet elegant designs of the Greeks, the designs are sturdy

The Parthenon and Lincoln Memorial both use Doric columns. A temple in Acropolis, Athens and the Longworth House Office Building use Ionic. There were Corinthian columns in the Library of Congress in Rome’s capital building. There are also some in some American capital buildings.

Each of these architectural designs are a certain style of column (“Greek Architecture”). This architecture is used in many places around the world. One famous place is Washington DC. Many buildings in Washington DC have columns with the Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian design. City halls and big public building will also have these designs in many towns.

The Greeks invented the Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian orders of architecture that most of the world use today. The Romans heavily copied the Greeks style of Architecture in the Creation of the Pantheon in many ways they look the same. Well, maybe not exactly the same but close enough to make the average person wonder if the Romans were trying to copy the Parthenon. Finally status. The Parthenon and the Pantheon were designed to create a way for control of the for the masses a place to bring to a head all of the religious fervor or political duty.

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 Romans took from the Greeks the three orders of architecture, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, based on different forms of column and the capital which surmounted it, and added a hybrid of their own, known as Composite.” (The Romans, n.d.) It is not a secret the Romans admired and took on Greek culture, but the field of architecture the Romans created their own style. That is not to say the Composite is free of Grecian influence as the influence from the Corinthian style is doubtless present in the columns. Nevertheless, creating the Composite does not diminish the magnificence in the Greek’s three renown architecture styles.

The Doric architectural style, which originated around 400 BCE, was more austere and formal and consisted of a cylinder type shape. Doric columns usually consisted of vertical lines running through the column. As for the Ionic style, it was more elegant. The columns were taller, more delicate and more decorative and relaxed. The Ionic column also was engraved with vertical lines but unlike Doric column, it had a scroll-like capital. Each architectural style was used in constructing buildings, theatres and temples. The Doric style was predominantly applied in mainland Greece. The Ionic style was applied in Ionia and the Aegean islands. The styles are mostly reflected in the three orders of column capitals, bearing different decoration and design features. The examples of the Doric order are the Parthenon Athens and Temple of Hephaestus. In turn, the Iconic monuments include the temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis and the Erechtheum. The Ionic order gained dominance during the Hellenistic period, however was prone to a great deal of resistance by many Greek

The Greeks had a love of architecture, and as such they strove for perfection. They were known for the temple designs, however they also built theatres for entertainment, stadiums for sporting events, and they paved roads. In Alexandria they built the Pharos lighthouse, they also built a great library, and museum, so architecture was very important to the Greeks and today it is important to

When you see modern buildings such as The White House, The Abraham Lincoln Memorial or The U.S Capital, they all have one thing in common…columns. Columns originate from Greek architecture to support ceilings without the obligation of having walls, creating more space. Many of the different columns originated from Ancient Greece, three to be exact, Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Doric columns have wider bottoms and simple capitals (capitals are the top part of the column)

The Corinthian order columns are the most extravagant type of column. It was the last column to be developed by the ancient Greeks. The Greeks did not really use this type of column to its full potential, but the ancient Romans did (“Ancient Greece” 3). Some examples of monuments or building that used the Corinthian order consisted of the temple of Zeus at Athens. It was probably the most notable of the Corinthian temples (“Ancient Greece” 3).