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Introduction to Architecture

Greek Architecture

Geographical setting
of
Greek Architecture:

A country surrounded on 3
sides by sea, i.e.
Mediterranean Sea, Ionic Sea
and Aegean Sea
It had natural harbors along
its coastline which proved
beneficial for development of
trade and commerce
It had a hilly terrain with
scarce connectivity which
divided the population of the
country into small pockets.
As the terrain was rough and
hard, the inhabitants had to
develop themselves to cope
up with it

Geology
Rocky terrain where marble was
the predominant mineral. The
abundance of marble and its
properties made it the most
widely used building material
Copper, silver and gold were also
found

Climate

Greece was warm in summer


and received heavy rainfall round
the year

Religion
Grecians preferred worship of
nature and natural phenomenon
Each Greek town had its own
set
of
deity
and
religious
practices
The priest did not enjoy
authority
as
in
Egyptian
civilization
The temples and other religious
monuments were accessible by
all (the restricted sanctuary or
chambers of Egyptian temples
gave way to cella which was
open for everyone in the society

Timeline of Greek
Civilization

1100 750 BC: Greek Dark ages (Fall of


Mycenaean
Kingdom)
750 500 BC: Archaic Period
Hellenic
500 323 BC: Classical Period
Period
323 147 BC: Hellenistic Period

Major historical events


Pelasgi or the Ionians were the native
residents and were known to exist since the
Bronze Age. They were driven away by the
Homeric Greeks or Achaeans
The Achaeans fell to savage tribe from the
mountains who called themselves Dorians
and later settled in Sparta
Dorians and the Ionians contributed in
shaping Athens vis--vis the Greek Civilization

Architectural
character

Initial development in architecture has


been attributed to the Mesopotamian
and Egyptian civilizations.
The architectural features during
Mycenaean period (Primitive period)
consists of rough walling of large
blocks of unfinished stone
In the Hellenic period trabeated
form of architecture was invented and
was built with locally available
marble/limestone
Marble beams of large span being
difficult to obtain limited the horizontal
span between the columns (requiring
closely spaced columns)
Mortar was not used and distribution
of the load from the superstructure
was transmitted through this beam
column setup to the ground

Architectural
character

As against the Mycenaean period, buildings


built during Hellenic period paid more
attention
to
aesthetics
and
finishes.
Proportions
of
the
buildings
and
ornamentation became prevalent
Unity in design of major buildings were
brought in by surrounding the cella with a
colonnade (which is a diversion from
Egyptian temples which had varying roof
levels of the halls and chambers)
The Greeks had further refined their
building designs by incorporating the
concepts of Entasis to correct optical
illusions in large buildings
The long horizontal lines of the stylobate,
architrave, pediments etc which if built
straight would look sagged at the centre

Architectural
character
The vertical features were inclined inwards
to prevent the illusion created by tall
vertical features of falling outwards.
The columns with sky as the backdrop were
made thicker than the ones having the cella
as their backdrop because the bright sky
due to irradiation would make the columns
look slimmer
The size of fonts used in the inscriptions on
the Temple of Priene were varied. The fonts
on the top were of larger size, while the
fonts near the base were smaller in size.
This was done to make the inscription
appear uniform in size

Architectural
character
Sculptures of highest class and finish were used to embellish the
exterior surface of the buildings
The Greeks developed the Orders of Architecture namely Doric, Ionic
and Corinthian. The Romans added another two orders Tuscan and
Composite and together they form the 5 orders of Architecture
An order in Greek and Roman architecture consists of the columns
which is divided into base, shaft, capital and entablature. The
entablature is further sub-divided into Architrave, Frieze and
Cornice
The proportions and moulding details of each order varies from the
other

