Architecture of

Ancient Greece

Name Surname
Year of study
1. Introduction
Greek architects provided some of the finest and most
distinctive buildings in the entire Ancient World. The style
contains simplicity, proportion, perspective, and harmony.
Their buildings would go on to greatly influence
architects in the Roman world and provide the foundation for
the classical architectural orders which would dominate the
western world from the Renaissance to the present day.
2. Classification of Ancient Greece
Historians divide Ancient Greece into 2 main eras:
 Pre-Hellenic Era (from around 900 BC to the death of
Alexander the Great in 323 BC)
 Hellenic Era (323 BC to 30 AD)
Before the Pre-Hellenic era, 2 important cultures had
dominated the region:
 The Minoans (c. 2800–1100 BC)
 The Mycenaeans (c. 1500–1100 BC)
2.1 The Minoans
The Minoan civilization was an
Aegean Bronze Age civilization on the
island of Crete and other Aegean Islands
which flourished from c. 2700 to c. 1450
BCE, before a late period of decline, finally
ending around 1100 BC.
The name "Minoan" derives from
the mythical King Minos and was coined
by Evans, who identified the site at Knossos
with the labyrinth and the Minotaur.
The Minoan civilization is
particularly notable for its large and
elaborate palaces, some of which were
up to four stories high, featured elaborate
plumbing systems and were decorated
with frescoes. The most notable Minoan
palace is that of Knossos, followed by that
of Phaistos.
2.1.1 The Palace of Knossos
Knossos, the famous Minoan
Palace lies five kilometers southeast
of Heraklion, in the valley of the river
Kairatos, in Crete. It was
undoubtedly the ceremonial and
political center of the Minoan
civilization and culture. It appears as
a maze of workrooms, living spaces,
and storerooms close to a central
square.
The Palace of Knossos is the
monumental symbol of Minoan
civilization, due to its construction,
use of luxury materials, architectural
plan, advanced building techniques
and impressive size.
Ιn Greek mythology, the
Palace of Knossos was the residence
of the mythical King Minos, the son
of Zeus and Europa. King Minos had
the legendary artificer Daedalus
construct a labyrinth in which to
keep his son, the Minotaur, a
mythical creature who was half bull
and half man. The monster
eventually killed by the hero
Theseus. Daedalus had so cunningly
made the Labyrinth that he could
barely escape it after he built it.
Ruins of Knossos
2.1.2 The Palace of Phaistos
Phaistos was one of the most According to mythology, Phaistos
important centres of Minoan was the seat of king Radamanthis,
civilization, and the most wealthy
and powerful city in southern Crete. brother of king Minos. It was also the
During the Minoan times, city that gave birth to the great wise
Phaistos was a very important city- man and soothsayer Epimenidis, one
state. Its dominion, at its peak, of the seven wise men of the
stretched from cape Lithinon to ancient world.
cape Psychion (Today cape Melissa
at Agios Pavlos, South Rethymnon)
and included the Paximadia islands.
The city participated to the Trojan
war and later became one of the
most important cities-states of the
Dorian period.
Ruins of Phaistos
The staircase of the palace Details of the palace
2.1.3 Plumbing systems
During the Minoan Era extensive
waterways were built in order to protect the
growing population. These system had two
primary functions, first providing and
distributing water, and secondly relocating
sewage and stormwater.
The Minoans used technologies such
as wells, cisterns, and aqueducts to manage
their water supplies. Structural aspects of their
buildings even played a part. Flat roofs and
plentiful open courtyards were used for
collecting water to be stored in cisterns.[84]
Significantly, the Minoans had water
treatment devices. One such device seems to
have been a porous clay pipe through which
water was allowed to flow until clean.
2.1.4 Inverted columns
One of the most notable Minoan
contributions to architecture is
their inverted column, wider at the
top than the base (unlike most
Greek columns, which are wider at
the bottom to give an impression
of height). The columns were
made of wood (not stone) and
were generally painted red.
