X 003 Greek Architecture

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Greek Architecture

Main article: Architecture of Ancient Greece

Temple of Concordia in Agrigento, Sicily.

The architecture and urbanism of the Greeks and Romans was very different from that ofthe Egyptians and Persians. Civic life gained importance for all members of the community.In the time of the ancients religious matters were only handled by the ruling class; by thetime of the Greeks, religious mystery had skipped the confines of the temple-palacecompounds and was the subject of the people or polis.

Greek civic life was sustained by new, open spaces called the agora which were surroundedby public buildings, stores and temples. The agora embodied the newfound respect forsocial justice received through open debate rather than imperial mandate. Though divinewisdom still presided over human affairs, the living rituals of ancient civilizations hadbecome inscribed in space, in the paths that wound towards the acropolis for example. Eachplace had its own nature, set within a world refracted through myth, thus temples weresited atop mountains all the better to touch the heavens.

The architecture of Ancient Greece is the architecture produced by the Greek-speakingpeople (Hellenic people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland andPeloponnesus, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Asia Minor and Italy for a period fromabout 900 BC until the 1st century AD, with the earliest remaining architectural works datingfrom around 600 BC.[1]

Ancient Greek architecture is best known from its temples, many of which are foundthroughout the region, mostly as ruins but many substantially intact. The second importanttype of building that survives all over the Hellenic world is the open-air theatre, with theearliest dating from around 350 BC. Other architectural forms that are still in evidence arethe processional gateway (propylon), the public square (agora) surrounded by storiedcolonnade (stoa), the town council building (bouleuterion), the public monument, themonumental tomb (mausoleum) and the stadium.

Ancient Greek architecture is distinguished by its highly formalised characteristics, both ofstructure and decoration. This is particularly so in the case of temples where each buildingappears to have been conceived as a sculptural entity within the landscape, most oftenraised on high ground so that the elegance of its proportions and the effects of light on itssurfaces might be viewed from all angles.[2] Nikolaus Pevsner refers to "the plastic shape ofthe [Greek] temple.....placed before us with a physical presence more intense, more alivethan that of any later building".[3]

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Greek Architecture








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The formal vocabulary of Ancient Greek architecture, in particular the division ofarchitectural style into three defined orders: the Doric Order, the Ionic Order and theCorinthian Order, was to have profound effect on Western architecture of later periods. Thearchitecture of Ancient Rome grew out of that of Greece and maintained its influence inItaly unbroken until the present day. From the Renaissance, revivals of Classicism have keptalive not only the precise forms and ordered details of Greek architecture, but also itsconcept of architectural beauty based on balance and proportion. The successive styles ofNeoclassical architecture and Greek Revival

Influences

Geography

The mainland and islands of Greece are rocky, with deeply indented coastline, and ruggedmountain ranges with few substantial forests. The most freely available building material isstone. Limestone was readily available and easily worked.[4] There is an abundance of highquality white marble both on the mainland and islands, particularly Paros and Naxos. Thisfinely grained material was a major contributing factor to precision of detail, botharchitectural and sculptural, that adorned Ancient Greek architecture.[5] Deposits of highquality potter's clay were found throughout Greece and the Islands, with major depositsnear Athens. It was used not only for pottery vessels, but also roof tiles and architecturaldecoration.[6]

The climate of Greece is maritime, with both the coldness of winter and the heat of summertempered by sea breezes. This led to a lifestyle where many activities took place outdoors.Hence temples were placed on hilltops, their exteriors designed as a visual focus ofgatherings and processions, while theatres were often an enhancement of a naturallyoccurring sloping site where people could sit, rather than a containing structure. Colonnadesencircling buildings, or surrounding courtyards provided shelter from the sun and fromsudden winter storms.[5]

The light of Greece may be another important factor in the development of the particularcharacter of Ancient Greek architecture. The light is often extremely bright, with both thesky and the sea vividly blue. The clear light and sharp shadows give a precision to the detailsof landscape, pale rocky outcrops and seashore. This clarity is alternated with periods ofhaze that varies in colour to the light on it. In this characteristic environment, the AncientGreek architects constructed buildings that were marked by precision of detail.[5] Thegleaming marble surfaces were smooth, curved, fluted, or ornately sculpted to reflect thesun, cast graded shadows and change in colour with the ever-changing light of day.

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The rugged indented coastline at Rhamnous, Attica

The Theatre and Temple of Apollo in mountainous country at Delphi

The Acropolis, Athens, is high above the city on a natural prominence.

The Islands of the Aegean from Cape Sounion

History

The history of the Ancient Greek civilization is divided into two eras, the Hellenic and theHellenistic.[7] The Hellenic period commenced circa 900 BC, (with substantial works ofarchitecture appearing from about 600 BC) and ended with the death of Alexander theGreat in 323 BC. During the Hellenistic period, 323 BC - AD 30, Hellenic culture was spreadwidely, firstly throughout lands conquered by Alexander, and then by the Roman Empirewhich absorbed much of Greek culture.[1][8]

Prior to the Hellenic era, two civilizations had existed within the region, the Minoan and theMycenaean. Minoan is the name given by modern historians to the people of ancient Crete(c. 2800–1100 BC), known for their elaborate and richly decorated palaces, and for theirpottery painted with floral and marine motifs. The Mycenaean culture occurred on thePeloponnesus (c.1500–1100 BC) and was quite different in character, building citadels,fortifications and tombs rather than palaces, and decorating their pottery with bands ofmarching soldiers rather than octopus and seaweed. Both these civilizations came to an end

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around 1100 BC, that of Crete possibly because of volcanic devastation, and that ofMycenae because of invasion from Dorian people of the Greek mainland.[9] This led to aperiod with few remaining signs of culture, and thus often referred to as a Dark Age.

The towns established by the Dorian people were ruled initially by aristocracy, and later by“tyrants”, leaders who rose from the merchant or warrior classes. Some cities, such asSparta, maintained a strongly ordered and conservative character, like that of the Mycenae.Athens, on the other hand, was influenced by the influx of Ionian people from Asia Minor. Inthis cultural diversity, the art of logic developed, and with it the notion of democracy.

Art

Black figure Amphora, Atalante painter (500-490 BC), shows proportion and style that are hallmarksof Ancient Greek art

The art history of the Hellenic era is generally subdivided into four periods, theProtogeometric (1100-900 BC), the Geometric (900-700 BC), the Archaic (700 - 500 BC) andthe Classical (500 - 323 BC)[10] with sculpture being further divided into Severe Classical, HighClassical and Late Classical.[1] The first signs of the particular artistic character that definesAncient Greek architecture are to be seen in the pottery of the Dorian Greeks from the 10thcentury BC. Already at this period it is created with a sense of proportion, symmetry andbalance not apparent in similar pottery from Crete and Mycenae. The decoration is preciselygeometric, and ordered neatly into zones on defined areas of each vessel. These qualitieswere to manifest themselves not only through a millennium of Greek pottery making, butalso in the architecture that was to emerge in the 6th century.[11] The major developmentthat occurred was in the growing use of the human figure as the major decorative motif,and the increasing surety with which humanity, its mythology, activities and passions weredepicted.[1]

The development in the depiction of the human form in pottery was accompanied by asimilar development in sculpture. The tiny stylised bronzes of the Geometric period gaveway to life-sized highly formalised monolithic representation in the Archaic period. TheClassical period was marked by a rapid development towards idealised but increasinglylifelike depictions of gods in human form.[12] This development had a direct effect on thesculptural decoration of temples, as many of the greatest extant works of Ancient Greek

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sculpture once adorned temples,[13] and many of the largest recorded statues of the age,such as the lost chryselephantine statues of Zeus at the Temple of Zeus at Olympia andAthena at the Parthenon, Athens, both over 40 feet high, were once housed in them.[14]

Religion and philosophy

above: Modern model of ancient Olympia with the Temple of Zeus at the centre

right: Recreation of the colossal statue of Athena, once housed in the Parthenon, with sculptor AlanLeQuire

The religion of Ancient Greece was a form of nature worship that grew out of the beliefs ofearlier cultures. However, unlike earlier cultures, man was no longer perceived as beingthreatened by nature, but as its sublime product.[8] The natural elements were personifiedas gods of completely human form, and very human behaviour.[5]

The home of the gods was thought to be Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece. Themost important deities were: Zeus, the supreme god and ruler of the sky; Hera, his wife andgoddess of marriage; Athena, goddess of wisdom; Poseidon, god of the sea; Demeter,goddess of the earth; Apollo, god of the sun, law, reason, music and poetry; Artemis,goddess of the moon, the hunt and the wilderness; Aphrodite, goddess of love; Ares, God ofwar; Hermes, god of commerce and medicine, and Hephaestus, god of fire and metalwork.[5]

Worship, like many other activities, was done in community, in the open. However, by 600BC, the gods were often represented by large statues and it was necessary to provide abuilding in which each of these could be housed. This led to the development of temples.[15]

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The Ancient Greeks perceived order in the universe, and in turn, applied order and reason totheir creations. Their humanist philosophy put mankind at the centre of things, andpromoted well-ordered societies and the development of democracy.[8] At the same time,the respect for human intellect demanded reason, and promoted a passion for enquiry,logic, challenge, and problem solving. The architecture of the Ancient Greeks, and inparticular, temple architecture, responds to these challenges with a passion for beauty, andfor order and symmetry which is the product of a continual search for perfection, ratherthan a simple application of a set of working rules.

Architectural character

Early development

There is a clear division between the architecture of the preceding Mycenaean culture andMinoan cultures and that of the Ancient Greeks, the techniques and an understanding oftheir style being lost when these civilizations fell.[4]

Mycenaean art is marked by its circular structures and tapered domes with flat-bedded,cantilevered courses.[9] This architectural form did not carry over into the architecture ofAncient Greece, but reappeared about 400 BC in the interior of large monumental tombssuch as the Lion Tomb at Cnidos (c. 350 BC). Little is known of Mycenaean wooden ordomestic architecture and any continuing traditions that may have flowed into the earlybuildings of the Dorian people.

The Minoan architecture of Crete, was of trabeated form like that of Ancient Greece. Itemployed wooden columns with capitals, but the columns were of very different form toDoric columns, being narrow at the base and splaying upward.[9] The earliest forms ofcolumns in Greece seem to have developed independently. As with Minoan architecture,Ancient Greek domestic architecture centred on open spaces or courtyards surrounded bycolonnades. This form was adapted to the construction of hypostyle halls within the largertemples.

The domestic architecture of ancient Greece employed walls of sun dried clay bricks orwooden framework filled with fibrous material such as straw or seaweed covered with clayor plaster, on a base of stone which protected the more vulnerable elements from damp.[4]

Roofs were probably of thatch with eaves which overhung the permeable walls. It isprobable that many early houses had an open porch or "pronaos" above which rose a lowpitched gable or pediment.[7] The evolution that occurred in architecture was towards publicbuilding, first and foremost the temple, rather than towards grand domestic architecturesuch as had evolved in Crete.[2]

Types of buildings

Main articles: Ancient Greek temple, Ancient Greek theatre, Acropolis, Agora, and Stoa

The rectangular temple is the most common and best-known form of Greek publicarchitecture. The temple did not serve the same function as a modern church, since thealtar stood under the open sky in the temenos or sacred precinct, often directly before the

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temple. Temples served as the location of a cult image and as a storage place or strongroom for the treasury associated with the cult of the god in question, and as a place fordevotees of the god to leave their votive offerings, such as statues, helmets and weapons.Some Greek temples appear to have been oriented astronomically.[16] The temple wasgenerally part of a religious precinct known as the acropolis. According to Aristotle, '"the siteshould be a spot seen far and wide, which gives good elevation to virtue and towers overthe neighbourhood".[2] Small circular temples, tholos were also constructed, as well as smalltemple-like buildings that served as treasuries for specific groups of donors.[17]

During the late 5th and 4th centuries BC, town planning became an important considerationof Greek builders, with towns such as Paestum and Priene being laid out with a regular gridof paved streets and an agora or central market place surrounded by a colonnade or stoa.The completely restored Stoa of Attalos can be seen in Athens. Towns were also equippedwith a public fountain where water could be collected for household use. The developmentof regular town plans is associated with Hippodamus of Miletus, a pupil ofPythagoras.[18][19][20]

Public buildings became "dignified and gracious structures", and were sited so that theyrelated to each other architecturally.[19] The propylon or porch, formed the entrance totemple sanctuaries and other significant sites with the best-surviving example being thePropylaea on the Acropolis of Athens. The bouleuterion was a large public building with ahypostyle hall that served as a court house and as a meeting place for the town council(boule). Remnants of bouleuterion survive at Athens, Olympia and Miletus, the latter havingheld up to 1200 people.[21]

Every Greek town had an open-air theatre. These were used for both public meetings aswell as dramatic performances. The theatre was usually set in a hillside outside the town,and had rows of tiered seating set in a semicircle around the central performance area, theorchestra. Behind the orchestra was a low building called the skênê, which served as a store-room, a dressing-room, and also as a backdrop to the action taking place in the orchestra. Anumber of Greek theatres survive almost intact, the best known being at Epidaurus, by thearchitect Polykleitos the Younger.[18]

Greek towns of substantial size also had a palaestra or a gymnasium, the social centre formale citizens which included spectator areas, baths, toilets and club rooms.[21] Otherbuildings associated with sports include the hippodrome for horse racing, of which onlyremnants have survived, and the stadium for foot racing, 600 feet in length, of whichexamples exist at Olympia, Delphi, Epidarus and Ephesus, while the Panathinaiko Stadium inAthens, which seats 45,000 people, was restored in the 19th century and was used in the1896, 1906 and 2004 Olympic Games.[21][22]

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Porta Rosa, a street (3rd century BCE) Velia, Italy

The reconstructed Stoa of Attalos, the Agora, Athens

The Bouleuterion, at Priene

The Stadium at Epidauros

The Palaestra at Olympia, used for boxing and wrestling

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The Theatre of Dionysus, Athens

