Ancient Greek architecture

Ancient GREEK ARCHITECTURE

THE HUMAN CONDITION

The Psychological Condition

© man as the "measure of all things"

The Social and Political Condition

open democratic society

The Intellectual Condition

• recognize and respect the power of human reasoning

The Artistic Condition

O rational order - combined with search for the beautiful

The Historical Condition

• The Greeks, or Hellenes, product of an intermingling of Aegean peoples and Indo-European invaders

© Olympics - 776 B.C. held first ceremonial games

• Athens, after the Persian wars (497-479 B.C.), became an important center of Greek
culture

© Pericles made Athens a place of historical, political and cultural importance

The Geographic and Climatic Conditions

• A country of diversified geography and climate

The Religious Condition

© Gods assumed human form, but despite their grandeur they were not free of human

frailty

The Educational Condition

• Stoas covered colonnades

• Agora, city's central marketplace

© Citizens congregated to discuss the latest political developments or a new philosophical

THE ANT EiR Tu a REar in their education and daily ife

THE PLAN OF THE GREEK TEMPLE

• Temple - principal building type of ancient Greece derived from the Mycenaean megaron.

THE REFINEMENT OF FORM

© columnar and trabeated

• "entasis" - consists in a slight convexity in the silhouette or profile of the column

THE ELEVATION OF THE GREEK TEMPLE

THE GREEK ORDERS

It consists of three parts:

1. platform or base,

2. columns,

   3. superstructure or entablature

   Architectural order - combination of these three parts

   THE DORIC ORDER

   • Earliest of Greek architectural orders

   THE IONIC ORDER

   • Developed on the Aegean islands and Asia Minor

   THE CORINTHIAN ORDER

   © 5th century B.C., as a variant of the lonic order

   A. Archaic Greek Architecture

   THE TEMPLES AT PAESTUM, 550-460 B.C.

   The town Poseidonia (later Roman Paestum) was organized on an orthogonal grid contained the agora and the sacred precincts

   THE FIRST HERA TEMPLE OR "BASILICA", c. 550 B.C.

   • Exterior columns - low relative to L and W of building (9x18)

   • pronounced swelling or "entasis" of columnar shaft (muscular quality)

   THE SECOND HERA TEMPLE, (OR THE TEMPLE OF NEPTUNE OR POSEIDON), c. 450 B.C.

   • Built 100 years later, conserves a strong megalithic power

   • temple looks tall and compact

   • Columns are reduced to 6 × 14

   THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA, (FORMERLY THE TEMPLE OF CERES), c. 510 B.C.

   • third variation on the Doric theme

   • Unusual vertical effect culminates in a high pediment

   B. Classical Greek Architecture

   THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS

   • Principal achievement in art and architecture - rebuilding of the Acropolis (Athens) after it had been destroyed by the Persians (480 B.C.)

   THE PROPYLAEA, BY MNESICLES, 437-431 B.C.

   • Propylaea -entrance building to the Acropolis

   • Gateway to a Greek temenos (sacred precinct) in the shape of a small gabled temple

   THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA NIKE, BY CALLICRATES, 427-424 B.C.

   • Athena Nike ("Victorious Athena")

   • Built under the direction of Callicrates, -earliest completely lonic building on the Acropolis THE ERECHTHEION, BY MNESICLES, 421-405

   • The Erechtheion is another lonic building on the Acropolis

   • Named after a mythic Athenian hero Erechtheus

   THE PARTHENON, BY ICTINOS AND CALLICRATES 448-432 B.C

   • First and largest to be constructed and regarded as the architectural climax of the Acropolis

   • Dedicated to the city goddess Athena Parthenos ("The Virgin")

   Pericles engaged three top artists of his time:

   • Phidias, sculptor and general director

   • Ictinos and Callicrates, the architects

   THE ARCHITECTURAL FORM OF THE GREEK TEMPLE

   • Columnar and trabeated

   • Column abstracted from the trees of sacred groves, later took man as its chief source of inspiration

   • Overall form is abstracted from human body

   THE ARCHITECTURAL MEANING OF THE GREEK TEMPLE

   • The free flowing conveys the values of democracy (freedom of speech and action, equality among human beings, etc.)

   C. The Late Classical Architecture of Greece

   THE HUMAN CONDITION

   © In the latter half of the 4th century B.C., Greek states lost their liberty to Philip of Macedonia. Athens lost its precedence. The whole structure of life changed.

   THE ARCHITECTURAL REALITY

   • Corinthian capital for exterior use

   D. Hellenistic Architecture
   THE HUMAN CONDITION

   • Hellenism, a curious mingling of Western and Eastern ideas, religions and arts, and a long period of Greek cultural and partly political dominance
     THE ACHITECTURAL REALITY

   • The application of the grand superhuman scale and the ingenious development of interior space

   THE THEATER OF EPIDAURUS, c. 350 B.C.