Mounted on a simple stone base,
they were topped with a pillow-
like, round capital.
2.1.5 Minoan art
Minoans decorated the
interior of their palaces with
colourful frescoes depicting
people, animals and
surrounding flora. Other
forms of art include pottery,
jewelry and metalwork.
Examples of frescoes
The Bull-Leaping Ladies in Blue
2.2 The Mycenaeans
Mycenaean Greece was the last
phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient
Greece, spanning the period from
approximately 1600–1100 BCE. It
represents the first advanced civilization in
mainland Greece, with its palatial states,
urban organization, works of art, and
writing system.
The Mycenaean Greeks
introduced several innovations in the fields
of engineering, architecture and military
infrastructure, while trade over vast areas
of the Mediterranean was essential for the
Mycenaean economy.
2.2.1 The Mycenaean palaces
The palatial structures at
Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos were
erected on the summits of hills
or rocky outcrops, dominating
the immediate surroundings.
The best preserved are found in
Pylos and Tiryns, while Mycenae
and the Menelaion are only
partially preserved. In Central
Greece, Thebes and
Orchomenos have been only
partially exposed.
The palace of Nestor
2.2.2 Fortifications
The principal Mycenaean
centers were well-fortified and usually
situated on an elevated terrain, like on
the acropolis of Athens, Tiryns and
Mycenae or on coastal plains, in the
case of Gla.
The walls were built of large,
unworked boulders more than 8 meters
thick and weighing several metric
tonnes. They were roughly fitted together
without the use of mortar or clay to bind
them, though smaller hunks of limestone
fill the interstices. Their placement
formed a polygonal pattern giving the
curtain wall an irregular but imposing
appearance.
2.2.3 Other architectural features
The Lions Gate (main Treasury of Atreus (Tomb of
entrance of the citadel) Agamemnon)
3. Greek architectural orders
The three defined orders of architectural style are:
 The Doric Order;
 The Ionic Order;
 The Corinthian Order.
These orders concern mostly the style of the columns used in
Greek buildings.
3.1 The Doric Order
The Doric is most easily
recognized by the simple circular capitals
at the top of columns. Originating in the
western Dorian region of Greece, it is the
earliest and in its essence the simplest of
the orders, though still with complex
details.
The Doric is most easily
recognized by the simple circular capitals
at the top of columns. Originating in the
western Dorian region of Greece, it is the
earliest and in its essence the simplest of
the orders, though still with complex details
in the entablature above.
3.1.1 Parthenon of Athens (Athenian
Acropolis)
The Parthenon is a temple
dedicated to the goddess Athena,
whom the people of Athens considered
their patron. It is the most important
surviving building of Classical Greece,
generally considered the zenith of the
Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are
considered some of the high points of
Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as
an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece,
Athenian democracy and Western
civilization, and one of the world's
greatest cultural monuments.
3.2 The Ionic Order
The Ionic capital is characterized
by the use of volutes. The Ionic columns
normally stand on a base which separates
the shaft of the column from the stylobate
or platform; the cap is usually enriched
with egg-and-dart.
The major features of the Ionic
order are the volutes of its capital. The
Ionic column may have a wide collar or
banding separating the capital from the
fluted shaft. The Ionic column is always
more slender than the Doric; therefore, it
always has a base
3.2.1Erechteion
The Erechtheion or Erechtheum is
an ancient Greek temple on the north
side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece
which was dedicated to both Athena
and Poseidon. The sculptor and mason
of the structure was Phidias, who was
employed by Pericles to build both the
Erechtheum and the Parthenon.
The main structure consists of up
to four compartments, the largest being
the east cella, with an Ionic portico on its
east end.
3.3 The Corinthian Order
The Corinthian order is the last
developed of the three principal classical
orders of ancient Greek and Roman
architecture.
This architectural style is
characterized by slender fluted columns
and elaborate capitals decorated with
acanthus leaves and scrolls. There are
many variations.
