Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Kevin J. Benoy
Origins
• Our word “architecture”
comes from the Greek
architecton, which
means “master
carpenter.”
• Early Greek architecture
therefore employed
wood, not stone.
• These early structures,
as well as those of mud-
brick, have not
survived.
Wood Features in Stone
• By the 6th Century
BC, stone replaced
wood in the
construction of
important temples.
• Designs still reflected
their origins in wood,
however.
Origins
Hephaistion, Athens
Origins
• Some experts feel that
the entasis, the outward
bulging in the middle of
Greek columns, may
originally have been an
imitation of the effect of
great compression in
wooden posts.
• It also serves as a kind of
correction to an optical
illusion, however.
Entasis
• Entasis counteracts the tendency of
the eye to reach upward, forcing it
to travel up and down the shaft.
• Columns that are straight appear
thinner in the middle when seen
against light, making the supports
appear flimsy.
• The middle bulge counteracts this.
• The upper 2/3 of the shafts to the
right are tapered.
Temples - Purpose
• Unlike modern churches or
mosques, Greek temples
were not meant to be
meeting places for
congregations.
• They were homes for the
community’s god or
goddess and a place to keep
offerings
• A cult image was centrally
located within a naos, or
chapel.
Temples - Purpose
• This is the
monumental
entry point to
the acropolis.
Temple of Athena Nike
• This is a small temple
dedicated to the
victorious Athena.
• The ratio of height to
diameter of the
columns is 7:1 and not
the 9:1 or 10:1
generally found in
Ionic temples.
The Parthenon
• This is the most
important and
perfectly formed
temple on the
acropolis.
• Dedicated to Athena,
it housed an enormous
cult image.
Parthenon
• This building is the
culmination of
Classical Greek
architecture.
• Optical refinements
are many, and the
result is a building
reflecting the Greek
concept of arete,
perfection.
Click here to see a NOVA video clip on the Parthenon’s optical refinements.
The Parthenon
• One of the Parthenon’s
most impressive features
was not seen by most
worshippers – the great
frieze showing the
Panathenaic Procession.
• The colour of this
reconstruction is indicative
of what much of the
structure would have looked
like before being bleached
by centuries of
Mediterranean sun.
The Erechtheum
• This is a complex
building of up to four
distinct spaces.
• It is also built on a
slope, so its walls are
of differing heights.
• It is dedicated to
Athena Polias and
Poseidon Erechtheus.
The Erechtheum