The architecture of Ancient Greece

Produced by the Greek-speaking

people (Hellenic people) whose culture flourished on the Greek mainland and Peloponnesus, the Aegean Islands, and in colonies in Asia Minor and Italy For about 900 BC until the 1st century AD, with the earliest remaining architectural works dating from around 600 BC

Greek Architecture

The mainland and islands of Greece are rocky, with deeply indented coastline, and rugged mountain ranges with few substantial forests. The most freely available building material is stone. Limestone was readily available and easily worked. High quality white marble
Finely grained material A major contributing factor to precision of detail,

High quality potter's clay

both architectural and sculptural, that adorned Ancient Greek architecture.

and architectural decoration.

Used not only for pottery vessels, but also roof tiles

Greek Architecture

Greece is maritime, with both the coldness of winter and the heat of summer tempered by sea breezes. This led to a lifestyle where many activities took place outdoors.

Temples were placed on hilltops, their exteriors

designed as a visual focus of gatherings and processions Theatres were often an enhancement of a naturally occurring sloping site where people could sit, rather than a containing structure Colonnades encircling buildings, or surrounding courtyards provided shelter from the sun and from sudden winter storms

The Theatre and Temple of Apollo in mountainous country at Delphi

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

Another important factor in the development of the particular character of Ancient Greek architecture.
often extremely bright, with both the sky and

the sea vividly blue clear light and sharp shadows give a precision to the details of landscape, pale rocky outcrops and seashore.

Ancient Greek architects constructed buildings that were marked by precision of detail. Gleaming marble surfaces were smooth, curved, fluted, or ornately sculpted to reflect the sun, cast graded shadows and change in color with the everchanging light of day.

Greek Architecture

Mycenean

Ancient Greek

Early Greek

Minoan

Hellenic
Hellenistic

Middle Paleolithic age

MINOAN Name given by modern historians to the people of ancient Crete, known for their elaborate and richly decorated palaces, and for their pottery painted with floral and marine motifs.

Minoan civilization
A Bronze civilization Arose on the island of Crete Approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th

century BC.

The first link in the European chain The early inhabitants of Crete settled as early as 128,000 BC 5000 BC the first signs of advanced agriculture appeared, marking the beginning of the civilization.

MYCENEAN C. 1600 BC c. 1100 BC A cultural period of Bronze Age Occurred on the Peloponnesus(c.1500 1100 BC), was quite different in character

Built citadels, fortifications and tombs rather

than palaces Decorating their pottery with bands of marching soldiers rather than octopus and seaweed.

Both civilizations came to an end around 1100 BC

Possibly because of volcanic devastation

Mycenae because of invasion from Dorian

people of the Greek mainland.

Led to a period with few remaining signs of culture, often referred to as a Dark Age.

Divided into two eras.

HELLENIC PERIOD Commenced circa 900 BC, (with substantial works of architecture appearing from about 600 BC) and ended with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.

HELLENISTIC PERIOD 323 BC - AD 30 Hellenic culture was spread widely, throughout lands conquered by Alexander, and then by the Roman Empire which absorbed much of Greek culture.

In the cultural diversity of the Dorian, Spartan, Mycenean, Athenean and people from Asia Minor, the art of logic developed, and with it the notion of democracy.

Town planning became an important consideration of Greek builders

Such as in towns Paestum and Priene

Laid out with a regular grid of paved streets Equipped with a public fountain where water could be collected for household use.

Greek Architecture

Nature worship that grew out of the beliefs of earlier cultures Natural elements were personified as gods of completely human form, and very human behavior

Olympus
Home of the gods The highest mountain in Greece

Apollo
God of the sun, law, reason, music and poetry

Zeus
Supreme god and ruler of the sky

Artemis
Goddess of the moon, the hunt and the wilderness

Hera
Wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage

Aphrodite
Goddess of love

Athena
Goddess of wisdom

Ares
God of war

Poseidon
God of the sea

Hermes
God of commerce and medicine

Demeter
Goddess of the earth

Hephaestus
God of fire and metalwork

Worship was done in community, in the open. By 600 BC, the gods were often represented by large statues
It was necessary to provide a building in which the gods

could be housed

Led to the development of temples. No public mass worship took place within the temples Naos was designed primarily to house the statue of the deity