The Corinthian order is named for
the Greek city-state of Corinth, to which it
was connected in the period. However,
according to the architectural historian
Vitruvius, the column was created by the
sculptor Callimachus, probably an
Athenian, who drew acanthus leaves
growing around a votive basket.
3.3.1 The Olympieion
The Temple of Olympian Zeus, also
known as the Olympieion or Columns of the
Olympian Zeus, is a former colossal temple at the
center of Athens. It was dedicated to "Olympian"
Zeus, a name originating from his position as head
of the Olympian gods.
the Temple of Olympian Zeus was
intended to be built of local limestone in the
Doric style on a colossal platform. After a
change of the architect, the design was
changed to have three rows of eight columns
across the front and back of the temple and a
double row of twenty on the flanks, for a total
of 104 columns. The order was changed from
Doric to Corinthian, marking the first time that
this order had been used on the exterior of a
major temple.
4. Materials and structure
Although the existent buildings of
the era are constructed in stone, it is clear
that the origin of the style lies in simple
wooden structures, with vertical posts
supporting beams which carried a ridged
roof. The posts and beams divided the
walls into regular compartments which
could be left as openings, or filled with
sun dried bricks, lathes or straw and
covered with clay daub or plaster.
Alternately, the spaces might be filled
with rubble.
It is likely that many early houses
and temples were constructed with an
open porch or "pronaos" above which
rose a low pitched gable or pediment.
 Wood and Clay
Greek buildings in the colonization
period (8th to 6th century BC) were
constructed of wood and bricks made
from clay. Like the structures themselves,
very few written sources about these
early buildings have survived.
 Limestone
Limestone was primarily used in sparing
amounts in temple relief slabs. However,
limestone is fragile and can crack more
so than other substances which is why
marble was commonly preferred.
 Pentelikon Marble
Pentelikon marble was common in
ancient quarries and was widely used in
architecture and decorative sculpting,
especially for finishing surfaces. This
marble type was used in well-known
structures such as the Erechtheum, the
Theseum, the Propylaea of the Acropolis,
the temple of Olympus Zeus, in parts of
the Parthenon, and numerous other
monuments and temples throughout
ancient Greece. Pentelikon marble was
white at the time of its use in ancient
construction. Today this marble has
some gray coloration to it.
5. Decorations
Greeks decorated the exterior of
their temples and palaces with various
ornaments and sculptures.
5.1 Ornaments
Early wooden structures,
particularly temples, were
ornamented and in part
protected by fired and painted
clay revetments in the form of
rectangular panels, and
ornamental discs.
The clay ornaments were
limited to the roof of buildings,
decorating the cornice, the
corners and surmounting the
pediment.
5.2 Sculptures
The Greeks decided very
early on that the human form was
the most important subject for
artistic endeavour. Seeing their gods
as having human form, there was
little distinction between the sacred
and the secular in art—the human
body was both secular and sacred.
Ancient Greek sculptures
were originally painted bright colors;
they only appear white today
because the original pigments have
deteriorated. References to painted
sculptures are found throughout
classical literature.
Examples of Greek sculpture
Ionic caryatid from the Parthenon sculptures – Elgin
Erechteion Marbles
5. Further influences
The architecture of ancient Rome grew out of that of
Greece and maintained its influence in Italy unbroken until
the present day. From the Renaissance, revivals of Classicism
have kept alive not only the precise forms and ordered
details of Greek architecture, but also its concept of
architectural beauty based on balance and proportion. The
successive styles of Neoclassical architecture and Greek
Revival architecture followed and adapted Ancient Greek
styles closely.
Examples of Greek influences in
architecture
The Maison Carrée (Ancient Former Irish House of
Rome) Parliament (Neoclassical)
6. Conclusions
Ancient Greece is often considered the cradle of the
western world. Its art, literature, political thought, and even its
very language have influenced western society for thousands
of years, and continue to influence us today.