Greek Architecture Review

Three Orders

Doric, Ionic, Corinthian

Items of the Order

Entablature

• Cornice

• Frieze (sometimes covered in sculpture)

• Architrave or Epistyle

Column

• Capital

• Shaft, Flutes (vertical lines in shaft)

• Base

Stairs AKA Base

• Stylobate

• Stereobate

Vitruvius

Roman architect, 1st century CE, wrote 10 books on architecture and took Greek architecture to focus on how they concieved their architecture. Laid out principles of architecture, like the 3 orders (doric, ionic, corinthian).

Triglyph

Fluted section of a doric frieze

Metope

Blank section of the frieze

Megaron

A room of worship, commonly with columns on the exterior and a hearth on the inside for worshipping

• Very ancient

• One room

• King offered sacrifices to God inside

Cella

Greek for shrine, such as The Parthenon

• People offer the sacrifices outside

• Megaron evolved into the Cella after hundreds of years

Peristyle, Peripteral Temple

A building with columns along the periphery (perimeter) of its exterior

Entasis

The application of a convex curve to a surface for aesthetic and technical purposes, usually found on columns

Trabeated Architecture

AKA Post-&-Lintel

Horizontal (lintel) elements are held up by strong vertical (post) elements with large spaces in between them.

The Parthenon, c. 447 - 438 BCE

Peripteral temple in Athens, Greece, rebuilt in the mid-5th century

Dedicated to the goddess Athena with a Cella where a statue of the goddess would be placed

Symbol of wealth, victory, and sophisitcation with architecture of the Doric order (ex. baseless columns)

Sculptures with naturalistic forms, idealized human figures, dynamic movement, and attention to anatomy with balance all through the temple, especially in the Metopes, Frieze, and Pediments.

• Ex: Metope from a Frieze in the Parthenon showing Lapith and Centaur