greek architecture ca2

Architectural order

a style of designing columns and related parts of a Greek or Roman building

arcade

A series of arches supported by piers or columns.

architrave

The lintel or lowest division of the entablature; also called the epistyle.

ashlar masonry

carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone used in construction, fitted together without mortar

caryatid

a female figure that functions as a supporting column

column capital

decorative top part of column, below entablature

coffered ceiling

a sunken panel in a ceiling

colonnade

row of columns

corinthian

This style of column has elongated capitals that are decorated with leaves.

doric

This style of column features simple, heavy columns without bases.

cornice

projecting molding on building (usually above columns or pillars)

engaged column

a half-round column attached to a wall

entabulature

In classical architecture, the uppermost elements supported by columns. Its components include: the architrave, the frieze and the cornice.

facade

the front of a building

fluting

a series of shallow concave grooves, vertical on the shaft of a column.

frieze

a broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, especially on a wall near the ceiling.

keystone

a central stone at the summit of an arch, locking the whole together.

pediment

the triangular upper part of the front of a building in classical style, typically surmounting a portico of columns.

pilaster

a rectangular column, especially one projecting from a wall.

portico

roof supported by columns, forming a porch or a covered walk

roundel

a circular painting or relief sculpture

rusticated masonry

to give a rustic appearance by roughening the surfaces and beveling the edges of stone blocks to emphasize the joints between them

shaft

the body of a column

spandrel

a triangular space enclosed by the curves of arches

string course

Thin projecting piece of brickwork or stone that runs horizontally around a building, typically to emphasize the junction between floors, or just below the eaves

egg and dart

a decorative detail used to ornament molding in classical architecture with alternating egg-shaped and dart-like elements

dentil

a molding pattern that is rectangular/ square blocks that are equally spaced along the surface creating a "teeth" motif

triglyph

a tablet in a Doric frieze with three vertical grooves

metope

panel between the triglyphs in a Doric frieze, often sculpted in relief

stylobate

a continuous base supporting a row of columns in classical Greek architecture.

volute

a spiral scroll characteristic of Ionic capitals and also used in Corinthian and composite capitals.

Voussoir

wedge-shaped stone building block used in constructing an arch or vault