Hellenic period Temples in Greek


Architecture

Temples formed the most important building type during this period.
The temples were built with special emphasis on its external
appearance (and visibility from a distance)
The temples constituted of a cell (Naos) which housed the shrine/
statue of the deity. The cell is usually rectangular in shape and is
oriented along the east west direction
Column supported portico are placed both at the front (antae or the
pronaos) and the back (opisthodomos). The rear portico was often used
as a treasury (e.g. Parthenon, Athens). This arrangement was
occasionally surrounded by a colonnade (peripteris). The entire setup
was based on a three tiered raised platform known as stylobate
In larger temples multiple colonnades were laid to support the roof.
On the front and the rear faade of the temple above the columns a
triangular shaped pediment was placed (which was usually decorated
with motiffs and sculptures)

There were no windows in the temples. The temple usually had a


hypaethral i.e. having an opening at the top to allow light and air
inside the temple. This feature was adopted from the smoke holes of
the primitive huts
The different type of Greek temples based on their column layout is as
follows
Di-style in antis
Amphi antis distyle
Prostyle tetrastyle
Amphi-prostyle tetrastyle
Peripteral Hexastyle
Psuedoperipteral Hexastyle
Peripteral Octastyle
Peripteral Circular
Dipteral Ocatstyle
Tholos

Orders in Greek Architecture: Doric


Order

These are the oldest order with some historians claiming their genesis
from timber structures of Mycenaean period
The Doric column does not have a base and rested directly on a
stylobate.

The height of a Doric column


measured from its base to the
entablature = 4 to 6.5 times of the
base of the column
The diameter of the column at top
= to 2/3 times the base diameter
of the columns
The circumference along the shaft
is fluted with around 20 slutes
The capital consists of three
components - Abacus, Echinus and
Annulets
Abacus is a square slab with a
convex moulding called echinus at
its base. The annulets vary from 3-5
in numbers and are placed beneath
the echinus of the capital

The entablature is th height of


the order and has 3 parts
Architrave Deep beam like
structure
with
no
embellishment
Frieze
- It consisted of
triglyphs ornamented with 3
channels and metopes (square
panel with sculptures). The
triglyphs are places vertically
above the columns or centrally
at
equidistant
from
two
columns
Cornice upper or crowning
part
of
the
entablature
consisting of mouldings above
which is a vertical face called
corona

Orders in Greek Architecture: Ionic


Order
It can be identified from the
volute capital. The Ionic order
used in Asia Minor is believed to
be inspired by the lotus bus
capital
used
in
Egyptian
Architecture. Whereas, the Ionic
order used in Athens or Delos
are said to influenced by
Mycenaean jewelry design
Total height of the column
(base to capital) = 9 times the
diameter at base
of the
column

Around 24 flutes on the


shaft are present and are
separated by fillets
The height of the capital is
2/3rd the height of the
diameter of column at base
The capital consists of a
pair of volutes which are
present on the front and
back side of the column. The
other two sides are filled
with cushions

The volute was formed by


twisting a string around an
inverted cone or a shell
The height of the entablature
= 1/5th the size of the whole
order
The entablature consists of
the Architrave, Frieze and
the Cornice
For columns placed at the
corners (where it is visible
from two sides, the volutes
from two adjoining intersect
at an angle of 45

Orders in Greek Architecture:


Corinthian Order

It is the most decorative column


capital and was least used by the
Greeks. The base and the shaft
resembled an Ionic order.
The height of the column=10 times
the base diameter of the column
The capital height=1 to 1.6 times
diameter of the column at base
Genesis of this order is not known,
however the some historians do
claim that it is derived from the
inverted lotus shaped capital of the
Egyptians with Assyrian spirals

The capital consists of deep bell on which 2 tiers of 8 acanthus


leaves are arranged. From the junction of the upper tier leaves
and sprung 8 stalks with a curled leaf
The entablature is 1/5th of the height of entire order and is
similar to Ionic order in appearance
The entablature is again divided into 3 parts namely
Architrave, Frieze and Cornice. However, the entablature in
Corinthian order is heavily embellished

Greek city = Acropolis + Agora


+ Town

Salient building types: Acropolis,


Athens

An ancient citadel on a flat top rocky hill on the outskirts of


Athens. It has an area of 3 hectares
Most of the construction was done in the 5th century BC by
Pericles after being ravaged twice by the Persians. It housed the
Parthenon, Propylaea, Erechtheion and Temple of Athena Nike

