Greek Architecture
Orders & columns
PRESENTED BY
MEENAKSHI TYAGI
Introduction
• Ancient Greece is considered by most historians to be the cultural
foundation of Western Civilization.
• Greek culture had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which
carried a version of it to many parts of Europe.
• Ancient Greek civilization has been immensely influential on the
language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, art and
architecture of the modern world.
• Geographically Greece is located near Mediterranean sea.
• Ample supply of good building stone, Marble.
• Climate : between rigorous cold to relaxing heat.
• Clear intensity of light – development of precise and exact forms.
• Extensive Porticoes, Colonnades due to hot summer sun and
sudden winter showers
Architectural Character
•Greek Architecture was essentially Columnar and Trabeated.
•Simple structures, No Arch, Vault, Dome.
•All types of stone walls– coursed rubble, fine Ashlar
•No mortar, Well bonded, minimized joints, stones were secured
together with wrought iron cramps & dowels protected by molten lead.
Correction of “OPTICAL ILLUSION”
•Long horizontal lines appearing sagged were formed slightly
‘CONVEX OUTLINES’.
Actual
Optical Illusion: Sagging horizontal elements
After optical correction
Correction of “OPTICAL ILLUSION”
• Vertical features appeared falling outwards,
correction was made by “INCLINING INWARDS”
• The outer columns were kept closer & stouter
as they appeared thinner against the open sky.
• Letters insribed in the upper lines were kept
larger , so that all appear of one size when
viewed from below.
• Bright colours & gilding were applied to
selected parts only
• Flat surfaces were left plain , colour was
restricted to the architectural details & borders
only.
COMPONENTS OF GREEK
COLUMN
Architectural Terms
•Cornice is the set of crowning moldings
that cap an entablature in Classical
architecture.
cornice
•The Doric order is characterized by the
series of triglyphs and metopes on the
entablature.
•Each metope was occupied by a panel of
relief sculpture.
triglyph
metope
architrave
•Architrave:The word is derived from the
Greek word for main beam.
•Capital: The topmost element of the
column, helps to transfer loads from
beams to columns.
capital
flute
shaft
•Shaft: The long round section of a
column between the base and the capital.
Main Architectural Influences
Doric
Column
GREEK
TEMPLES
Ionic
Column
Corinthian
Column
Doric Order
• The Doric Order is rather
sturdy and its top (the
capital), is plain.
• The columns are fluted.
• This style was used in
mainland Greece and the
colonies in southern Italy
and Sicily.
Doric Order
In Doric columns:
• On the architrave, there are
triglyphs and metopes.
• At the top of the columns,
there's a capital made of a
sort of small pillow in
stone, and then a square
block, under the architrave.
• The columns have no base,
but just sit right on the
floor.
Doric Order
DESCRIPTION:
Doric columns are the simplest.
They have a capital (the top, or crown) made of a circle topped by a
square.
The shaft (the tall part of the column) is plain and has 20 sides.
There is no base in the Doric order.
The Doric order is very plain, but powerful-looking in its design.
Doric, like most Greek styles, works well horizontally on buildings,
that's why it was so good with the long rectangular buildings made by
the Greeks.
The area above the column, called the frieze had simple patterns.
Above the columns are the metopes and triglyphs.
The metope is a plain, smooth stone section between triglyphs.
Sometimes the metopes had statues of heroes or gods on them.
The triglyphs are a pattern of 3 vertical lines between the metopes.
Doric
Order
: Column
Doric
Order
Ionic Order
• The Ionic style is thinner
and more elegant.
• The capital is decorated
with a scroll-like design (a
volute).
• This style was found in
eastern Greece and the
islands
Ionic Order
In Ionic columns:
• At the top of the columns,
there's a double curve in
stone, under the
architrave.
• They are still fluted, but
they have more flutes
than Doric columns.
• The columns have a small
base to stand on, instead
of sitting right on the
floor.
Ionic Order
DESCRIPTION:
Ionic shafts were taller than Doric ones.
The columns look slender.
They also had flutes, which are lines carved into them from top to
bottom.
The shafts also had a special characteristic: entasis, which is a little
bulge in the columns make the columns look straight, even at a
distance [because since you would see the building from eye level,
the shafts would appear to get narrower as they rise, so this bulge
makes up for that - so it looks straight to your eye but it really isn't.] .
The frieze is plain.
The bases were large and looked like a set of stacked rings.
Ionic capitals consist of a scrolls above the shaft.
The Ionic style is a little more decorative than the Doric.
Ionic Order
Corinthian Order
• The Corinthian style is
seldom used in the Greek
world, but often seen on
Roman temples.
• The capital is very
elaborate and decorated
with acanthus leaves
Corinthian Order
In Corinthian columns:
•
On the architrave, as in
Ionic temples, there is a
continuous frieze where the
triglyphs and metopes
would be on a Doric temple.
•
At the top of the columns,
on the capital, there's a
stone carving of acanthus
leaves, under the architrave.
• The columns have a fancier
base to stand on.
Corinthian Order
DESCRIPTION:
The Corinthian order is the most decorative and is
usually the one most modern people like best.
Corinthian also uses entasis to make the shafts look
straight.
The Corinthian capitals have flowers and leaves
below a small scroll.
The shaft has flutes and the base is like the Ionian.
Unlike the Doric and Ionian cornices, which are at a
slant, the Corinthian roofs are flat.
Corinthian Order
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