Pebble mosaic floor of a house at Olynthos, depicting Bellerophon

The Altar of Hiero II at Syracuse

Greek temples (Ancient Greek: ὁ ναός, ho naós "dwelling", semantically distinct from Latintemplum "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries inancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, since thesacrifices and rituals dedicated to the respective deity took place outside them. Templeswere frequently used to store votive offerings. They are the most important and mostwidespread building type in Greek architecture. In the Hellenistic kingdoms of SouthwestAsia and of North Africa, buildings erected to fulfill the functions of a temple oftencontinued to follow the local traditions. Even where a Greek influence is visible, suchstructures are not normally considered as Greek temples. This applies, for example, to theGraeco-Parthian and Bactrian temples, or to the Ptolemaic examples, which follow Egyptiantradition. Most Greek temples were oriented astronomically.[1]

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Contents

1 Overview 2 Development

o 2.1 Originso 2.2 Wooden architecture: Early Archaico 2.3 Introduction of stone architecture: Archaic and Classicalo 2.4 Decline of Greek temple building: Hellenistic periodo 2.5 The end of Greek temple construction: Roman Greeceo 2.6 The abandonment and conversion of temples: Late Antiquity

3 Structureo 3.1 Floor plano 3.2 Elevationo 3.3 Aspect

4 Design and measurementso 4.1 Proportionso 4.2 Naos-peristasis relationshipo 4.3 Column number formulao 4.4 Column spacing

5 Optical refinements 6 Decoration

o 6.1 Colouringo 6.2 Architectural sculpture

7 Function and designo 7.1 Cult statue and cellao 7.2 Opisthodomoso 7.3 Peristasis

8 Sponsors, construction and costso 8.1 Public and private sponsorso 8.2 Organizationo 8.3 Costs

9 Temples of the different architectural orderso 9.1 Doric templeso 9.2 Ionic templeso 9.3 Corinthian temples

10 See also 11 References 12 Bibliography 13 External links 14 Source of translation

Overview

Between the 9th century BC and the 6th century BC, Ancient Greek temples developed fromthe small mudbrick structures into monumental double porticos buildings, often reachingmore than 20 metres in height (not including the roof). Stylistically, they were governed bythe regionally specific architectural orders. Originally, the distinction being initially betweenthe Doric and Ionic orders, with the Corinthian order provided a third alternative in the late3rd century BC. A multitude of different ground plans were developed, each of which couldbe combined with the superstructure in the different orders. From the 3rd century BC

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onwards, the construction of large temples became less common; after a short 2nd centuryBC flourish, it ceased nearly entirely in the 1st century BC. Thereafter, only smallerstructures were newly begun, older temples continued to be renovated or (if incomplete)completed.

Greek temples were designed and constructed according to set proportions, mostlydetermined by the lower diameter of the columns or by the dimensions of the foundationlevels. The nearly mathematical strictness of the basic designs thus reached was lightenedby optical refinements. In spite of the still widespread idealised image, Greek temples werepainted, so that bright reds and blues contrasted with the white of the building stones or ofstucco. The more elaborate temples were equipped with very rich figural decoration in theform of reliefs and pedimental sculpture. The construction of temples was usually organisedand financed by cities or by the administrations of sanctuaries. Private individuals, especiallyHellenistic rulers, could also sponsor such buildings. In the late Hellenistic period, theirdecreasing financial wealth, along with the progressive incorporation of the Greek worldwithin the Roman State, whose officials and rulers took over as sponsors, led to the end ofGreek temple construction. New temples now belonged to the tradition of Romanarchitecture, which, in spite of the Greek influence on it, aimed for different goals andfollowed different aesthetic principles.

Development

Model of a typical Doric temple, the Temple of Aphaia on Aegina (Glyptothek, Munich).

Origins

The basic principles for the development of Greek temple architecture have their rootsbetween the 10th century BC and the 7th century BC. In its simplest form as a naos, thetemple was a simple rectangular shrine with protruding side walls (antae), forming a smallporch. Until the 8th century BC, there were also apsidal structures with more or less semi-circular back walls, but the rectangular type prevailed. By adding columns to this small basicstructure, the Greeks triggered the development and variety of their temple architecture.

Wooden architecture: Early Archaic

The first temples were mostly mud brick and marble structures on stone foundations. Thecolumns and superstructure (entablature) were wooden, door openings and antae wereprotected with wooden planks. The mud brick walls were often reinforced by wooden posts,in a type of half-timbered technique. The elements of this simple and clearly structured

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Development


Origins




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Development


Origins




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wooden architecture produced all the important design principles that were to determinethe development of Greek temples for centuries.

Near the end of the 7th century BC, the dimensions of these simple structures wereincreased considerably.[2] Temple C at Thermos is the first of the hekatompedoi, templeswith a length of 100 feet (30 m). Since it was not technically possible to roof broad spaces atthat time, these temples remained very narrow, at 6 to 10 metres in width.

To stress the importance of the cult statue and the building holding it, the naos wasequipped with a canopy, supported by columns. The resulting set of porticos surroundingthe temple on all sides (the peristasis) was exclusively used for temples in Greekarchitecture.[3]

The combination of the temple with porticos (ptera) on all sides posed a new aestheticchallenge for the architects and patrons: the structures had to be built to be viewed from alldirections. This led to the development of the peripteros, with a frontal pronaos (porch),mirrored by a similar arrangement at the back of the building, the opisthodomos, whichbecame necessary for entirely aesthetic reasons.

The Temple of Apollo at Corinth, one of the earliest stone-built Doric temples. Note the monolithiccolumns.

Introduction of stone architecture: Archaic and Classical

After the introduction of stone architecture, the essential elements and forms of eachtemple, such as the number of columns and of column rows, underwent constant changethroughout Greek antiquity.

In the 6th century BC, Ionian Samos developed the double-colonnaded dipteros as analternative to the single peripteros. This idea was later copied in Didyma, Ephesos andAthens. Between the 6th and the late 4th century BC, innumerable temples were built;nearly every polis, every colony contained one or several. There were also temples at extra-urban sites and at major sanctuaries like Olympia and Delphi.

The observable change of form indicates the search for a harmonious form of allarchitectural elements: the development led from simpler early forms which often appearcoarse and bulky up to the aesthetic perfection and refinement of the later structures; from

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simple experimentation to the strict mathematical complexity of ground plans andsuperstructures.

The temple of Zeus in Cyrene.

Decline of Greek temple building: Hellenistic period

From the early Hellenistic period onwards, the Greek peripteral temple lost much of itsimportance. With very few exceptions, Classical temple construction ceased both inHellenistic Greece and in the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia. Only the west of Asia Minormaintained a low level of temple construction during the 3rd century BC. The constructionof large projects, such as the temple of Apollo at Didyma near Miletus and the Artemision atSardis did not make much progress.

The 2nd century BC saw a revival of temple architecture, including peripteral temples. This ispartially due to the influence of the architect Hermogenes of Priene, who redefined theprinciples of Ionic temple construction both practically and through theoretical work.[4] Atthe same time, the rulers of the various Hellenistic kingdoms provided copious financialresources. Their self-aggrandisation, rivalry, desires to stabilise their spheres of influence, aswell as the increasing conflict with Rome (partially played out in the field of culture),combined to release much energy into the revival of complex Greek temple architecture.[5]

During this phase, Greek temples became widespread in southern Asia Minor, Egypt andNorthern Africa.

But in spite of such examples and of the positive conditions produced by the economicupturn and the high degree of technical innovation in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC,[6]

Hellenistic religious architecture is mostly represented by a multitude of small temples inantis and prostyle temples, as well as tiny shrines (naiskoi). The latter had been erected inimportant places, on market squares, near springs and by roads, since the Archaic period,but reached their main flourish now. This limitation to smaller structures led to thedevelopment of a special form, the pseudoperipteros, which uses engaged columns alongthe cella walls to produce the illusion of a peripteral temple. An early case of this is temple Lat Epidauros, followed by many prominent Roman examples, such as the Maison Carrée atNîmes.[7]

The end of Greek temple construction: Roman Greece

In the early 1st century BC, the Mithridatic Wars led to changes of architectural practice.The role of sponsor was increasingly taken by Roman magistrates of the Eastern provinces,[8]

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who rarely demonstrated their generosity by building temples.[9] Nevertheless, sometemples were erected at this time, e.g. the Temple of Aphrodite at Aphrodisias.[10]

The introduction of the principate lead to few new buildings, mostly temples for theimperial cult[11] or to Roman deities, e.g. the temple of Jupiter at Baalbek.[12] Although newtemples to Greek deities still continued to be constructed, e.g. the Tychaion at Selge[13] theytend to follow the canonical forms of the developing Roman imperial style of architecture[14]

or to maintain local non-Greek idiosyncrasies, like the temples in Petra[15] or Palmyra.[16] Theincreasing romanisation of the east[17] entailed the end of Greek temple architecture,although work continued on the completion of unfinished large structures like the temple ofApollo at Didyma or the Olympieion at Athens into the later 2nd century AD.[18]

Syracuse (Sicily): The 5th-century BC Doric temple of Athena, transformed into a Christian churchduring the Middle Ages.

The abandonment and conversion of temples: Late Antiquity

The edicts of Theodosius I and his successors on the throne of the Roman Empire, banningpagan cults, led to the gradual closure of Greek temples, or their conversion into Christianchurches.

Thus ends the history of the Greek temple, although many of them remained in use for along time afterwards. For example, the Athenian Parthenon, first reconsecrated as a churchwas turned into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest and remained structurally unharmeduntil the 17th century AD. Only the unfortunate impact of a Venetian cannonball into thebuilding, then used to store gunpowder, led to the destruction of much of this importanttemple, more than 2,000 years after it was built.

Greek Temples were known for being extremely flammable especially the architrave.[citation

needed]

Structure

Canonical Greek temples maintained the same basic structure throughout many centuries.The Greeks used a limited number of spatial components, influencing the plan, and ofarchitectural members, determining the elevation.

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Structure


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Structure


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Floor plan

Naos

The central cult structure of the temple, the naos, can be separated in several areas.Usually, the main room, the cella, contained a cult statue of the respective deity. In Archaictemples, a separate room, the so-called adyton was sometimes included in the cella for thispurpose. In Sicily, this habit continued into the Classical period.

Pronaos and opisthodomos

At the front of the cella, there is a porch, the pronaos, created by the protruding side wallsof the cella (the antae), and two columns placed between them. A similar room at the backof the cella is called the opisthodomos. There is no door connecting the latter with the cella;its existence is necessitated entirely by aesthetic considerations: to maintain the consistencyof the peripteral temple and to ensure its viewability from all sides, the execution of thefront has to be repeated at the rear.

Peristasis

The naos is enclosed on all four sides by the peristasis, usually a single row, rarely a doubleone, of columns. This produces a surrounding portico, the pteron, which offered shelter tovisitors of the sanctuary and room for cult processions.

Elements of the Naos

Naos

Pronaos

Cella

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Adyton (exceptional)

Opisthodomos (sometimes omitted)

Plan types

These components allowed the realisation of a variety of different plan types in Greektemple architecture. The simplest example of a Greek temple is the templum in antis, asmall rectangular structure sheltering the cult statue. In front of the cella, a small porch orpronaos was formed by the protruding cella walls, the antae. The pronaos was linked to thecella by a door. To support the superstructure, two columns were placed between the frontsof the antae (in antis). When equipped with an opisthodomos, this type is called a doubleanta temple. A variant of that type has the opisthodomos at the back of the cella indicatedmerely by half-columns and shortened antae, so that it can be described as a pseudo-opisthodomos.

Different temple plans

If the porch of a temple in antis has a row of usually four or six columns in front of its wholebreadth, the temple is described as a prostylos or prostyle temple. An amphiprostylosrepeats the same column setting at the back.

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In contrast, the term peripteros designates a temple surrounded by ptera (colonnades) onall four sides, each usually formed by single row of columns. This produces an unobstructedsurrounding portico, the peristasis, on all four sides of the temple. A Hellenistic and Romanform of this shape is the pseudoperipteros, where the side and rear porches are indicatedonly by engaged columns or pilasters directly attached to the external cella walls.

A dipteros is equipped with a double colonnade on all four sides, sometimes with furtherrows of columns at the front and back. A pseudodipteros lacks the inner row of columns inits peristasis, but has porches of double width.

Circular temples form a special type. If they are surrounded by a colonnade, they are knownas peripteral tholoi. Although of sacred character, their function as a temple can often notbe asserted. A comparable structure is the monopteros, or cyclostyle which, however, lacksa cella.

To clarify ground plan types, the defining terms can be combined, producing terms such as:peripteral double anta temple, prostyle in antis, peripteral amphiprostyle, etc.

Column number terminology

An additional definition, already used by Vitruvius (IV, 3, 3) is determined by the number ofcolumns at the front. Modern scholarship uses the following terms:

technical term number of columns at front

distyle 2 columns

tetrastyle 4 columns, term used by Vitruvius

hexastyle 6 columns, term used by Vitruvius

octastyle 8 columns

decastyle 10 columns

The term dodekastylos is only used for the 12-column hall at the Didymaion. No templeswith facades of that width are known.

Very few temples had an uneven number of columns at the front. Examples are Temple ofHera I at Paestum, Temple of Apollo A at Metapontum, both of which have a width of ninecolumns (enneastyle), and the Archaic temple at Thermos with a width of five columns(pentastyle).

Elevation

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Elevation of the Temple of Concordia at Agrigentum.

The elevation of Greek temples is always subdivided in three zones: the crepidoma, thecolumns and the entablature.

Foundations and crepidoma

Stereobate, euthynteria and crepidoma form the substructure of the temple. Theunderground foundation of a Greek temple is known as the stereobate. It consists of severallayers of squared stone blocks. The uppermost layer, the euthynteria, partially protrudesabove the ground level. Its surface is carefully smoothed and levelled. It supports a furtherfoundation of three steps, the crepidoma. The uppermost level of the crepidoma providesthe surface on which the columns and walls are placed; it is called stylobate.