Greek Architecture

Trabeated form
Post and lintel

Columns
Unique

Wider at the top than the bottom

Called an inverted column Made of wood as opposed to stone

Painted red
Mounted on a simple stone base Pillow-like, round piece as a capital

Buildings
Two to three storeys high
With staircases Lower walls were constructed of stone

and rubble Upper walls of mud brick Flat tiled roofs Ceiling timbers held up the roofs Plaster, wood, or flagstone floors U-shaped, with a big central court

Mycenaean Towns
Well fortified and situated on an acropolis
Walls were cyclopean, large, unworked boulders

up to eight meters (26 ft) thick, loosely fitted without the clay mortar of the day Different types of entrances or exits Monumental gates Access ramps Hidden doors Vaulted galleries for escaping in case of a siege. cistern or well

Mycenaean Palaces
Arranged around a group of courtyard
Several

rooms of different dimensions

Storerooms, workshops, reception halls and living quarters.

The heart of the palace was the megaron

The throne room, laid out around a circular hearth surrounded by four columns

Palaces had two stories Roofs made of fired tiles

Centered on open spaces or courtyards surrounded by colonnades.

Knossos is the best-known example.

Ancient Greek buildings of timber, clay and plaster construction were roofed with thatch. With the rise of stone architecture came the appearance of fired ceramic roof tiles. Vaults and arches were not generally used, but begin to appear in tombs ("beehive" or cantilevered form)

Highly formal, both of structure and decoration. Centered on open spaces or courtyards surrounded by colonnades.
Knossos is the best-known example.

Ancient Greek buildings of timber, clay and plaster construction were roofed with thatch. With the rise of stone architecture came the appearance of fired ceramic roof tiles. Vaults and arches were not generally used, but begin to appear in tombs ("beehive" or cantilevered form)

Best known for its TEMPLES Most impressive buildings in Greek cities

Elegance of proportions

Effects of light on its surfaces viewed from all angles

Conceived as a sculptural entity within the landscape Raised on high ground

Part of a religious precinct ACROPOLIS

Meant to look best from the outside Location of a cult image, a storage place Not very much space inside a temple Place for devotees of the god Gathered outside, rather than inside their temples Altar stood under the open sky in the TEMENOS or sacred precinct

Oriented astronomically Most commonly rectangular Built of stone, marble Rested on a masonry base called the CREPIDOMA

Upper one - STYLOBATE Stepped base - STEREOBATE

Pronaos
Porch

Naos (Cella)
A windowless room housing the statue of the

god Covered with sculptures Painted in blue and red

Antenaos
A treasury or repository for trophies and gifts

Masonry walls in regular courses Doors were spanned with a lintel narrowing towards the top Without windows, light to the naos enter through the door

THOLOS
Small circular temples

Distyle In Antis

Amphidistyle In Antis

Tetrastyle

Tetrastyle

Hexastyle Octastyle

Hexastyle Octastyle

PLANS OF ANCIENT GREEK TEMPLES

Temple description has two terms:

Number of columns across the entrance front

Columns defining their distribution

Distyle in antis
Two columns at the front, set between the projecting walls of the pronaos or porch Temple of Nemesis, Rhamnus

Amphiprostyle tetrastyle
Columns at both ends which stand clear of the naos. Tetrastyle columns are four in number Temple on the Ilissus, Athens

Peripteral hexastyle
A single row of peripheral columns around the naos Six columns across the front Theseion, Athens

Peripteral octastyle
A single row of columns around the naos Eight columns across the front Parthenon, Athens

Dipteral
Decastyle the naos surrounded by a double row of columns Ten columns across the entrance front Temple of Apollo, Didyma

Pseudo-periteral heptastyle
Encircling colonnade has pseudo columns attached to the walls of the naos. Heptastyle seven columns across the entrance front Temple of Zeus Olympius, Agrigentum

Golden Mean Ultimate appearance Optical Illusions

Ideal of proportion that was used by Ancient Greek architects in designing temples Determining factor in the mathematics of any notable work of architecture

Architects calculated for perspective

Columns become thinner towards the top Gaps between the columns on the corners of a temple and the next columns is slightly less than the gaps between other columns Corner columns are slightly thicker than the other columns Surfaces lean inwards Horizontal lines of the temple also sometimes rise slightly in the middle and gently slope downwards towards the corners