A. Propylae

All the temples in the complex are


arranged in such a manner that two
faces of the temple is visible from every
point, else its view is completely
concealed

The gate complex for entering the Acropolis built in 437 BC by


Mnesicles. The outside columns were Doric whereas the interior columns
were Ionic.
Inside the Propylae was a library and picture gallery along with space
for reading and resting

B. The Parthenon
The Parthenon was the
most
impressive
structure
inside
the
Acropolis.
It
was
a
perfect
Doric
temple
dedicated to the patron
It is a peripteral octastyle
god of Athens Athena
temple with 8 columns in the
front and back portico and 17 on
the sides. However, there is a
diversion from typical Greek
temples. The rear portico has an
access to a chamber supported
on 4 columns (served as
treasury)
It had strong sense of proportion
and was constructed keeping in
mind the Golden ratio
It housed the ivory statue of
Athena (11m in height) in the
sanctuary or naos

C. The Erechtheion

The Erechtheion was dedicated to


Athena and Poseidon. It is not a
regular rectangular temple like other
Greek temples and it does not have
peripteris around the naos.
Two porches are located on the north
and the south of the temple. The
porch along the north is supported by
Ionic columns. The porch on the
southern end is smaller and is
supported on human figurines known
as Caryatids

D. The Temple of Athena Nike


It is located on the southern part of
the entry gate or Propylae
This is the oldest ionic temple in the
Acropolis. It is a good example of an
amphi prostyle tetrastyle temple.
It had a pediment that no longer
exist. The temple has an entrance of
four ionic columns on two sides of the
door

Public buildings and squares: Agora

The Agora was the most important


gathering place in a Greek city. It started as
an open area where the council of the city
met to take decisions. With time buildings
were constructed to define and enclose the
space. It also transformed into a place for
combined social, commercial and political
activities
The Agora gave rise to the concept It emerged as the heart of Greek
intellectual life and discourse. It was
of public squares.
located centrally in the city for easy access
and in proximity to the Acropolis

Public buildings and squares: Stoa


Stoas were built all around
the Agora and served as an
embellished boundary to the
Agora
Of all the buildings, the stoa
was
the
most
important
buildings in the context of the
Agora.
The colonnades provided
shelter to the people coming to
the Agora. It was also used as
a place for displaying goods for
sale

Public buildings and squares:


Bouleuterion

The Bouleuterion was the meeting place of the Boule or members of the
senate of the city
It is said to be the place where democracy was born, debates on public
affairs and society used to take place here
It was a covered chamber fitted with banks of seats like a theater

Public buildings and squares: Tholos


It is a round shaped structure meant for the
Prytaneis (executive) of the city
It served as a multi-purpose hall having
facilities of a dining hall, a meeting place and
place for sleeping
It had different variants with or without
peristyle or a colonnade and had a wooden
conical roof

Public buildings and squares:


Gymnasium
Gymnasiums
were
public
institutions where male athletes
over age 18 received training for
competition in the public games of
that
time
(as
opposed
to
thepalaestrae, which were private
schools where boys were trained in
physical exercises)
The Greekgymnasiumsalso held
lectures
and
discussions
on
philosophy, literature, and music,
and public libraries were nearby
The gymnasiums were of great
significance to the ancient Greeks,
and every important city had at
least one. Usually built by the state,
these grew from mere gathering
places
where
exercises
were
performed to imposing structures

Public buildings and squares: Theatre


Greek theatres were open to air and had
had a shape of 2/3rd circle with the circular
orchestra at the centre
Greek theatres were more about choral
than dramatic performances
Every important Greek city had a theater.
Their theater was built into a hilly
landscape using the natural topography of
the land
The theater had a bank of seats steps
cut out from the rocky terrain. It had a back
wall skene as the backdrop to the
orchestra

Thank You

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