Illustration of Doric (first three), Ionic (next three) and Corinthian (final two) columns.

Columns

Placed on the stylobate are the vertical column shafts, tapering towards the top. They arenormally made of several separately cut column drums. Depending on the architecturalorder, a different number of flutings are cut into the column shaft: Doric columns have 18 to20 flutings, Ionic and Corinthian ones normally have 24. Early Ionic columns had up to 48

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flutings. While Doric columns stand directly on the stylobate, Ionic and Corinthian onespossess a base, sometimes additionally placed atop a plinth.

In Doric columns, the top is formed by a concavely curved neck, the hypotrachelion, and thecapital, in Ionic columns, the capital sits directly on the shaft. In the Doric order, the capitalconsists of a circular torus bulge, originally very flat, the so-called echinus, and a square slab,the abacus. In the course of their development, the echinus expands more and more,culminating in a linear diagonal, at 45° to the vertical. The echinus of Ionic columns isdecorated with an egg-and-dart band followed by a sculpted pillow forming two volutes,supporting a thin abacus. The eponymous Corinthian capital of the Corinthian order iscrowned by rings of stylised acanthus leaves, forming tendrils and volutes that reach to thecorners of the abacus.

Entablature on the west side of the Parthenon.

Entablature

The capitals support the entablature. In the Doric order, the entablature always consists oftwo parts, the architrave and the Doric frieze (or triglyph frieze). The Ionic order of Athensand the Cyclades also used a frieze above an architrave, whereas the frieze remainedunknown in the Ionic architecture of Asia Minor until the 4th century BC. There, thearchitrave was directly followed by the dentil. The frieze was originally placed in front of theroof beams, which were externally visible only in the earlier temples of Asia Minor. TheDoric frieze was structured by triglyphs. These were placed above the axis of each column,and above the centre of each intercolumniation. The spaces between the triglyphscontained metopes, sometimes painted or decorated with relief sculpture. In the Ionic orCorinthian orders, the frieze possesses no triglyphs and is simply left flat, sometimesdecorated with paintings or reliefs. With the introduction of stone architecture, theprotection of the porticos and the support of the roof construction was moved upwards tothe level of the geison, depriving the frieze of its structural function and turning it into anentirely decorative feature. Frequently, the cella is also decorated with architrave andfrieze, especially at the front of the pronaos.

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Entablature


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Entablature


20

Geison block from the temple at Lykosoura.

Cornice and geison

Above the frieze, or an intermediate member, e.g. the dentil of the Ionic or Corinthianorders, the cornice protrudes notably. It consists of the geison (on the sloped sides orpediments of the narrow walls a sloped geison), and the sima. On the long side, the sima,often elaborately decorated, was equipped with water spouts, often in the shape of lions'heads. The pedimental triangle or tympanon on the narrow sides of the temple was createdby the Doric introduction of the gabled roof, earlier temples often had hipped roofs. Thetympanon was usually richly decorated with sculptures of mythical scenes or battles. Thecorners and ridges of the roof were decorated with acroteria, originally geometric, laterfloral or figural decorations.

Aspect

As far as topographically possible, the temples were freestanding and designed to be viewedfrom all sides. They were not normally designed with consideration for their surroundings,but formed autonomous structures. This is a major difference from Roman temples whichwere often designed as part of a planned urban area or square and had a strong emphasison being viewed frontally.

Design and measurements

Proportions

The foundations of Greek temples could reach dimensions of up to 115 by 55 m, i.e. the sizeof an average soccer field. Columns could reach a height of 20 m. To design such largearchitectural bodies harmoniously, a number of basic aesthetic principles were developedand tested already on the smaller temples. the main measurement was the foot, varyingbetween 29 and 34 cm from region to region. This initial measurement was the basis for allthe units that determined the shape of the temple. Important factors include the lowerdiameter of the columns and the width of their plinths. The distance between the columnaxes (intercolumniation or bay) could also be used as a basic unit. these measurementswere in set proportions to other elements of design, such as column height and columndistance. In conjunction with the number of columns per side, they also determined thedimensions of stylobate and peristasis, as well as of the naos proper. The rules regardingvertical proportions, especially in the Doric order, also allow for a deduction of the basic

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Cornice and geison


Aspect



Proportions


20


Cornice and geison


Aspect



Proportions


21

design options for the entablature from the same principles. Alternatives to this veryrational system were sought in the temples of the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC, whenit was attempted to develop the basic measurements from the planned dimensions of cellaor stylobate, i.e. to reverse the system described above and deduce the smaller units fromthe bigger ones. Thus, for example, the cella length was sometimes set at 100 feet (30 m)(100 is a sacred number, also known from the hecatomb, a sacrifice of 100 animals), and allfurther measurements had to be in relation to this number, leading to aesthetically quiteunsatisfactory solutions.

Naos-peristasis relationship

Another determining design feature was the relationship linking naos and peristasis. In theoriginal temples, this would have been subject entirely to practical necessities, and alwaysbased on axial links between cella walls and columns, but the introduction of stonearchitecture broke that connection. Nevertheless, it did survive throughout Ionicarchitecture. In Doric temples, however, the wooden roof construction, originally placedbehind the frieze, now started at a higher level, behind the geison. This ended the structurallink between frieze and roof; the structural elements of the latter could now be placedindependent of axial relationships. As a result, the cella walls lost their fixed connection withthe columns for a long time and could be freely placed within the peristasis. Only after along phase of developments did the architects choose the alignment of the outer wall facewith the adjacent column axis as the obligatory principle for Doric temples. Doric temples inGreater Greece rarely follow this system.

Column number formula

The basic proportions of the building were determined by the numeric relationship ofcolumns on the front and back to those on the sides. The classic solution chosen by Greekarchitects is the formula "frontal columns : side columns = n : (2n+1)", which can also beused for the number of intercolumniations. As a result, numerous temples of the Classicalperiod in Greece (circa 500 to 336 BC) had 6 x 13 columns or 5 x 11 intercolumnitions. Thesame proportions, in a more abstract form, determine most of the Parthenon, not only in its8 x 17 column peristasis, but also, reduced to 4:9, in all other basic measurements, includingthe intercolumniations, the stylobate, the width-height proportion of the entire building,and the geison (here reversed to 9:4).[19]

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Proportion of column diameter to intercolumnium.

Column spacing

Since the turn of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the proportion of column width to the spacebetween columns, the intercolumnium, played an increasingly important role inarchitectural theory, reflected, for example, in the works of Vitruvius. According to thisproportion, Vitruvius (3, 3, 1 ff) distinguished between five different design concepts andtemple types:

Pyknostyle, tight-columned: intercolumnium = 1 ½ lower column diameters Systyle, close-columned: intercolumnium = 2 lower column diameters Eustyle, well-columned: intercolumnium = 2 ¼ lower column diameters Diastyle, board-columned: interkolumnium = 3 lower column diameters Araeostyle, light-columned: intercolumnium = 3 ½ lower column diameters

The determination and discussion of these basic principles went back to Hermogenes,whom Vitruvius credits with the invention of the eustylos. The Temple of Dionysos at Teos,normally ascribed to Hermogenes, does indeed have intercolumnia measuring 2 &frac16; ofthe lower column diameters.[20]

Optical refinements

Exaggerated sketch of the curvature of a Doric temple.

To loosen up the mathematical strictness and to counteract distortions of human visualperception, a slight curvature of the whole building, hardly visible with the naked eye, wasintroduced. The ancient architects had realised that long horizontal lines tend to make theoptical impression of sagging towards their centre. To prevent this effect, the horizontallines of stylobate and/or entablature were raised by a few centimetres towards the middleof a building. This avoidance of mathematically straight lines also included the columns,which did not taper in a linear fashion, but were refined by a pronounced "swelling"(entasis) of the shaft. Additionally, columns were placed with a slight inclination towards thecentre of the building. Curvature and entasis occur from the mid 6th century BC onwards.The most consistent use of these principles is seen in the Classical Parthenon on theAthenian Acropolis. Its curvature affects all horizontal elements up to the sima, even thecella walls reflect it throughout their height. The inclination of its columns (which also have

22


Column spacing




Optical refinements



22


Column spacing




Optical refinements



23

a clear entasis), is continued by architrave and triglyph frieze, the external walls of the cellaalso reflect it. Not one block of the building, not a single architrave or frieze element couldbe hewn as a simple rectilinear block. All architectural elements display slight variationsfrom the right angle, individually calculated for each block. As a side effect, each preservedbuilding block from the Parthenon, its columns, cella walls or entablature, can be assignedits exact position today. In spite of the immense extra effort entailed in this perfection, theParthenon, including its sculptural decoration, was completed in the record time of sixteenyears (447 to 431 BC).[21]

Reconstruction of original painted state on a scaffolding covering the Temple of Concordia, Akragas.

Decoration

Colouring

Greek temples were, as a rule, colourfully painted. Only three basic colours, with no shades,were used: white, blue and red, occasionally also black. The crepidoma, columns andarchitrave were mostly white. Only details, like the horizontally cut grooves at the bottom ofDoric capitals (anuli), or decorative elements of Doric architraves (e.g. taenia and guttae)might be painted in different colours. The frieze was clearly structured by use of colours. Ina Doric triglyph frieze, blue triglyphs alternated with red metopes, the latter often serving asa background for individually painted sculptures. Reliefs, ornaments and pedimentalsculptures were executed with a wider variety of colours and nuances. Recessed orotherwise shaded elements, like mutules or triglyph slits could be painted black. Paint wasmostly applied to parts that were not load-bearing, whereas structural parts like columns orthe horizontal elements of architrave and geison were left unpainted (if made of highquality limestone or marble) or covered with a white stucco.

Architectural sculpture

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Decoration

Colouring



23



Decoration

Colouring



24

A centaur struggling with a Lapith - Metope from the Parthenon.

Greek temples were often enhanced with figural decorations. especially the frieze areasoffered space for reliefs and relief slabs; the pedimental triangles often contained scenes offree-standing sculpture. In Archaic times, even the architrave could be relief-decorated onIonic temples, as demonstrated by the earlier temple of Apollo at Didyma. Here, thearchitrave corners bore gorgons, surrounded by lions and perhaps other animals. On theother hand, the Ionic temples of Asia Minor did not possess a separate frieze to allow spacefor relief decoration. The most common area for relief decoration remained the frieze,either as a typical Doric triglyph frieze, with sculpted metopes, or as a continuous frieze onCycladic and later on Eastern Ionic temples.

Metopes

The metopes, separate individual tableaux that could usually not contain more than threefigures each, usually depicted individual scenes belonging to a broader context. It is rare forscenes to be distributed over several metopes; instead, a general narrative context, usuallya battle, is created by the combination of multiple isolated scenes. Other thematicalcontexts could be depicted in this fashion. For example, the metopes at the front and backof the Temple of Zeus at Olympia depicted the Twelve Labours of Heracles. Individualmythological scenes, like the abduction of Europa or a cattle raid by the Dioscuri could bethus depicted, as could scenes from the voyage of the Argonauts or the Trojan War. Thebattles against the centaurs and Amazons, as well as the gigantomachy, all three depictedon the Parthenon, were recurring themes on many temples.

Part of the Parthenon Frieze, in situ on the west side of the naos.

Friezes

Battle scenes of all kinds were also a common theme of Ionic friezes, e.g. the Gigantomachyon the temple of Hekate at Lagina, or the Amazonomachy on the temple of Artemis atMagnesia on the Maeander, both from the late 2nd century BC. Complex compositionsvisualised the back and forth of fighting for the viewer. Such scenes were contrasted bymore quiet or peaceful ones: The Assembly of the gods and a procession dominate the 160m long frieze that is placed on top of the naos walls of the Parthenon.

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Metopes



Friezes


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Metopes



Friezes


25

Reconstruction of the west pediment on the Parthenon, Athens, Acropolis Museum.

Pediments

Special attention was paid to the decoration of the pedimental triangles, not least becauseof their size and frontal position. Originally, the pediments were filled with massive reliefs,e.g. shortly after 600 BC on the temple of Artemis at Kerkyra, where the west pediment istaken up by the gorgon Medusa and her children at the centre, flanked by panthers. Smallerscenes are displayed in the low corners of the pediments, e.g. Zeus with a thunderbolt,fighting a Giant. The pedimental sculpture of the first peripteral temple on the AthenianAcropolis, from circa 570 BC, is nearly free-standing sculpture, but remains dominated by acentral scene of fighting lions.

Statue of Apollo from the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.

Again, the corners contain separate scenes, including Heracles fighting Triton. After the mid-6th century BC, the compositional scheme changes: animal scenes are now placed in thecorners, soon they disappear entirely. The central composition is now taken over bymythological fights or by rows of human figures. The high regard in which the Greeks heldpedimental sculptures in demonstrated by the discovery of the sculptures from the LateArchaic temple of Apollo at Delphi, which had received a veritable burial after the temple'sdestruction in 373 BC.[22] The themes of the individual pedimental scenes are increasinglydominated by myths connected with the locality. Thus, the east pediment at Olympiadepicts the preparations for a chariot race between Pelops and Oinomaos, the mythical kingof nearby Pisa. It is the foundation myth of the sanctuary itself, displayed here in its mostprominent position. A similarly direct association is provided by the birth of Athena on theeast pediment of the Parthenon, or the struggle for Attica between her and Poseidon on itswest pediment. The pediment of the later temple of the Kabeiroi at Samothrace, late 3rdcentury BC, depicted a probably purely local legend, of no major interest to Greece as awhole.

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Pediments




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Pediments




26

Mounted nereid; corner acroterion from the temple of Asklepios at Epidauros.