   • Declared the best in Greece by Pausanias, example of excellent architectural planning of exterior space

   • Semi-circular auditorium built into the side of a hill

   • Diameter's projected circle -115m

   • orchestra,

   • proscenium

   • skene

   • arranged for maximum convenience in viewing the performance and preparations of the actors

   • parodos, the passageway between stage and audience, is wide enough to permit rapid
     exit.

   THE CITY OF PRIENE, ASIA MINOR, c. 350 B.C.

   ® The regular street patterns of grid type - Archaic Period- systematized during the 5th century by Hippodamos, a Milesian architect.

   • associated with the checkerboard plan of Hellenistic cities such as Priene (population

   4000).

   Four principles of city planning:

   • 1. The adaptation to the hill side is geomorphic.

   > 2. The location of the large marketplace, agora, with an altar as the focal point, makes this arrangement concentric.

   • 3. The traffic routes are according to the orthogonal grid system.

   > 4. The blocks are according to the modular system.

   THE PRIVATE DWELLINGS IN THE CITY OF PRIENE, c. 350 B.C.

   • Houses of Priene are turned inwards

   • Various sizes, form a tightly knit, orthogonal pattern of courtyards, around which the rooms are located

   CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS OF GREEK ARCHITECTURE

   1. Columnar and trabeated

   2. Wooden roofs are "untrussed" - rafter

   3. Ceilings were treated decoratively - "coffering"

   4. No mortar was used in stone walling instead wrought iron cramps or dowels

   5. Doric or lonic order were used

   5. Greek columns have "entasis"

   Entasis - slight convex curving of vertical profile of a tapered columned; used to overcome the optical illusion of concavity that characterized straight sided columns.

   1. Public buildings were more given consideration although religious buildings are still part of their building undertakings

   2. Trabeated system although arches were introduced

   3. Buildings laid out in symmetrical lines in orderly schemes and linked colonnaded porticos or

   "stoas" wooden truss was invented.

   10. Exedras/exedrae were always part of public structures

   Exedra/Exedrae - a recess or alcove with raised seat where "disputation" of the" learned" take place.

   1. Corinthian order was most widely used

   2. Caryatid, Atlantes, Wreathed and Spiral column already being used.

   GREEK STRUCTURES

   O TEMENOS - a sacred enclosure surrounding a temple or other holy spot also an upper city

   being placed on the highest part of a city for safety and dignity.

   • PROPYLAEA - entrance gateway, marked approach to sacred enclosure. The most famous is "Propylaea of Athens" built under Pericles by Ar. Mnesicles.
     © TEMPLES - still the chief class of building built with special regard for outward effect being not intended for internal worship. Adorned with fine sculptures as shrines to deities or gods to whom they are dedicated.

   • THEATERS - hollowed out of the slope of the hill in or outside city.

   • where classical drama expressed in declamatory style of speech

   3 main parts:

   1. auditorium (cavea

   2. orchestra

   3. stage (skene)

   • ODEION -type of theater in which musician perform for approval of public and competed for prizes.

   • STOA - long colonnaded building serving many purposes. Stoas used around public buildings to connect them and as shelters for religious shrines

   • PRYTANEON -senate house for chief dignitaries of the city and place where visitors and citizens are entertainment.

• STADIUM - foot racecourses in cities where games were celebrated

• BOULETERION - council house is a covered shelter where elected councils convene

• ECCLESIASTERION (assembly hall)- a substantially constructed with limestone walls, and with stone seats arranged in straight lines round three sides, to hold perhaps 640 people.
  It is for the restricted popular assembly of a small town rather than a council

• HIPPODROME - like stadium but larger type; prototype of Roman circus.

• PALAESTRA - wrestling school. Term used interchangeably with "GYMNASEUM" - structure for all physical exercises.

• Tombs - most famous example is Nereid monument, elevate on high podium, between columns stood nereids or marine nymphs.

• SARCOPHAGUS - most famous is Tomb of Cnidos, a richly carved coffin of marble stone

• Sarcophagus an elaborate coffin for an important personage, of terra-cotta, wood, stone, metal or other material decorated with plants, carving and large enough to contain only the body.

• Podium - continuous, elevated pedestal; also, the enclosing platform of the arena of an amphitheater.

• MAUSOLEUM - most famous is the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus built for King Mausolus, by his widow Artemisia. One of the seven wonders of the world.

• GREEK DOMESTIC BUILDING - modest in scope and materials rooms facing a small court, rooms on Northside facing winter sun and other rooms on east and west. Two story is common. Main element is the "pasta"