The Three Characteristics Of Order And Architecture In Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek architecture dates from around 800 BCE when the site of Delphi first obtained a religious significance. The architecture of Ancient Greece has influenced the architecture of the past two millennia most significantly that of Ancient Rome (Hemingway, 2003). Greek architecture influenced Roman architecture in extensive ways, giving that the Romans adopted and incorporated many Greek methods and elements into their own practice. Although the Romans were inspired by the Greek there are still many differences in their architecture most noticeably through materiality. Although the Greeks constructed many types of buildings the most recognisable “Greek” structure is the temple. (Becker, 2015) As stated by Coleen Hemingway in an article for the Metropolitan Museum of Art “ the Greek temple best exemplifies the aims and methods of Greek Architecture”. Whilst exploring such architecture it is necessary to examine the mentality, religious beliefs and driving forces of each civilization. According to Stierlin “Unlike the Greek temple, essentially a structure for the play of light and shade, with little interior space accommodating a small sanctuary, Roman builders typically used arches, vaults, matching domes

Just before you go to sleep, you image yourself taking a ride to the White House. You then notice it's beautiful columns. As you look through columns, this type of architecture is ancient Greek. There are other place to find these Greek columns. Besides architecture, other developments from ancient civilizations have an impact on our world today, such as roads and Gregorian calendar.

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

Stability and balance is also achieved through the incorporation of the vertical and horizontal planes. In the southwest facade of the building the vertical slits are balanced with the horizontal planes created by the cubes, cornice and the ornamental horizontal band that runs halfway through the walls. These vertical and horizontal planes further dictate a rhythmic continuity throughout the building. Building's scale is rather modest in comparison to its site and the surrounding landscape and the smooth texture of the facade helps its integration to the environment. (Figure 4)

The time of the Ancient Greeks is one of the most, if not the most, influential periods since the dawn of existence. The Ancient Greeks contributed to many of the modern world concepts that are used in everyday life. The importance of the Ancient Greeks is shown, in some way, scattered through each and every day. One contribution to the Western civilization from the Ancient Greeks is 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

The manipulation of materials used by the Romans has still not been equaled to this day. This reality is surprising when considering the span of time which has passed since the completion of the Pantheon. A period of almost two thousand years has come and gone without any other dome structure equivalently matching the enormity and importance of the Pantheon. Hadrian’s commencement of the Pantheon has created one of the more “influential works in Western architectural history (Fazio, Moffett, and Lawrence). Keeping in mind the pantheon was created as a temple to commemorate all the pagan gods of ancient Rome (Alcott). At the time it was a very large undertaking and Hadrian felt that using architecture was a sufficient course of action to demonstrate his imperial prowess. The Roman Empire was outstretched over a vast expanse of land and could not sustain itself, however Hadrian used his knowledge of the lay to procure some elements for his reconstruction of the Pantheon. Literally meaning “many gods” the pantheon also served as a sundial with an oculus opening at the apex of the dome. Hadrian’s belief in pagan deities coerced him to create a grand structure suitable to express the divine influence of the gods over the Roman Empire. In fact, Hadrian’s reign produced many architectural exploits that had never been seen or even attempted before his

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.

Looking back at the main building lies the main east façade with its beautiful porch leading up to the main structure. The size and exquisite decor is what takes the mind of the city view and into the past of a revival architecture. Constructed by Henry C. Trost from Trost & Trost Architects & Engineers, this building serves as a revival evoking memories from Greece and Rome. The façade itself consists of six shafts or columns which indicate the ionic part of the Corinthian style structure. The Corinthian style capitals are a piece of work; they take the viewer back in time. The Corinthian leaves and beautifully carved flowers are clearly visible as if time had no effect on the buff terra cotta. The detail is acute and precise, to the extent that beautiful is a dull word to describe the vision. The bases of the columns are like a perfect structure that hold a grand shaft that leads to beauty on top. Furthermore, each column is big, no, in fact they are huge, they are elegant in their design and seem to fit one another as they stand side by side. Above the six columns lies the architrave. The architrave is a small part of the structure but fine to the last detail, it is astonishing the level of perfection that was achieved down to the last inch of this structure. Above all this is a

Compare and contrast Hadrian’s Pantheon with Justinian’s Hagia Sophia. Both structures use domes to create spectacular spaces and both try to combine right angled rectangular or square forms with circles. But how do they differ in their plans, details, and solutions to the problems of how to create these forms, as well as in their purpose and function?

If we look at the Greek temple plan, we can see that they had their frequency of the number of columns. As I mentioned before, they were smart, they had already used mathematic on their buildings. As known as the Parthenon, it is still standing. Some historians found that they had a very great building and sculptural plan. Iktinos and

The Roman Pantheon is a monumental building that has clearly influenced many forms of architecture throughout history. The entire building has been constructed of concrete and at the time in history, is an extraordinary feat to accomplish with its dome form with no real interior structural support. Although the Pantheon has influenced many buildings, it is not particularly an eye pleasing building to view compared to the pavilion in an English Garden from the 18th Century. For example, the exterior of the Pantheon consists of an octastyle portico, backed against a tall, square attic block connecting the cylindrical walls and the portico. This combination of different forms and shapes coming together does not create a pleasing connection or

It is located in Didyma, near Miletus. The building has been under construction for such a long time that it was never actually completed ,due to its continuous development . The temple sits on a seven stepped crepidoma with a double colonnade (10x21) the columns were about 2 meters in diameter and 19.7 meters high. The bases of the columns differed from each other in pairs sideways from the main axis of the building. The interior space contains a small chamber, the 21 steps by the sides emerge the main chamber missing the usual statue, the way to the courtyard was made through the use of tunnel-like passages.

Ancient Greek architecture was very intricately made and well thought out. The Greeks used different methods and reasonings behind their architecture because they made sure that their pieces were exquisitely made to represent the things they thought were important. They valued their Gods and their worship of the Gods. It was important for them to always represent or have symbolic meaning behind all of their architectural designs. There are many hidden symbols that are involved in Greek architecture like trees, trophies, leaves, hair, and sacrifices to name a few. Greek architecture includes these hidden symbols to worship Gods, and to represent culture in their pieces.

The History of Greek Architecture The architecture of ancient Greece is represented by buildings in the sanctuaries and cities of mainland Greece, the Aegean islands, southern Italy and Sicily, and the Ionian coast of Turkey. Monumental Greek architecture began in the archaic period, flourished through the classical and Hellenistic periods, and saw the first of many revivals during the Roman Empire. The roots of Greek architecture lie in the tradition of local Bronze Age house and palaces. The following paper will cover the basic forms of Greek architecture.