Roofs

Further information: List of Greco-Roman roofs

The roofs were crowned by acroteria, originally in the form of elaborately painted clay disks,from the 6th century BC onwards as fully sculpted figures placed on the corners and ridgesof the pediments. They could depict bowls and tripods, griffins, spinxes, and especiallymythical figures and deities. For example, depictions of the running Nike crowned theAlcmaeonid temple of Apollo at Delphi, and mounted amazons formed the corner akroteriaof the temple of Asklepios in Epidauros. Pausanias (5, 10, 8) describes bronze tripodsforming the corner akroteria and statues of Nike by Paeonios forming the ridge ones on theTemple of Zeus at Olympia.

Columns

For the sake of completeness, a further potential bearer of sculptural decoration should bementioned here: the columnae celetae of the Ionic temples at Ephesos and Didyma. Here,already on the Archaic temples, the lower parts of the column shafts were decorated byprotruding relief decorations, originally depicting rows of figures, replaced on their lateClassical and Hellenistic successors with mythological scenes and battles.[23]

Function and design

Cult statue and cella

The functions of the temple mainly concentrated on the cella, the "dwelling" of the cultstatue. The elaboration of the temple's external aspects served to stress the dignity of thecella. In contrast, the cella itself was often finished with some moderation. The only sourceof light for cella and cult statue was the cella's frontal door. Thus, the interior only receiveda limited amount of light. Exceptions are found in the temples of Apollo at Bassae and ofAthena at Tegea, where the southern cella wall had a door, potentially allowing more lightinto the interior. A special situation applies to the temples of the Cyclades, where the roof

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Roofs



Columns


Function and design



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Roofs



Columns


Function and design



27

was usually of marble tiles. Marble roofs also covered the temple of Zeus at Olympia andthe Parthenon at Athens. As marble is not entirely opaque, those cellas may have beenpermeated with a distinctive diffused light. For cultic reasons, but also to use the light of therising sun, virtually all Greek temples were oriented to the east. Some exceptions existed,e.g. the west-facing temples of Artemis at Ephesos and at Magnesia on the Maeander, orthe north-south oriented temples of Arcadia. Such exceptions are probably connected withcult practice. Study of the soils around temple sites, is evidence that temple sites werechosen with regard to particular deities: for example, amid arable soils for the agriculturaldeities Dionysos and Demeter, and near rocky soils for the hunter gatherer deities Apolloand Artemis.[24]

Temple of Aphaia (Aegina): The interior of the cella was embellished with two tiers of Doric columns.

Refinements

The cult statue was often oriented towards an altar, placed axially in front of the temple. Topreserve this connection, the single row of columns often found along the central axis of thecella in early temples was replaced by two separate rows towards the sides. The central oneof the three aisles thereby created was often emphasised as the main one. The dignity ofthe central aisle of the cella could be underlined by the use of special elements of design.For example, the oldest known Corinthian capitals are from the naoi of Doric temples. Theimpressiveness of the internal aisle could be emphasised further by having a third row ofcolumns along the back, as is the case at the Parthenon and at the temple of Zeus in Nemea.The Parthenon cella, also had another impressive feature, namely two tiers of columns atopeach other, as did the temple of Aphaia on Aegina. The temple of Athena at Tegea showsanother variation, where the two column rows are indicated by half-columns protrudingfrom the side walls and crowned with Corinthian capitals. An early form of this solution canbe seen at Bassae, where the central column of the back portico remains free-stading, whilethe columns along the sides are in fact semi-columns connected with the walls by curvedprotrusions.

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Refinements


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Refinements


28

Plan and interior reconstruction of the Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae. Note the sideentrance to the cella and the single Corinthian column.

Restricted access

The cella of a Greek temple was entered only rarely and by very few visitors. Generally,entry to the room, except during important festivals or other special occasions, was limitedto the priests. Sometimes, the divine character of the cult image was stressed even more byremoving it further into a separate space within the cella, the adyton. Especially in MagnaGraecia, this tradition continued for a long time. Over the decades and centuries, numerousvotive offerings could be placed in the cella, giving it a museum-like character (Pausanias 5,17).

Opisthodomos

The back room of the temple, the opisthodomos, usually served as a storage space for cultequipment. It could also hold the temple treasury. For some time, the opisthodomus of theAthenian Parthenon contained the treasury of the Delian League, thus directly protected bythe deity. Pronaos and opisthodomos were often closed off from the peristasis by woodenbarriers or fences.

Peristasis

Like the cella, the peristasis could serve the display and storage of votives, often placedbetween the columns. In some cases, votive offerings could also be directly affixed to thecolumns, as is visible e.g. on the Temple of Hera at Olympia. The peristasis could also beused for cult processions, or simply as shelter from the elements, a function emphasised byVitruvius (III 3, 8f).

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Restricted access


Opisthodomos


Peristasis


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Restricted access


Opisthodomos


Peristasis


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Sponsors, construction and costs

Public and private sponsors

In the late 6th century, the Alcmaeonidae family strongly supported the rebuilding of the Temple ofApollo at Delphi, so as to improve their standing in Athens and Greece.

The sponsors of Greek temples usually belonged to one of two groups: on the one handpublic sponsors, including the bodies and institutions that administrated importantsanctuaries; on the other hand influential and affluent private sponsors, especiallyHellenistic kings. The financial needs were covered by income from taxes or special levies, orby the sale of raw materials like silver. The collection of donations also occurred, especiallyfor supra-regional sanctuaries like Delphi or Olympia. Hellenistic monarchs could appear asprivate donors in cities outside their immediate sphere of influence and sponsor publicbuildings, as exemplified by Antiochos IV, who ordered the rebuilding of the Olympieion atAthens. In such cases, the money came from the private treasury of the donor.[25]

Organization

Building contracts were advertised after a popular or elected assembly had passed therelevant motion. An appointed committee would choose the winner among the submittedplans. Afterwards, another committee would supervise the building process. Itsresponsibilities included the advertising and awarding of individual contracts, the practicalsupervision of the construction, the inspection and acceptance of completed parts, and thepaying of wages. The original advert contained all the information necessary to enable acontractor to make a realistic offer for completing the task. Contracts were normallyawarded to the competitor offering the most complete service for the cheapest price. In thecase of public buildings, the materials were normally provided by the public sponsor,exceptions were clarified in the contract. Contractors were usually only responsible forspecific parts of the overall construction, as most businesses were small. Originally, paymentwas by person and day, but from the 5th century onwards, payment by piece orconstruction stage became common.[26]

Costs

The costs could be immense. For example, surviving receipts show that in the rebuilding ofthe Artemision of Ephesos, a single column cost 40,000 drachmas. Considering that a worker

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Organization


Costs


29





Organization


Costs


30

was paid about two drachmas, that equals nearly 2 million Euro (on a modern westEuropean wage scale). Since the overall number of columns required for the design was 120,even this aspect of the building would have caused costs equivalent to those of majorprojects today (circa 360 million Euro)[27]

Temples of the different architectural orders

One of the criteria by which Greek temples are classified is the Classical order chosen astheir basic aesthetic principle. This choice, which was rarely entirely free, but normallydetermined by tradition and local habit, would lead to widely differing rules of design.According to the three major orders, a basic distinction can be made between the Doric, theIonic and the Corinthian Temple.

Doric temples

The Temple of Hephaistos in Athens, the best-preserved Doric temple in Greece.

The modern image of Greek temple architecture is strongly influenced by the numerousreasonably well-preserved temples of the Doric order. Especially the ruins of Southern Italyand Sicily were accessible to western travellers quite early in the development of Classicalstudies, e.g. the temples at Paestum, Akragas or Segesta,[28] but the Hephaisteion and theParthenon of Athens also influenced scholarship and Neoclassical architecture from an earlypoint onwards.

Beginnings

The beginnings of Greek temple construction in the Doric order can be traced to early in the7th century BC. With the transition to stone architecture around 600 BC, the order was fullydeveloped; from then on, only details were changed, developed and refined, mostly in thecontext of solving the challenges posed by the design and construction of monumentaltemples.

First monumental temples

Apart from early forms, occasionally still with apsidal backs and hipped roofs, the first 100-foot (30 m) peripteral temples occur quite soon, before 600 BC. An example is Temple C atThermos, circa 625 BC,[29] a 100-foot-long (30 m) hekatompedos, surrounded by a peristasisof 5 x 15 columns, its cella divided in two aisles by a central row of columns. Its entirely

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Doric temples



Beginnings




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Doric temples



Beginnings




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Doric entablature is indicated by painted clay plaques, probably early example of metopes,and clay triglyphs.[30] It appears to be the case that all temples erected within the spheres ofinfluence of Corinth and Argos in the 7th century BC were Doric peripteroi. The earlieststone columns did not display the simple squatness of the high and late Archaic specimens,but rather mirror the slenderness of their wooden predecessors. Already around 600 BC, thedemand of viewability from all sides was applied to the Doric temple, leading to themirroring of the frontal pronaos by an opisthodomos at the back. This early demandcontinued to affect Doric temples especially in the Greek motherland. Neither the Ionictemples, nor the Doric specimens in Magna Graecia followed this principle[31] The increasingmonumentalisation of stone buildings, and the transfer of the wooden roof construction tothe level of the geison removed the fixed relationship between the naos and the peristasis.This relationship between the axes of walls and columns, almost a matter of course insmaller structures, remained undefined and without fixed rules for nearly a century: theposition of the naos "floated" within the peristasis.

Doric capital in the Heraion of Olympia.

Stone-built temples

The Heraion at Olympia (c. 600 BC)

The Heraion of Olympia[32] (circa 600 BC) exemplifies the transition from wood to stoneconstruction. This building, initially constructed entirely of wood and mudbrick, had itswooden columns gradually replaced with stone ones over time. Like a museum of Doriccolumns and Doric capitals, it contains examples of all chronological phases, up to theRoman period. One of the columns in the opisthodomos remained wooden at least until the2nd century AD, when Pausanias described it. This 6 by 16 column temple already called fora solution to the Doric corner conflict. It was achieved through a reduction of the cornerintercolumniations the so-called corner contraction. The Heraion is most advanced inregards to the relationship between naos and peristasis, as it uses the solution that becamecanonical decades later, a linear axis running along the external faces of the outer naos wallsand through the central axis of the associated columns. Its differentiation between widerintercolumnia on the narrow sides and narrower ones on the long sides was also aninfluential feature, as was the positioning of the columns within the cella, correspondingwith those on the outside, a feature not repeated until the construction of the temple atBassae 150 years later.[33]

Temple of Artemis, Kerkyra (early 6th century)

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Stone-built temples




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Stone-built temples




32

The oldest Doric temple entirely built of stone is represented by the early 6th century BCArtemis Temple in Kerkyra (modern Corfu).[34] All parts of this building are bulky and heavy,its columns reach a height of barely five times their bottom diameter and were very closelyspaced with an intercolumniation of a single column width. The individual members of itsDoric orders all differ considerably from the later canon, although all essential Doricfeatures are present. Its ground plan of 8 by 17 columns, probably pseudoperipteral, isunusual.

Archaic Olympieion, Athens

Among the Doric temples, the Peisistratid Olympieion at Athens has a special position.[35]

Although this building was never completed, its architect apparently attempted to adapt theIonic dipteros. Column drums built into the later foundations indicate that it was originallyplanned as a Doric temple. Nonetheless, its ground plan follows the Ionic examples ofSamos so closely that it would be hard to reconcile such a solution with a Doric triglyphfrieze. After the expulsion of Hippias in 510 BC, work on this structure was stopped:Democratic Athens had no desire to continue a monument of tyrannical self-aggrandisation.

Classical period: canonisation

Apart from this exception and some examples in the more experimental poleis of GreaterGreece, the Classical Doric temple type remained the peripteros. Its perfection was a priorityof artistic endeavour throughout the Classical period.

Ruin of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.

Temple of Zeus, Olympia (460 BC)

The canonical solution was found fairly soon by the architect Libon of Elis, who erected theTemple of Zeus at Olympia around 460 BC. With its 6 x 13 columns or 5 x 12intercolumniations, this temple was designed entirely rationally. Its column bays (axis toaxis) measured 16 feet (4.9 m), a triglyph + metope 8 feet (2.4 m), a mutulus plus theadjacent space (via) 4 feet (1.2 m), the tile width of the marble roof was 2 feet (0.61 m). Itscolumns are powerful, with only a slight entasis; the echinus of the capitals is already nearlylinear at 45°. All of the superstructure is affected by curvature. The cella measures exactly 3x 9 column distances (axis to axis), its external wall faces are aligned with the axes of theadjacent columns.

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Other canonical Classical temples

6 x 13 columns, the Classical proportion, is taken up by numerous temples, e.g. the Templeof Apollo on Delos (circa 470 BC), the Temple of Hephaistos at Athens and the temple ofPoseidon on Cape Sounion.[36] A slight variation, with 6 x 12 columns or 5 x 11intercolumniations occurs as frequently.

The Parthenon (450 BC)

Plan of the Parthenon, note triple colonnade in the cella and pillared room at back.

The Parthenon[37] maintains the same proportion at a larger scale of 8 x 17 columns, butfollows the same principles. In spite of the eight columns on its front, the temple is a pureperipteros, its external cella walls align with the axes of the 2nd and 7th columns. In otherregards, the Parthenon is distinguished as an exceptional example among the mass of Greekperipteroi by many distinctive aesthetic solutions in detail. For example, the antae ofpronaos

The Parthenon.

and opisthodomos are shortened so as to form simple pillars. Instead of longer antae, thereare prostyle colonnades inside the peristasis on the front and back, reflecting Ionic habits.The execution of the naos, with a western room containing four columns, is alsoexceptional. The Parthenon's Archaic predecessor already contained such a room. Allmeasurements in the Parthenon are determined by the proportion 4:9. It determinescolumn width to column distance, width to length of the stylobate, and of the naos without

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The Parthenon.


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The Parthenon.


