GREEK

ARCHITECTURE
9TH BCE 6TH CENTURY CE

PRESENTED BY:
BERNADETTE SISON

GREEK ARCHITECTURE
produced by theGreek-speaking people(Hellenicpeople)
whosecultureflourished on the Greek mainland, the
Peloponnese, theAegean Islands, and in colonies in
Anatoliaand Italy for a period from about 900 BC until the
1st century AD.
Ancient Greek architecture is best known fromits temples
, many of which are found throughout the region, mostly
as ruins but many substantially intact.
Created equilibrate and proportional works.
Greeks are credited with originating the three orders of
the classical language of architecture, Doric, Ionic and
Corinthian.

INFLUENCES
GEOGRAPHICAL
GEOLOGICAL
CLIMATICAL
HISTORICAL
RELIGION

GEOGRAPHY
Their mainland and
islands are rocky,
mountainous with
few substantial
forests.
Almost completely
surrounded by
theMediterranean
Sea.
Greece has more
than 1400 islands.

GEOLOGY
The most freely available building
material is stone.
Limestone was readily available and
easily worked.
There is an abundance of high quality
whitemarbleboth on the mainland and
islands, particularlyParos andNaxos.

CLIMATE

typical of the Mediterraneanclimate:

mild and rainy winters, relatively warm
and dry summers and, generally,
extended periods of sunshine
throughout most of the year.

HISTORY
Greek civilization is the first major civilization
in Europe
The period of ancient Greek history can be
divided into four as follows:
750 B. C. 500 B. C. Archaic Period
5000 B. C. 323 B. C. Classical Period
323 B. C. 147 B. C. Hellenistic Period

Archaic Period
(750 B.C. - 500 B.C.)
The revival of Greece from the dark ages
started during the eight century BC
The Greeks developed a new political
form called city states(POLIS)- ruled as
independent nations
The archaic period saw the renewal
interest in overseas trading contact
The archaic period marked the rise of the
aristocratic families; families that are
considered noble or of higher status
Such tyrants stimulated the development
of the arts through their patronage

Classical Period
(500 - 323 BC)

It is the period of democracy

Every art manifestation reached
its zenith
it is the period of political,
economic and cultural expansion
of the polis

Hellenistic Period
(323 - 147 BC)

The period saw the transplanting of

Greek art, civic life and culture to
newly conquered areas
The period also saw a marked
increase in interest in civic buildings
The Hellenistic period ended in 147
BC, when the Roman Empire
conquered Greece and incorporated
the city states into it

RELIGION
Ancient Greektheologywaspolytheistic,
based on the assumption that there were
many gods and goddesses.

ZEUS King of Gods, Sky-God

POSEIDON God of Sea and Earthquake
HADES God of Death, Underworld
HELIOS God of Sun
APHRODITE God of Love, Beauty, Pleasure

The Greeks believed in anunderworldwhere

the spirits of the dead went after death.

THE ORDERS

THE ORDERS
Refer to the entire set of form that
makes up the principal elevation of a
temple.
Base
Upright column or support
with its capital
Horizontal entablature

THE ORDERS
Columns were understood by the

Greeks to be anthropomorphic or
representative of the body of a human
The base suggests the feet, the shaft
the torso and the capital the head.
Each order had its own conventions
about the design of the entablature and
divided into 3 sections:
CORNICE
FRIEZE
ARCHITRAVE

DORIC ORDER
Represents the proportions of a mans
body, its strength and beauty.
Made up of three elements
Stylobate - a podium raised three
steps on which the temple sits
Column
Entablature
A square capital
Had a height of between 5 and 6
times its diameter
Shaft is usually divided into 20 shallow flutes.

DORIC ORDER
A characteristic of the Doric
order is the use of entasis
Entasis - refers to the practice
of optical correction in Greek
Doric temples
The best example of the
application of entasis is found in
the Parthenon

IONIC ORDER
The Ionic column is said to
represent
the shape of a women with its
delicacy and feminine slenderness.
The Ionic order evolved and its
name from Ionia in modern
day Turkey

The ionic column including the

capital and base had a height of 9
to 10 times its diameter
It had 24 flutes

The Ionic order had a capital dev

eloped from a pair of volute about
two-thirds the diameter of the
column in height

IONIC ORDER

At the corner of rectangular buildings,

an angular volute had to be used.

One of the limitations of the Ionic order is

that it is designed to be seen
from the front only

CORINTHIAN ORDER
The Corinthian column, the most
beautifully ornate of the three orders
represents the figure of a maiden
The Corinthian order takes its name
from the city of Corinth in Greece
It however appeared to have been
developed in Athens in the 5th
century BC
This order is similar in its
proportions to the Ionic order but has
a different capital

CORINTHIAN ORDER
The core of the capital is shaped
like an inverted bell.
The bell-like capital is decorated
with rows of carved acanthus leaves
Because of its symmetry, the
Corinthian capital unlike the ionic
capital is designed to be seen from
all directions

ARCHITECTURE: BASIS
It is an architecture to be seen (temple)
Sculptural values, volumes
Building is conceived as an sculpture

Beauty= Proportion and Measure

conceived from the human point of view

is anti-colossal

Temple is the essential building, residence of god,

not a place for people

BUILDING SYSTEM

Dominant lines are horizontal and vertical

The column is the essential element
Walls are made of regular ashlars
Buildings were polychrome
Building materials were limestone and white
marble

STRUCTURES