Columns become thinner towards the top Gaps between the columns on the corners of a temple and the next columns is slightly less than the gaps between other columns Corner columns are slightly thicker than the other columns Surfaces lean inwards Horizontal lines of the temple also sometimes rise slightly in the middle and gently slope downwards towards the corners

The most obvious adjustment is to the profile of columns, which narrow from base to top. The narrowing is not regular, but gently curved so that each columns appears to have a slight swelling, called ENTASIS below the middle

After

Before

The main lines of the Parthenon are all curved.

Diagram showing the optical corrections made by the architects of the Parthenon.

A sectioned nautilus shell provided inspiration for voluted Ionic capitals.

The growth of the nautilus corresponds to the Golden Mean.

Temple to the Goddess Athena on the Acropolis in Athens

Acropolis means high

city in Greek

The Acropolis in Athens The most perfect example was built on top of ever achieved of the Sacred Rock architecture Was supposed to Phidias radiate power and
protection for its citizens.
Athenian sculptor

Ictinus and Callicrates

Architects

Ornamented rectangular panels

Ornamental discs

Geometric scrolls
Overlapping patterns and foliate motifs.

Sculptured decoration
Acroteria Antefixes
Palmate row of lion's masks, with open mouths that ejected rainwater

Stylised foliage Voluted brackets

Ornamental cornice over a door Mouldings

Half round astragal Bead and reel

Tongue-like or pointed leaf

shapes Egg and dart

Gorgon's Head Antefix

Lion's Head Gargoyle

The Greek antefix is found in the lower roof line, in front of the imbrices (overlapping roof tiles). Parthenon, Athens.

The Greek akroter serves as an ornamental finish to the apex of a gable. It is painted in the temple of Wingless Victory in Athens, Greece.

Eight examples of Greek anthemion designs

Three types of Greek fret patterns a) Simple fret b) Compound fret c) Rosetted fret

Spiral wave border Rosette from Erechtheion

Stele head from Athens, fourth century

Carved lotiform from the Erechteion

Branching scroll and leaves from Erechtheion

Vector Greek Ornament

Round Greek Ornament

Set of Greek Borders

Theater
Second important type of building

Gymnasium
Training facility for competitors in public games

Propylon
A processional gateway

Stadium
For foot racing

Agora
A public square, surrounded by stoa

Palaestra
A smaller, privately owned gymnasia

Stoa
A colonnaded shelter

Public monuments Mausoleum

A monumental tomb

Bouleuterion
A town council building

Always built into the side of a hill Usually semi-circular and could seat up to 21000 people Used for both public meetings as well as dramatic performances Orchestra
Rows of tiered seating set in a semicircle around the

central performance area

Skene
Low building located behind the orchestra which served

as a store-room, a dressing-room, and also as a backdrop

The best known being at Epidaurus, by the architect Polykleitos the Younger.

The Theater of Dionysus, Athens

The Stadium at Epidauros

Parts of a Greek Theater

The focus for the political, economic and social activity of the city
Often near the geographic center of the city

A large open area filled with stalls Where citizens held meetings Location for religious processions Law courts, political buildings and fountains for drinking water were found on the edge of agora Shrines and important monuments often found within

A building whose main purpose was to provide shelter from the sun or the rain
A wall on one side Paintings by famous artists on the walls Shops or rooms at the back A colonnade on the other

A roof over the top

Agora or central market place surrounded by a colonnade or stoa.

The reconstructed Stoa of Attalos, the Agora, Athens

Dignified and gracious structures Sited so that they related to each other architecturally PROPYLON or porch

Entrance to temple sanctuaries and other

significant sites

PROPYLAEA is a monumental gateway

Best-surviving example: the Propylaea on

the Acropolis of Athens.

The Propylaea on the Acropolis Of Athens

A large public building with a hypostyle hall

Served as a

court house A meeting place for the town council (boule).

The Bouleuterion, at Priene

Open, unroofed area surrounded by rooms where male citizens could exercise in the open space Activities included wrestling, boxing and athletics

All done in the nude

STADIA
Running tracks

PALAESTRA
Smaller, privately owned versions of gymnasia,

where boys trained as part of their education

Palaestra or a gymnasium, the social centre for male citizens which included spectator areas, baths, toilets and club rooms.