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antae. The temple's width to height up to the geison is determined by the reverseproportion 9:4, the same proportion squared, 81:16, determines temple length to height. Allof this mathematical rigour is relaxed and loosened by the optical refinements mentionedabove, which affect the whole building, from layer to layer, and element to element. 92sculpted metopes decorate its triglyph frieze: centauromachy, amazonomachy andgigantomachy are its themes. The external walls of the naos are crowned with a figuralfrieze surrounding the entire cella and depicting the Panathenaic procession as well as theAssembly of the Gods. Large format figures decorate the pediments on the narrow sides.This conjunction of strict principles and elaborate refinements makes the Parthenon theparadigmatic Classical temple. The Temple of Hephaistos at Athens, erected shortly afterthe Parthenon, uses the same aesthetic and proportional principles, without adhering asclosely to the 4:9 proportion.[38]

The temple of Zeus at Nemea.

Late Classical and Hellenistic: changing proportions

In the 4th century BC, a few Doric temples were erected with 6 x 15 or 6 x 14 columns,probably referring to local Archaic predecessors, e.g. the Temple of Zeus in Nemea[39] andthat of Athena in Tegea.[40] Generally, Doric temples followed a tendency to become lighterin their superstructures. Columns became narrower, intercolumniations wider. This shows agrowing adjustment to the proportion and weight of Ionic temples, mirrored by aprogressive tendency among Ionic temples to become somewhat heavier. In the light of thismutual influence it is not surprising that in the late 4th century BC temple of Zeus at Nemea,the front is emphasised by a pronaos two intercolumniations deep, while the opisthodomosis suppressed.[41] Frontality is a key feature of Ionic temples. The emphasis on the pronaosalready occurred in the slightly older temple of Athena at Tegea, but there it was repeatedin the opisthodomos. Both temples continued the tendency towards more richly equippedinteriors, in both cases with engaged or full columns of the Corinthian order.

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The increasing reduction of the number of columns along the long sides, clearly visible onIonic temples, is mirrored in Doric constructions. A small temple at Kournó has a peristasisof merely 6 x 7 columns, a stylobate of only 8 x 10 m and corners executed as pilasterstowards the front.[42] The peristasis of monumental Doric temples is merely hinted at here;the function as a simple canopy for the shrine of the sult statue is clear

Doric temples in Magna Graecia

Temple of Apollo at Paestum.

Sicily and Southern Italy hardly participated in these developments. Here, most templeconstruction took place during the 6th and 5th centuries BC.[43] Later, the Western Greeksshowed a pronounced tendency to develop unusual architectural solutions, more or lessunthinkable in the mother poleis of their colonies. For example, there are two examples oftemples with uneven column numbers at the front, Temple of Hera I at Paestum[31] andTemple of Apollo A at Metapontum.[44] Both temples had fronts of nine columns.

Temple G, Selinus, with well-defined adyton.

The technical possibilities of the western Greeks, which had progressed beyond those in themotherland, permitted many deviations. For example, innovations regarding theconstruction of the entablature developed in the west allowed the spanning of much widerspaces than before, leading to some very deep peristaseis and broad naoi. The peristasisoften had a depth of two column distances, e.g. at Temple of Hera I, Paestum, and templesC, F and G at Selinus,[45] classifying them as pseudodipteroi. The opisthodomos only played asubsidiary role, but did occur sometimes, e.g. at the temple of Poseidon in Paestum. Muchmore frequently, the temples included a separate room at the back end of the cella,entrance to which was usually forbidden, the adyton. In some cases, the adyton was a free-

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standing structure within the cella, e.g. temple G in Selinus. If possible, columns inside thecella were avoided, allowing for open roof constructions of up to 13 m width.

Model of the Olympieion at Akragas.

The largest such structure was the Olympieion of Akragas, an 8 x 17 column peripteros, butin many regards an absolutely "un-Greek" structure, equipped with details such as engaged,figural pillars (Telamons), and a peristasis partially closed off by walls.[46] With externaldimensions of 56 x 113 m, it was the largest Doric building ever to be completed. If thecolonies showed remarkable independence and will to experiment in basic terms, they didso even more in terms of detail. For example, the lower surfaces of Doric geisa could bedecorated with coffers instead of mutuli.

Although a strong tendency to emphasize the front, e.g. through the addition of ramps orstairs with up to eight steps (at Temple C in Selinus), or a pronaos depth of 3.5 columndistances (temple of Apollo at Syracuse)[47] had been become a key principle of design, thiswas relativised by the broadening of column distances on the long sides, e.g. Temple of HeraI at Paestum. Only in the colonies could the Doric corner conflict be ignored. If South Italianarchitects tried to solve it, they used a variety of solutions: broadening of the cornermetopes or triglyphs, variation of column distance or metopes. In some cases, differentsolutions were used on the broad and narrow sides of the same building.

Typical proportions of the Ionic order.

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Ionic temples

Origins

For the early period, before the 6th century BC, the term Ionic temple can, at best,designate a temple in the Ionian areas of settlement. No fragments of architecturebelonging to the Ionic order have been found from this time. Nonetheless, some earlytemples in the area already indicate the rational system that was to characterise the Ionicsystem later on, e.g. the Heraion II of Samos.[48] Thus, even at an early point, the axes of thecella walls aligned with the column axes, whereas in Doric architecture, the external wallfaces do so. The early temples also show no concern for the typical Doric feature ofviewability from all sides, they regularly lack an opisthodomos; the peripteros only becamewidespread in the area in the 4th century BC. In contrast, from an early point, Ionic templesstress the front by using double porticos. Elongated peristaseis became a determiningelement. At the same time, the Ionic temples were characterised by their tendency to usevaried and richly decorated surfaces, as well as the widespread use of light-shade contrasts.

Monumental Ionic temples

The Heraion of Samos

As soon as the Ionic order becomes recognisable in temple architecture, it is increased tomonumental sizes. The temple in the Heraion of Samos, erected by Rhoikos around 560 BC,is the first known dipteros, with outside dimensions of 52 x 105 m.[49] A double portico of 8 x21 columns enclosed the naos, the back even had ten columns. The front used differingcolumn distances, with a wider central opening. In proportion to the bottom diameter, thecolumns reached three times the height of a Doric counterpart. 40 flutings enriched thecomplex surface structure of the column shafts. Samian column bases were decorated witha sequence of horizontal flutings, but in spite of this playfulness they weighed 1,500 kg apiece. The capitals of this structure were probably still entirely of wood, as was theentablature. Ionic volute capitals survive from the outer peristasis of the later rebuilding byPolycrates. The columns of the inner peristasis had leaf decoration and no volutes.

Cycladic Ionic

In the Cyclades, there were early temples entirely built of marble. Volute capitals have notbeen found associated with these, but their marble entablatures belonged to the Ionicorder.[50]

The Artemision of Ephesos

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Plan of the Artemision at Ephesos.

Roughly beginning with the erection of the older Artemision of Ephesos around 550 BC[51]

the quantity of archaeological remains of Ionic temples increases. The Artemision wasplanned as a dipteros, its architect Theodoros had been one of the builders of the SamianHeraion. With a substructure of 55 x 115 m, the Artemision outscaled all precedents. Itscella was exceuted as unroofed internal peristyle courtyard, the so-called sekos. Thebuilding was entirely of marble. The temple was considered as one of the seven wonders ofthe ancient world, which may be justified, considering the efforts involved in itsconstruction.

Columna caelata from the Artemision.

The columns stood on ephesian bases, 36 of them were decorated with life-sized friezes ofhuman figures at the bottom of the shaft, the so-called columnae caelatae.[52] The columnshad between 40 and 48 flutings, some of them cut to alternate between a wider and anarrower fluting. The oldest marble architraves of Greek architecture, found at theArtemision, also spanned the widest distances ever achieved in pure stone. The middlearchitrave block was 8.74 m long and weighed 24 metric tons; it had to be lifted to its finalposition, 20 m above ground, with a system of pulleys. Like its precedents, the temple useddifferentiated column widths in the front, and had a higher number of columns at the back.According to ancient sources, Kroisos was one of the sponsors. An inscription referring to hissponsorship was indeed found on one of the columns. The temple was burnt down byHerostratos in 356 BC and reerected soon thereafter. For the replacement, a crepidoma of

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ten or more steps was erected. Older Ionic temples normally lacked a specific visiblesubstructure. This emphasised basis had to be balanced out be a heightened entablature,producing not only a visual contrast to, but also a major weight upon the slender columns.

Temple of Apollo at Didyma

Remains of the temple of Apollo at Didyma.

The temple of Apollo at Didyma near Miletus, begun around 540 BC, was another dipteroswith open internal courtyard[53] The interior was structured with powerful pilasters, theirrhythm reflecting that of the external peristasis. The columns, with 36 flutings, wereexecuted as columnae caelatae with figural decoration, like those at Ephesos. Constructionceased around 500 BC, but was restarted in 331 BC and finally completed in the 2nd centuryBC. The enormous costs involved may have been one of the reasons for the long period ofconstruction. The building was the first Ionic temple to follow the Attic tradition of uniformcolumn distances, the frontal diffentiation was not practised any more.

Temple of Athena Polias, Priene

Ruins of the temple of Athena at Priene

Ionic peripteroi were usually somewhat smaller and shorter in their dimensions than Doricones. E.g., the temple of Zeus at Labraunda had only 6 × 8 columns,[54] the temple ofAphrodite in Samothrace only 6 × 9.[55] The temple of Athena Polias at Priene,[56] alreadyconsidered in antiquity as the classical example of an Ionic temple, has partially survived. Itwas the first monumental peripteros of Ionia, erected between 350 and 330 BC by Pytheos.It is based on a 6-by-6-foot (1.8 m × 1.8 m) grid (the exact dimensions of its plinths). Thetemple had 6 × 11 columns, i.e. a proportion of 5:10 or 1:2 intercolumnia. Walls and

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columns were aligned axially, according to Ionic tradition. The peristasis was of equal depthon all sides, eliminating the usual emphasis on the front, an opisthodomos, integrated intothe back of the cella, is the first proper example in Ionic architecture. The evident rational-mathematical aspect to the design suits Ionic Greek culture, with its strong tradition ofnatural philosophy. Pytheos was to be of major influence far beyond his lifetime.Hermogenes, who probably came from Priene, was a deserving successor[according to whom?] andachieved the final flourish of Ionic architecture around 200 BC.

The Artemision of Magnesia

Capital from the Artemision of Magnesia on the Maeander (Berlin, Pergamonmuseum).

One of the projects led by Hermogenes was the Artemision of Magnesia on the Maeander,one of the first pseudodipteroi.[57] (other early pseudodipteroi include the temple ofAphrodite at Messa on Lesbos, belonging to the age of Hermogenes or earlier,[58] the templeof Apollo Sminthaios on Chryse[59] and the temple of Apollo at Alabanda.[60] Thearrangement of the pseudodipteros, omitting the interior row of columns while maintaininga peristasis with the width of two column distances, produces a massively broadenedportico, comparable to the contemporaneous hall architecture. The grid of the temple ofMagnesia was based on a 12-by-12-foot (3.7 m × 3.7 m) square. The peristasis wassurrounded by 8 × 15 columns or 7 × 14 intercolumnia, i.e. a 1:2 proportion. The naosconsisted of a pronaos of four column depths, a four column cella, and a 2 columnopisthodomos. Above the architrave of the peristasis, there was a figural frieze of 137 mlength, depicting the amazonomachy. Above it lay the dentil, the Ionic geison and the sima.

The Erechtheion at Athens.

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Attic Ionic

Although Athens and Attica were also ethnically Ionian, the Ionic order was of minorimportance in this area. The Temple of Nike Aptera on the Acropolis, a small amphiprostyletemple completed around 420 BC, with Ionic columns on plinthless Attic bases, a triple-layered architrave and a figural frieze, but without the typical Ionic dentil, is notable. Theeast and north halls of the Erechtheion, completed in 406 BC, follow the same succession ofelements.

Epidauros

An innovative Ionic temple was that of Asklepios in Epidaurus, one of the first of thepseudoperipteros type. This small ionic prostyle temple had engaged columns along thesides and back, the peristasis was thus reduced to a mere hint of a full portico facade.[61]

Magna Graecia

There is very little evidence of Ionic temples in Magna Graecia. One of the few exceptions isthe early Classical Temple D, an 8 x 20 columnn peripteros, at Metapontum. Its architectcombined the dentil, typical of Asia Minor, with an Attic frieze, thus proving that thecolonies were quite capable of partaking in the developments of the motherland.[62] A smallIonic Hellenistic prostyle temple was found on the Poggetto San Nicola at Agrigento.

Corinthian temples

The Olympieion at Athens.

Beginnings

The youngest of the three Classical Greek orders, the Corinthian order came to be used forthe external design of Greek temples quite late. After it had proved its adequacy, e.g. on amausoleum of at modern-day Belevi (near Ephesos), it appears to have found increasingpopularity in the 2nd half of the 3rd century BC. Early examples probably include theSerapeum of Alexandria and a temple at Hermopolis Magna, both erected by Ptolemaios III.A small temple of Athena Limnastis at Messene, definitely Corinthian, is only attestedthrough drawings by early travellers and very scarce fragments. It probably dates to the late3rd century BC.[63]

Examples

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Attic Ionic


Epidauros


Magna Graecia


Corinthian temples


Beginnings


Examples

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Attic Ionic


Epidauros


Magna Graecia


Corinthian temples


Beginnings


Examples

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Hellenistic Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

The first dateable and well-preserved presence of the Corinthian temple is the Hellenisticrebuilding of the Olympieion of Athens, planned and started between 175 and 146 BC. Thismighty dipteros with its 110 × 44 m substructure and 8 × 20 columns was to be one of thelargest Corinthian temples ever. Donated by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, it combined allelements of the asian/Ionic order with the Corinthian capital. Its Asian elements and itsconception as a dipteros made the temple an exception in Athens.[64]

Olba

Around the middle of the 2nd century BC, a 6 × 12 column Corinthian peripteros was built inOlba-Diokaisarea in Rugged Cilicia.[65] Its columns, mostly still upright, stand on Attic baseswithout plinths, exceptional for the period. The 24 flutings of the columns are only indicatedby facets in the lower third. Each of the Corinthian capitals is made of three separate parts,an exceptional form. The entablature of the temple was probably in the Doric order, as issuggested by fragments of mutuli scattered among the ruins. All of these details suggest anAlexandrian workshop, since Alexandria showed the greatest tendency to combine Doricentablatures with Corinthian capitals and to do without the plinth under Attic bases.[66]

Temple of Hekate at Lagina

A further plan option is shown by the temple of Hekate at Lagina, a small pseudoperipterosof 8 × 11 columns.[67] Its architectural members are entirely in keeping with the Asian/Ioniccanon. Its distinctive feature, a rich figural frieze, makes this building, erected around 100BC, an architectural gem. Further late Greek temples in the Corinthian order are known e.g.at Mylasa[68] and, on the middle gymnasium terrace at Pergamon.[69]

Distinctive uses of Corinthian temples, influence

The Maison Carrée at Nîmes (France), from 16 BC, a typical Roman temple, is a Corinthian hexaystylepseudoperipteros.

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Olba






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Olba






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Pandyan Kingdom coin depicting a temple between hill symbols and elephant, Pandyas, Sri Lanka,1st century CE.

The few Greek temples in the Corinthian order are almost always exceptional in form orground plan and are initially usually an expression of royal patronage. The Corinthian orderpermitted a considerable increase of the material and technical effort invested in a building,which made its use attractive for the purposes of royals self-aggrandisement. The demise ofthe Hellenistic monarchies and the increasing power of Rome and her allies placedmercantile elites and sanctuary administrations in the positions of building sponsors. Theconstruction of Corinthian temples became a typical expression of self-confidence andindependence.[70] As an element of Roman architecture, the Corinthian temple came to bewidely distributed in all of the Graeco-Roman world, especially in Asia Minor, until the lateImperial period.

Acropolis

An acropolis (Greek: Ακρόπολις; akros, akron,[1] edge, extremity + polis, city; plural:acropoleis or acropolises) is a settlement, especially a citadel, built upon an area of elevatedground—frequently a hill with precipitous sides, chosen for purposes of defense. In manyparts of the world, acropoleis became the nuclei of large cities of classical antiquity, such asancient Rome, which in more recent times grew up on the surrounding lower ground, suchas modern Rome.

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Acropolis


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Acropolis


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The Acropolis of Athens as seen from Mount Lycabettus (northeast). The wooded Hill of theNymphs is half-visible on its right, and Philopappos Hill on the left, immediately behind.Philopappos Monument stands where, in the distant background, the coast of Peloponnesemeet the waters of the Saronic Gulf.

The word acropolis literally in Greek means "city on the extremity" and though associatedprimarily with the Greek cities Athens, Argos, Thebes, and Corinth (with its Acrocorinth),may be applied generically to all such citadels, including Rome, Jerusalem, Celtic Bratislava,many in Asia Minor, or even Castle Rock in Edinburgh. An example in Ireland is the Rock ofCashel. Acropolis is also the term used by archaeologists and historians to the urban Castroculture settlements located in Northwestern Iberian hilltops.

The most famous example is the Acropolis of Athens,[2] which, by reason of its historicalassociations and the several famous buildings erected upon it (most notably the Parthenon),is known without qualification as the Acropolis. Although originating in the mainland ofGreece, use of the acropolis model quickly spread to Greek colonies such as the Dorian Latoon Crete during the Archaic Period.

Because of its classical Greco-Roman style, the ruins of Mission San Juan Capistrano's GreatStone Church in California, United States has been called the "American Acropolis".[citation

needed]

Other parts of the world developed other names for the high citadel or alcázar, which oftenreinforced a naturally strong site. In Central Italy, many small rural communes still cluster atthe base of a fortified habitation known as La Rocca of the commune.

The term acropolis is also used to describe the central complex of overlapping structures,such as plazas and pyramids, in many Maya cities, including Tikal and Copán.

AgoraFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the ancient marketplace. For other uses, see Agora (disambiguation).

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Stoa of the ancient agora of Thessaloniki

Agora of Tyre

The agora (Ancient Greek: Ἀγορά, Agorá) was a central spot in ancient Greek city-states. Theliteral meaning of the word is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ofathletic, artistic, spiritual and political life of the city.[1] The Ancient Agora of Athens was thebest-known example, birthplace of democracy.

Origins

Early in Greek history (10th century–8th century BC), free-born male land-owners who werecitizens would gather in the agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling kingor council. Later, the agora also served as a marketplace where merchants kept stalls orshops to sell their goods amid colonnades.

From this twin function of the agora as a political and commercial space came the twoGreek verbs ἀγοράζω, agorázō, "I shop", and ἀγορεύω, agoreúō, "I speak in public". Theword agoraphobia, the fear of open spaces or public situations, derives from the meaning ofagora as a gathering place.

The Forum was the Roman equivalent of the agora and the word is often used in older textsto refer to Greek agoras.

The pattern of the agora, is still present in the vast majority of all Mediterranean social andurban structures. This main square tends to be heavily used all year round. This in contrastwith, for example, colder places in Europe due to weather conditions.

Stoa (/ˈstoʊə/; plural, stoas,[1] stoai,[1] or stoae /ˈstoʊ.iː/[2]) in ancient Greek architecture;covered walkways or porticos, commonly for public usage. Early stoas were open at the

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Agora of Tyre


Origins






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Agora of Tyre


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entrance with columns, usually of the Doric order, lining the side of the building; theycreated a safe, enveloping, protective atmosphere.

Later examples were built as two stories, with a roof supporting the inner colonnades whereshops or sometimes offices were located. They followed Ionic architecture. These buildingswere open to the public; merchants could sell their goods, artists could display theirartwork, and religious gatherings could take place. Stoas usually surrounded themarketplaces of large cities.

The name of the Stoic school of philosophy derives from "stoa".

Theatre of ancient GreeceFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Ancient Greek theatre)


For other uses of "Greek Theatre", see Greek theatre (disambiguation).

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Theatre mask, 1st century BC

[show]

v t e

History of theatre

The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture thatflourished in ancient Greece between 550 BC and 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, whichbecame a significant cultural, political, and military power during this period, was its centre,where it was institutionalised as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honoured thegod Dionysus. Tragedy (late 6th century BC), comedy (486 BC), and the satyr play were thethree dramatic genres to emerge there. Athens exported the festival to its numerouscolonies and allies in order to promote a common cultural identity.

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[show]

v t e

History of theatre


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[show]

v t e

History of theatre


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Contents

1 Etymology 2 Origins 3 New inventions during the Classical Period 4 Hellenistic period 5 Characteristics of the buildings

o 5.1 Scenic elementso 5.2 Masks

5.2.1 Masks and ritual 5.2.2 Mask details 5.2.3 Mask functions 5.2.4 Other costume details

6 See also 7 References 8 Additional Literature 9 External links

Etymology

The word τραγῳδία (tragoidia), from which the word "tragedy" is derived, is a compound oftwo Greek words: τράγος (tragos) or "goat" and ᾠδή (ode) meaning "song", from ἀείδειν(aeidein), "to sing".[1] This etymology indicates a link with the practices of the ancientDionysian cults. It is impossible, however, to know with certainty how these fertility ritualsbecame the basis for tragedy and comedy. [2]

OriginsMain article: Greek tragedy

Martin Litchfield West speculates that early studies in Greek religion and theatre, which areinter-related, especially the Orphic Mysteries, was heavily influenced by Central Asianshamanistic practices. A large number of Orphic graffiti unearthed in Olbia seem to testifythat the colony was one major point of contact.[3] Eli Rozik[4] points out that the shaman, assuch, is seen as a prototypical actor influencing the rituals of early Greek theatre.[5]

Panoramic view of the theatre at Epidaurus.

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Contents





Etymology





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Contents





Etymology





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Greek tragedy as we know it was created in Athens around the time of 532 BC, whenThespis was the earliest recorded actor. Being a winner of the first theatrical contest held atAthens, he was the exarchon, or leader,[6] of the dithyrambs performed in and aroundAttica, especially at the rural Dionysia. By Thespis' time the dithyramb had evolved far awayfrom its cult roots. Under the influence of heroic epic, Doric choral lyric and the innovationsof the poet Arion, it had become a narrative, ballad-like genre. Because of these, Thespis isoften called the "Father of Tragedy"; however, his importance is disputed, and Thespis issometimes listed as late as 16th in the chronological order of Greek tragedians; thestatesman Solon, for example, is credited with creating poems in which characters speakwith their own voice, and spoken performances of Homer's epics by rhapsodes werepopular in festivals prior to 534 BC.[7] Thus, Thespis's true contribution to drama is unclear atbest, but his name has been immortalized as a common term for performer—a "thespian."

The dramatic performances were important to the Athenians – this is made clear by thecreation of a tragedy competition and festival in the City Dionysia. This was organizedpossibly to foster loyalty among the tribes of Attica (recently created by Cleisthenes). Thefestival was created roughly around 508 BC. While no drama texts exist from the sixthcentury BC, we do know the names of three competitors besides Thespis: Choerilus,Pratinas, and Phrynichus. Each is credited with different innovations in the field.

More is known about Phrynichus. He won his first competition between 511 BC and 508 BC.He produced tragedies on themes and subjects later exploited in the golden age such as theDanaids, Phoenician Women and Alcestis. He was the first poet we know of to use ahistorical subject – his Fall of Miletus, produced in 493-2, chronicled the fate of the town ofMiletus after it was conquered by the Persians. Herodotus reports that "the Athenians madeclear their deep grief for the taking of Miletus in many ways, but especially in this: whenPhrynichus wrote a play entitled “The Fall of Miletus” and produced it, the whole theatrefell to weeping; they fined Phrynichus a thousand drachmas for bringing to mind a calamitythat affected them so personally, and forbade the performance of that play forever."[8] He isalso thought to be the first to use female characters (though not female performers).[9]

Until the Hellenistic period, all tragedies were unique pieces written in honour of Dionysusand played only once, so that today we primarily have the pieces that were stillremembered well enough to have been repeated when the repetition of old tragediesbecame fashionable (the accidents of survival, as well as the subjective tastes of theHellenistic librarians later in Greek history, also played a role in what survived from thisperiod).

New inventions during the Classical Period

After the Great Destruction of Athens by the Persian Empire in 485 BC, the town andacropolis were rebuilt, and theatre became formalized and an even greater part of Athenianculture and civic pride. This century is normally regarded as the Golden Age of Greek drama.The centre-piece of the annual Dionysia, which took place once in winter and once in spring,was a competition between three tragic playwrights at the Theatre of Dionysus. Eachsubmitted three tragedies, plus a satyr play (a comic, burlesque version of a mythologicalsubject). Beginning in a first competition in 486 BC, each playwright also submitted acomedy.[10] Aristotle claimed that Aeschylus added the second actor, and that Sophocles

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introduced the third. Apparently the Greek playwrights never used more than three actorsbased on what is known about Greek theatre.[11]

Tragedy and comedy were viewed as completely separate genres, and no plays ever mergedaspects of the two. Satyr plays dealt with the mythological subject matter of the tragedies,but in a purely comedic manner.

Hellenistic period

The power of Athens declined following its defeat in the Peloponnesian War against theSpartans. From that time on, the theatre started performing old tragedies again. Althoughits theatrical traditions seem to have lost their vitality, Greek theatre continued into theHellenistic period (the period following Alexander the Great's conquests in the fourthcentury BC). However, the primary Hellenistic theatrical form was not tragedy but 'NewComedy', comic episodes about the lives of ordinary citizens. The only extant playwrightfrom the period is Menander. One of New Comedy's most important contributions was itsinfluence on Roman comedy, an influence that can be seen in the surviving works of Plautusand Terence.

Characteristics of the buildings

The Ancient Theatre of Delphi.

The plays had a chorus from 12 to 15[12] people, who performed the plays in verseaccompanied by music, beginning in the morning and lasting until the evening. Theperformance space was a simple circular space, the orchestra, where the chorus danced andsang. The orchestra, which had an average diameter of 78 feet, was situated on a flattenedterrace at the foot of a hill, the slope of which produced a natural theatron, literally"watching place". Later, the term "theater" came to be applied to the whole area oftheatron, orchestra, and skené. The choregos was the head chorus member who could enterthe story as a character able to interact with the characters of a play.

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A drawing of an ancient theatre. Terms are in Greek language and Latin letters.

The theatres were originally built on a very large scale to accommodate the large number ofpeople on stage, as well as the large number of people in the audience, up to fourteenthousand. Mathematics played a large role in the construction of these theatres, as theirdesigners had to be able to create acoustics in them such that the actors' voices could beheard throughout the theatre, including the very top row of seats. The Greeks'understanding of acoustics compares very favourably with the current state of the art. Thefirst seats in Greek theatres (other than just sitting on the ground) were wooden, butaround 499 BC the practice of inlaying stone blocks into the side of the hill to createpermanent, stable seating became more common. They were called the "prohedria" andreserved for priests and a few most respected citizens.

In 465 BC, the playwrights began using a backdrop or scenic wall, which hung or stoodbehind the orchestra, which also served as an area where actors could change theircostumes. It was known as the skênê (from which the word "scene" derives). The death of acharacter was always heard behind the skênê, for it was considered inappropriate to show akilling in view of the audience.[citation needed] Though there is scholarly argument that death inGreek tragedy was portrayed off stage primarily because of dramatic considerations, andnot prudishness or sensitivity of the audience. [13] In 425 BC a stone scene wall, called aparaskenia, became a common supplement to skênê in the theatres. A paraskenia was along wall with projecting sides, which may have had doorways for entrances and exits. Justbehind the paraskenia was the proskenion. The proskenion ("in front of the scene") wasbeautiful, and was similar to the modern day proscenium.

Greek theatres also had tall arched entrances called parodoi or eisodoi, through whichactors and chorus members entered and exited the orchestra. By the end of the 5th centuryBC, around the time of the Peloponnesian War, the skênê, the back wall, was two storieshigh. The upper story was called the episkenion. Some theatres also had a raised speakingplace on the orchestra called the logeion.