The Palaestra at Olympia, used for boxing and wrestling

Stadium for foot racing, 600 feet in length. Olympia, Delphi, Epidarus and Ephesus

Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, seats 45,000 people, restored in the 19th century

Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing Hippos (horse) and "dromos (course) Set out on the slope of a hill

Ground taken from one side served to form the

embankment on the other side

One end of the hippodrome was semicircular Other end, square with an extensive portico In front, at a lower level

Stalls for the horses and chariots

Termai
Posts where chariots turned around, located at

both ends of the hippodrome The most dangerous part of the track Altar to Taraxippus (disturber of horses)

The spot where many chariots were wrecked

Hippodrome for horse racing

Or Tomb of Mausolus Built between 353 and 350 BC at Halicarnasus Designed by Satyros and Pythius. Approximately 45 m (148 ft) in height Four sides was adorned with sculptural reliefs An above ground tomb

The Parthenon sits on top of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.

Plain Built of mud bricks on top of a small row of stones, covered in plaster Four to six rooms, sometimes with a second storey Courtyard open to the sky Rooms faced the courtyard No big windows facing the street No water piped to their houses Andron

Men's room, the most richly decorated room Where men would invite guests and where they held

their symposia(meeting)

Greek Architecture

Introduced by a Roman architect, Marcus Vitruvius

Defined column styles and entablature

Order of Architecture
A set or rules or principles for designing

buildings.

Classical order of architecture

An approach to building design established

in Greece or Rome during the Classical period, roughly 850 BC through 476 AD.

How Classical Architecture Began Great buildings were constructed according to precise rules Marcus Vitruvius (De Architectura, or Ten Books on Architecture) believed
Builders used mathematical principles when

constructing temples Without symmetry and proportion, no temple can have a regular plan

Upright pillar or post Support a roof or a beam Can be purely decorative

Base
Columns rest on a round or square base

Shaft
Main part of the column Smooth Fluted (grooved) Carved with designs

Capital - top of the column

Simple or elaborately decorated Supports the upper portion of a building, called

the entablature.

Upper portion of a building Above the columns and below the roof

Architrave
The lowest part of an

entablature resting directly on the capitals of the columns

Frieze
Fanciest part of the entablature,

displays carvings that tell stories

Cornice
Highest part of the entablature,

ornamental molding, frequently having two to three different geometric or floral designs

Ancient Greek architecture has three defined orders:

Doric Ionic

Corinthian

Earliest and simplest of the Classical Orders

Plainer than the Ionic and Corinthian column

Associated with strength and masculinity

Thicker and heavier than an Ionic or

Corinthian column

Used them for the lowest level of multistory buildings, reserving the more slender Ionic and Corinthian columns for the upper levels.

Originally placed directly on the ground without a pedestal or base Shaft is wider at the bottom Shaft is fluted (grooved) Smooth, round capitals (tops) No carvings or other ornaments

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

6)
7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14)

15)
16) 17) 18)

Tympanum Acroterion Cyma Cornice Mutules Frieze Triglyph Metope Regulae Guttae Taenia Architrave Capital Abacus Echinus Column Fluting Stylobate

Doric columns stood directly on the flat pavement (the stylobate) without a base Vertical shafts were fluted with 20 parallel concave grooves Smooth capital that flared from the column to meet a square abacus Carried the horizontal beam(architrave) The Parthenon has the Doric design columns.

More slender and more ornate than the Doric style Scroll-shaped ornaments on the capital

A pair of volutes

Stands on a base of stacked disks Shafts are usually fluted, but can be plain

Buildings With Ionic Columns: The Erechtheum, Athens The Colosseum, Rome
Doric columns on the first

level, Ionic columns on the second level, and Corinthian columns on the third level

Most complex and elaborate Fluted (grooved) shaft Capital decorated with scrolls, acanthus leaves, and flowers Ornaments on the capital flare outwards, suggesting a sense of height Invented by Callimachus, a Greek sculptor and architect

Buildings with Corinthian columns: The Pantheon, Rome The Colosseum, Rome
On the third level