Structure

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Structure

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Structure

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Column and lintel

Parts of an Ancient Greek temple of the Doric Order:1. Tympanum, 2. Acroterium, 3. Sima 4. Cornice 5. Mutules 7. Freize 8. Triglyph 9. Metope 10. Regula11. Gutta 12. Taenia 13. Architrave 14. Capital 15. Abacus 16. Echinus 17. Column 18. Fluting 19.Stylobate

The architecture of Ancient Greece is of a trabeated or "post and lintel" form, i.e. it iscomposed of upright beams (posts) supporting horizontal beams (lintels). Although theexistent buildings of the era are constructed in stone, it is clear that the origin of the stylelies in simple wooden structures, with vertical posts supporting beams which carried aridged roof. The posts and beams divided the walls into regular compartments which couldbe left as openings, or filled with sun dried bricks, lathes or straw and covered with claydaub or plaster. Alternately, the spaces might be filled with rubble. It is likely that manyearly houses and temples were constructed with an open porch or "pronaos" above whichrose a low pitched gable or pediment.[7]

The earliest temples, built to enshrine statues of deities, were probably of woodenconstruction, later replaced by the more durable stone temples many of which are still inevidence today. The signs of the original timber nature of the architecture were maintainedin the stone buildings.[23]

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Column and lintel




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Column and lintel




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A few of these temples are very large, with several, such as the Temple of Zeus Olympus andthe Olympieion at Athens being well over 300 feet in length, but most were less than halfthis size. It appears that some of the large temples began as wooden constructions in whichthe columns were replaced piecemeal as stone became available. This, at least was theinterpretation of the historian Pausanias looking at the Temple of Hera at Olympia in the2nd century AD.[2]

The stone columns are made of a series of solid stone cylinders or “drums” that rest on eachother without mortar, but were sometimes centred with a bronze pin. The columns arewider at the base than at the top, tapering with an outward curve known as “entasis”. Eachcolumn has a capital of two parts, the upper, on which rests the lintels, being square andcalled the “abacus”. The part of the capital that rises from the column itself is called the“echinus”. It differs according to the order, being plain in the Doric Order, fluted in the Ionicand foliate in the Corinthian. Doric and usually Ionic capitals are cut with vertical groovesknown as “fluting”. This fluting or grooving of the columns is a retention of an element ofthe original wooden architecture.[23]

Entablature and pediment

The columns of a temple support a structure that rises in two main stages, the entablatureand the pediment.

The entablature is the major horizontal structural element supporting the roof andencircling the entire building. It is composed by three parts. Resting on the columns is thearchitrave made of a series of stone “lintels” that spanned the space between the columns,and meet each other at a joint directly above the centre of each column.

Above the architrave is a second horizontal stage called the “frieze”. The frieze is one of themajor decorative elements of the building and carries a sculptured relief. In the case of Ionicand Corinthian architecture, the relief decoration runs in a continuous band, but in the DoricOrder, it is divided into sections called “metopes” which fill the spaces between verticalrectangular blocks called “triglyphs”. The triglyphs are vertically grooved like the Doriccolumns, and retain the form of the wooden beams that would once have supported theroof.

The upper band of the entablature is called the “cornice”, which is generally ornatelydecorated on its lower edge. The cornice retains the shape of the beams that would oncehave supported the wooden roof at each end of the building. At the front and back of eachtemple, the entablature supports a triangular structure called the “pediment”. Thetriangular space framed by the cornices is the location of the most significant sculpturaldecoration on the exterior of the building.

Masonry

Every temple rested on a masonry base called the crepidoma, generally of three steps, ofwhich the upper one which carried the columns was the stylobate. Masonry walls wereemployed for temples from about 600 BC onwards. Masonry of all types was used forAncient Greek buildings, including rubble, but the finest ashlar masonry was usuallyemployed for temple walls, in regular courses and large sizes to minimise the joints.[7] The

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blocks were rough hewn and hauled from quarries to be cut and bedded very precisely, withmortar hardly ever being used. Blocks, particularly those of columns and parts of thebuilding bearing loads were sometimes fixed in place or reinforced with iron clamps, dowelsand rods of wood, bronze or iron fixed in lead to minimise corrosion.[4]

Openings

Door and window openings were spanned with a lintel, which in a stone building limited thepossible width of the opening. The distance between columns was similarly affected by thenature of the lintel, columns on the exterior of buildings and carrying stone lintels beingcloser together than those on the interior, which carried wooden lintels.[24][25] Door andwindow openings narrowed towards the top.[25] Temples were constructed withoutwindows, the light to the naos entering through the door. It has been suggested that sometemples were lit from openings in the roof.[24] A door of the Ionic Order at the Erechtheion,(17 feet high and 7.5 feet wide at the top), retains many of its features intact, includingmouldings, and an entablature supported on console brackets. (See Architectural Decoration,below)[25][26][27]

Structure, masonry, openings and roof of Greek temples

The Parthenon, shows the common structural features of Ancient Greek architecture: crepidoma,columns, entablature, pediment.

Temple of Hephaestos, fluted Doric columns with abacuses supporting double beams of thearchitrave

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Erechtheion: masonry, door, stone lintels, coffered ceiling panels

At the Temple of Aphaia the hypostyle columns rise in two tiers, to a height greater than the walls,to support a roof without struts.

Roof


The widest span of a temple roof was across the cella, or internal space. In a large building,this space contains columns to support the roof, the architectural form being known ashypostyle. It appears that, although the architecture of Ancient Greece was initially ofwooden construction, the early builders did not have the concept of the diagonal truss as astabilising member. This is evidenced by the nature of temple construction in the 6thcentury BC, where the rows of columns supporting the roof the cella rise higher than theouter walls, unnecessary if roof trusses are employed as an integral part of the woodenroof. The indication is that initially all the rafters were supported directly by the entablature,walls and hypostyle, rather than on a trussed wooden frame, which came into use in Greekarchitecture only in the 3rd century BC.[7]

Ancient Greek buildings of timber, clay and plaster construction were probably roofed withthatch. With the rise of stone architecture came the appearance of fired ceramic roof tiles.These early roof tiles showed an S-shape, with the pan and cover tile forming one piece.They were much larger than modern roof tiles, being up to 90 cm (35.43 in) long, 70 cm(27.56 in) wide, 3–4 cm (1.18–1.57 in) thick and weighing around 30 kg apiece.[28][29] Onlystone walls, which were replacing the earlier mudbrick and wood walls, were strong enoughto support the weight of a tiled roof.[30]

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The earliest finds of roof tiles of the Archaic period in Greece are documented from a veryrestricted area around Corinth, where fired tiles began to replace thatched roofs at thetemples of Apollo and Poseidon between 700 and 650 BC.[31] Spreading rapidly, roof tileswere within fifty years in evidence for a large number of sites around the EasternMediterranean, including Mainland Greece, Western Asia Minor, Southern and CentralItaly.[31] Being more expensive and labour-intensive to produce than thatch, theirintroduction has been explained by the fact that their fireproof quality would have givendesired protection to the costly temples.[31] As a side-effect, it has been assumed that thenew stone and tile construction also ushered in the end of overhanging eaves in Greekarchitecture, as they made the need for an extended roof as rain protection for themudbrick walls obsolete.[30]

Vaults and arches were not generally used, but begin to appear in tombs (in a "beehive" orcantilevered form such as used in Mycenaea) and occasionally, as an external feature,exedrae of voussoired construction from the 5th century BC. The dome and vault neverbecame significant structural features, as they were to become in Ancient Romanarchitecture.[7]

Temple plans

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Temple plans

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Temple plans

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Plans of Ancient Greek TemplesTop: 1. distyle in antis, 2. amphidistyle in antis, 3. tholos, 4. prostyle tetrastyle, 5. amphiprostyle

tetrastyle,Bottom: 6. dipteral octastyle, 7. peripteral hexastyle, 8. pseudoperipteral hexastyle, 9. pseudodipteral

octastyle

Most Ancient Greek temples were rectangular, and were approximately twice as long asthey were wide, with some notable exceptions such as the enormous Temple of ZeusOlympus in Athens with a length of nearly 2 1/2 times its width. The majority of Templeswere small, being 30–100 feet long, while a few were large, being over 300 feet long and150 feet wide. The iconic Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis occupies a midpoint at 235feet long by 109 feet wide. A number of surviving temple-like structures are circular, and arereferred to as tholos.[32]

The temple rises from a stepped base or "stylobate", which elevated the structure abovethe ground on which it stood. Early examples, such as the Temple of Zeus at Olympus, havetwo steps, but the majority, like the Parthenon, have three, with the exceptional example ofthe Temple of Apollo at Didyma having six.[32] The core of the building is a masonry-built"naos" within which was a cella, a windowless room which housed the statue of the god.The cella generally had a porch or "pronaos" before it, and perhaps a second chamber or"antenaos" serving as a treasury or repository for trophies and gifts. The chambers were litby a single large doorway, fitted with a wrought iron grill. Some rooms appear to have beenilluminated by skylights.[24]

On the stylobate, often completely surrounding the naos, stood rows of columns. Eachtemple was defined as being of a particular type, with two terms: one describing thenumber of columns across the entrance front, and the other defining their distribution.[32]

Examples:

Distyle in antis describes a small temple with two columns at the front, which are setbetween the projecting walls of the pronaos or porch, like the Temple of Nemesis atRhamnus. (see left, figure 1.) [32]

Amphiprostyle tetrastyle describes a small temple that has columns at both ends whichstand clear of the naos. Tetrastyle indicates that the columns are four in number, like thoseof the Temple on the Ilissus in Athens. (figure 4.) [32]

Peripteral hexastyle describes a temple with a single row of peripheral columns around thenaos, with six columns across the front, like the Theseion in Athens. (figure 7.) [32]

Peripteral octastyle describes a temple with a single row of columns around the naos, (figure7.) with eight columns across the front, like the Parthenon, Athens. (figs. 6 and 9.) [32]

Dipteral decastyle describes the huge temple of Apollo at Didyma, with the naos surroundedby a double row of columns, (figure 6.) with ten columns across the entrance front.[32]

The Temple of Zeus Olympius at Agrigentum, is termed Pseudo-periteral heptastyle, becauseits encircling colonnade has pseudo columns that are attached to the walls of the naos.(figure 8.) Heptastyle means that it has seven columns across the entrance front.[32]

Proportion and optical illusion

The ideal of proportion that was used by Ancient Greek architects in designing temples wasnot a simple mathematical progression using a square module. The math involved a more

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complex geometrical progression, the so-called Golden mean. The ratio is similar to that ofthe growth patterns of many spiral forms that occur in nature such as rams' horns, nautilusshells, fern fronds, and vine tendrils and which were a source of decorative motifs employedby Ancient Greek architects as particularly in evidence in the volutes of capitals of the Ionicand Corinthian Orders.[33]

The Ancient Greek architects took a philosophic approach to the rules and proportions. Thedetermining factor in the mathematics of any notable work of architecture was its ultimateappearance. The architects calculated for perspective, for the optical illusions that makeedges of objects appear concave and for the fact that columns that are viewed against thesky look different to those adjacent that are viewed against a shadowed wall. Because ofthese factors, the architects adjusted the plans so that the major lines of any significantbuilding are rarely straight.[33] The most obvious adjustment is to the profile of columns,which narrow from base to top. However, the narrowing is not regular, but gently curved sothat each columns appears to have a slight swelling, called entasis below the middle. Theentasis is never sufficiently pronounced as to make the swelling wider than the base; it iscontrolled by a slight reduction in the rate of decrease of diameter.[7]

The Parthenon, the Temple to the Goddess Athena on the Acropolis in Athens, is theepitome of what Nikolaus Pevsner called "the most perfect example ever achieved ofarchitecture finding its fulfilment in bodily beauty".[3] Helen Gardner refers to its"unsurpassable excellence", to be surveyed, studied and emulated by architects of laterages. Yet, as Gardner points out, there is hardly a straight line in the building.[34] BanisterFletcher calculated that the stylobate curves upward so that its centres at either end riseabout 2.6 inches above the outer corners, and 4.3 inches on the longer sides. A slightlygreater adjustment has been made to the entablature. The columns at the ends of thebuilding are not vertical but are inclined towards the centre, with those at the corners beingout of plumb by about 2.6 inches.[7] These outer columns are both slightly wider than theirneighbours and are slightly closer than any of the others.[35]

The main lines of the Parthenon are all curved.

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Digram showing the optical corrections made by the architects of the Parthenon

A sectioned nautilus shell. These shells may have provided inspiration for voluted Ionic capitals.

The growth of the nautilus corresponds to the Golden Mean

Style

Orders

Stylistically, Ancient Greek architecture is divided into three “orders”: the Doric Order, theIonic Order and the Corinthian Order, the names reflecting their origins. While the threeorders are most easily recognizable by their capitals, the orders also governed the form,proportions, details and relationships of the columns, entablature, pediment and thestylobate.[2] The different orders were applied to the whole range of buildings andmonuments.

The Doric Order developed on mainland Greece and spread to Italy. It was firmly establishedand well-defined in its characteristics by the time of the building of the Temple of Hera atOlympia, c. 600 BC. The Ionic order co-existed with the Doric, being favoured by the Greekcites of Ionia, in Asia Minor and the Aegean Islands. It did not reach a clearly defined formuntil the mid 5th century BC.[23] The early Ionic temples of Asia Minor were particularlyambitious in scale, such as the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.[11] The Corinthian Order was ahighly decorative variant not developed until the Hellenistic period and retaining manycharacteristics of the Ionic. It was popularised by the Romans.[7]

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Style

Orders



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Style

Orders



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Orders of Ancient Greek architecture

above: Capital of the Ionic Order showing volutes and ornamented echinus

left: Architectural elements of the Doric Order showing simple curved echinus of capital

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above: Capital of the Corinthian Order showing foliate decoration and vertical volutes.

Doric Order

The Doric order is recognised by its capital, of which the echinus is like a circular cushionrising from the top of the column to the square abacus on which rest the lintels. The echinusappears flat and splayed in early examples, deeper and with greater curve in later, morerefined examples, and smaller and straight-sided in Hellenistc examples.[36] A refinement ofthe Doric Column is the entasis, a gentle convex swelling to the profile of the column, whichprevents an optical illusion of concavity.[36]

Doric columns are almost always cut with grooves, known as "fluting", which run the lengthof the column and are usually 20 in number, although sometimes fewer. The flutes meet atsharp edges called arrises. At the top of the columns, slightly below the narrowest point,and crossing the terminating arrises, are three horizontal grooves known as thehypotrachelion. Doric columns have no bases, until a few examples in the Hellenisticperiod.[36]

The columns of an early Doric temple such as the Temple of Apollo at Syracuse, Sicily, mayhave a height to base diameter ratio of only 4:1 and a column height to entablature ratio of2:1, with relatively crude details. A column height to diameter of 6:1 became more usual,while the column height to entablature ratio at the Parthenon is about 3:1. During theHellenistic period, Doric conventions of solidity and masculinity dropped away, with theslender and unfluted columns reaching a height to diameter ratio of 7.5:1.[36]

The Doric OrderThe Temple of Hephaestos, Athens, is a well-preserved temple of peripteral hexastyle

plan.

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Doric Order





plan.

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Doric Order





plan.

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The entablature showing the architrave, frieze with triglyphs and metopes and the overhangingcornice

The tapered fluted columns, constructed in drums, rest directly on the stylobate.

The Doric entablature is in three parts, the architrave, the frieze and the cornice. Thearchitrave is composed of the stone lintels which span the space between the columns, witha joint occurring above the centre of each abacus. On this rests the frieze, one of the majorareas of sculptural decoration. The frieze is divided into triglyphs and metopes, the triglyphs,as stated elsewhere in this article, are a reminder of the timber history of the architecturalstyle. Each triglyph has three vertical grooves, similar to the columnar fluting, and belowthem, seemingly connected, are small strips that appear to connect the triglyphs to thearchitrave below.[36] A triglyph is located above the centre of each capital, and above thecentre of each lintel. However, at the corners of the building, the triglyphs do not fall overthe centre the column. The ancient architects took a pragmatic approach to the apparent"rules", simply extending the width of the last two metopes at each end of the building.

The cornice is a narrow jutting band of complex moulding which overhangs and protects theornamented frieze, like the edge of an overhanging wooden-framed roof. It is decorated onthe underside with projecting blocks, mutules, further suggesting the wooden nature of theprototype. At either end of the building the pediment rises from the cornice, framed bymoulding of similar form.[36]

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The pediment is decorated with figures that are in relief in the earlier examples, but almostfreestanding by the time of the Parthenon. Early architectural sculptors found difficulty increating satisfactory sculptural compositions in the tapering triangular space.[37] By the EarlyClassical period, with the decoration of the temple of Zeus at Olympia, (486-460 BC) thesculptors had solved the problem by having a standing central figure framed by rearingcentaurs and fighting men who are falling, kneeling and lying in attitudes that fit the sizeand angle of each part of the space.[34] The renowned sculptor Phidias fills the space at theParthenon (448-432 BC) with a complex array of draped and undraped figures of deities whoappear in attitudes of sublime relaxation and elegance.

Ionic Order

The Ionic Order is recognised by its voluted capital, in which a curved echinus of similarshape to that of the Doric Order, but decorated with stylised ornament, is surmounted by ahorizontal band that scrolls under to either side, forming spirals or volutes similar to thoseof the nautilus shell or ram's horn. In plan, the capital is rectangular. It's designed to beviewed frontally but the capitals at the corners of buildings are modified with an additionalscroll so as to appear regular on two adjoining faces. In the Hellenistic period, four-frontedIonic capitals became common.[38]

The Ionic OrderThe Erechtheum, Acropolis, Athens: a building of asymmetrical plan, for the display of

offerings to Athena

Corner capital with a diagonal volute, showing also details of the fluting separated by fillets.

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Frieze of stylised alternating palms and reeds, and a cornice decorated with "egg and dart"moulding.

Like the Doric Order, the Ionic Order retains signs of having its origins in woodenarchitecture. The horizontal spread of a flat timber plate across the top of a column is acommon device in wooden construction, giving a thin upright a wider area on which to bearthe lintel, while at the same time reinforcing the load-bearing strength of the lintel itself.Likewise, the columns always have bases, a necessity in wooden architecture to spread theload and protect the base of a comparatively thin upright.[38] The columns are fluted withnarrow, shallow flutes that do not meet at a sharp edge but have a flat band or filletbetween them. The usual number of flutes is twenty-four but there may be as many asforty-four. The base has two convex mouldings called torus, and from the late Hellenicperiod stood on a square plinth similar to the abacus.[38]

The architrave of the Ionic Order is sometimes undecorated, but more often rises in threeoutwardly-stepped bands like overlapping timber planks. The frieze, which runs in acontinuous band, is separated from the other members by rows of small projecting blocks.They are referred to as dentils, meaning "teeth", but their origin is clearly in narrow woodenslats which supported the roof of a timber structure.[38] The Ionic Order is altogether lighterin appearance than the Doric, with the columns, including base and capital, having a 9:1ratio with the diameter, while the whole entablature was also much narrower and lessheavy than the Doric entablature. There was some variation in the distribution ofdecoration. Formalised bands of motifs such as alternating forms known as "egg and dart"were a feature of the Ionic entablatures, along with the bands of dentils. The external friezeoften contained a continuous band of figurative sculpture or ornament, but this was notalways the case. Sometimes a decorative frieze occurred around the upper part of the naosrather than on the exterior of the building. These Ionic-style friezes around the naos aresometimes found on Doric buildings, notably the Parthenon. Some temples, like the Templeof Artemis at Ephesus, had friezes of figures around the lower drum of each column,separated from the fluted section by a bold moulding.[38]

Caryatids, draped female figures used as supporting members to carry the entablature,were a feature of the Ionic order, occurring at several buildings including the SiphnianTreasury at Delphi in 525 BC and at the Erechtheion, about 410 BC.[39]

The Corinthian OrderThe Temple of Zeus Olympia, Athens, ("the Olympieion")

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The tall capital combines both semi-naturalistic leaves and highly stylised tendrils forming volutes.

Corinthian Order

The Corinthian Order does not have its origin in wooden architecture. It grew directly out ofthe Ionic in the mid 5th century BC, and was initially of much the same style and proportion,but distinguished by its more ornate capitals.[40] The capital was very much deeper thaneither the Doric or the Ionic capital, being shaped like a large krater, a bell-shaped mixingbowl, and being ornamented with a double row of acanthus leaves above which rosevoluted tendrils, supporting the corners of the abacus, which, no longer perfectly square,splayed above them. According to Vitruvius, the capital was invented by a bronze founder,Callimarchus of Corinth, who took his inspiration from a basket of offerings that had beenplaced on a grave, with a flat tile on top to protect the goods. The basket had been placedon the root of an acanthus plant which had grown up around it.[40] The ratio of the columnheight to diameter is generally 10:1, with the capital taking up more than 1/10 of the height.The ratio of capital height to diameter is generally about 1.16:1.[40]

The Corinthian Order was initially used internally, as at the Temple of Apollo Epicurius atBasae (c.450-425 BC). In 334 BC it appeared as an external feature on the ChoragicMonument of Lysicrates in Athens, and then on a huge scale at the Temple of Zeus Olympiain Athens, (174 BC - AD 132).[40] It was popularised by the Romans, who added a number ofrefinements and decorative details. During the Hellenistic period, Corinthian columns weresometimes built without fluting.[40]

Decoration

Architectural ornament

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Architectural ornament of fired and painted clay

This Archaic gorgon's head antefix has been cast in a mould, fired and painted.

The lion's head gargoyle is fixed to a revetment on which elements of a formal frieze have beenpainted.

Early wooden structures, particularly temples, were ornamented and in part protected byfired and painted clay revetments in the form of rectangular panels, and ornamental discs.Many fragments of these have outlived the buildings that they decorated and demonstratea wealth of formal border designs of geometric scrolls, overlapping patterns and foliatemotifs.[41] With the introduction of stone-built temples, the revetments no longer served aprotective purpose and sculptured decoration became more common.

The clay ornaments were limited to the roof of buildings, decorating the cornice, thecorners and surmounting the pediment. At the corners of pediments they were calledacroteria and along the sides of the building, antefixes. Early decorative elements weregenerally semi-circular, but later of roughly triangular shape with moulded ornament, oftenpalmate.[41][42] Ionic cornices were often set with a row of lion's masks, with open mouthsthat ejected rainwater.[24][42] From the Late Classical period, acroteria were sometimessculptured figures.See "Architectural sculpture"[43]

In the three orders of Ancient Greek architecture, the sculptural decoration, be it a simplehalf round astragal, a frieze of stylised foliage or the ornate sculpture of the pediment, is allessential to the architecture of which it is a part. In the Doric order, there is no variation inits placement. Reliefs never decorate walls in an arbitrary way. The sculpture is alwayslocated in several predetermined areas, the metopes and the pediment.[41] In later Ionicarchitecture, there is greater diversity in the types and numbers of mouldings anddecorations, particularly around doorways, where voluted brackets sometimes occursupporting an ornamental cornice over a door, such as that at the Erechtheum.[24][26][41] Amuch applied narrow moulding is called "bead and reel" and is symmetrical, stemming fromturned wooden prototypes. Wider mouldings include one with tongue-like or pointed leaf

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shapes, which are grooved and sometimes turned upward at the tip, and "egg and dart"moulding which alternates ovoid shapes with narrow pointy ones.[24][41][44]


The Archaic Gorgon of the western pediment from the Artemis Temple of Corfu, ArchaeologicalMuseum of Corfu

Classical figurative sculpture from the eastern pediment of the Parthenon, British Museum

Architectural sculpture showed a development from early Archaic examples through SevereClassical, High Classical, Late Classical and Hellenistic.[1] Remnants of the Archaicarchitectural sculpture (700 - 500 BC) exist from the early 6th century BC with the earliestsurviving pedimental sculpture being remnants of a Gorgon flanked by heraldic panthersfrom the centre of the pediment of the Artemis Temple of Corfu.[45] A metope from atemple known as "Temple C" at Selinus, Sicily, shows, in a better preserved state, Perseusslaying the Gorgon Medusa.[37] Both images parallel the stylised depiction of the Gorgons onthe black figure name vase decorated by the Nessos painter (c. 600 BC), with the face andshoulders turned frontally, and the legs in a running or kneeling position. At this date imagesof terrifying monsters have predominance over the emphasis on the human figure thatdeveloped with Humanist philosophy.[45]

The Severe Classical style (500 - 450 BC) is represented by the pedimental sculptures of theTemple of Zeus at Olympia, (470 - 456 BC). The eastern pediment shows a moment ofstillness and "impending drama" before the beginning of a chariot race, the figures of Zeusand the competitors being severe and idealised representations of the human form .[46] Thewestern pediment has Apollo as the central figure, "majestic" and "remote", presiding overa battle of Lapiths and Centaurs, in strong contrast to that of the eastern pediment for itsdepiction of violent action, and described by D. E. Strong as the "most powerful piece ofillustration" for a hundred years.[46]

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The shallow reliefs and three-dimensional sculpture which adorned the frieze andpediments, respectively, of the Parthenon, are the lifelike products of the High Classicalstyle (450 -400 BC) and were created under the direction of the sculptor Phidias.[47] Thepedimental sculpture represents the Gods of Olympus, while the frieze shows thePanathenaic procession and ceremonial events that took place every four years to honourthe titular Goddess of Athens.[47] The frieze and remaining figures of the eastern pedimentshow a profound understanding of the human body, and how it varies depending upon itsposition and the stresses that action and emotion place upon it. Benjamin Robert Haydondescribed the reclining figure of Dionysus as "....the most heroic style of art, combined withall the essential detail of actual life".[48]

The names of many famous sculptors are known from the Late Classical period (400 - 323BC), including Timotheos, Praxiteles, Leochares and Skopas, but their works are knownmainly from Roman copies.[1] Little architectural sculpture of the period remains intact. TheTemple of Asclepius at Epidauros had sculpture by Timotheos working with the architectTheodotos. Fragments of the eastern pediment survive, showing the Sack of Troy. The sceneappears to have filled the space with figures carefully arranged to fit the slope and shapeavailable, as with earlier east pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympus. But the figuresare more violent in action, the central space taken up, not with a commanding God, butwith the dynamic figure of Neoptolemos as he seizes the aged king Priam and stabs him. Theremaining fragments give the impression of a whole range of human emotions, fear, horror,cruelty and lust for conquest.[43] The acroteria were sculptured by Timotheus, except forthat at the centre of the east pediment which is the work of the architect. The palmateacroteria have been replaced here with small figures, the eastern pediment beingsurmounted by a winged Nike, poised against the wind.[43]

Hellenistic architectural sculpture (323 - 31 BC) was to become more flamboyant, both inthe rendering of expression and motion, which is often emphasised by flowing draperies,the Nike Samothrace which decorated a monument in the shape of a ship being a wellknown example. The Pergamon Altar (c. 180-160 BC) has a frieze (120 metres long by 2.3metres high) of figures in very high relief. The frieze represents the battle for supremacy ofGods and Titans, and employs many dramatic devices: frenzy, pathos and triumph, toconvey the sense of conflict.[49]

Metopes, friezes and caryatid

Archaic metope: Perseus and Medusa, Temple C at Selinunte.

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Severe Classical metope: Labours of Hercules, Temple of Zeus, Olympus

High Classical frieze: Panathenaic Ritual, Parthenon, Athens

Hellenistic frieze: Battle of Gods and Titans, the Pergamon Altar.

Ionic caryatid from the Erechtheum

Documents

X 003 Greek Architecture